I purchased a 2012 Prius v Three last week. I recall the salesman at the dealership stating that my car was equipped with a "one touch" keyless entry system. This system was a single button on the driver's side door handle. Trouble is--my Prius v Three does not have such a system. I know, I know...yes I have the key fob with the "hidden" key inside of it, along with the little transmitter inside of the fob. This I understand to be the "Smart Key" system. What I want to know is what's the deal with this exterior unlock/lock system? Where's the little black button on the door handle on my car? And if this feature is indeed another system, what the heck is it called? Thanks for the responses. SCR
Yes, you have the smart key.. no button, just touch the handle and it will unlock as long as you have the fob close by
So...if I do have the Smart Key system, can somebody explain why some Prius Vs have the little black button on the drivers side door? Thanks. SCR
Not sure of the 2012 model, but when I get out of my 2008 car with keyless entry, the button can be pressed and it locks the car doors. Buttons are on both front doors and hatch. Doors unlock if you touch either of the front door handles or rear latch handle. Car even starts without key in the key holder on the dash.
2012 models should have the grooves on the top front of the handle. you touch them instead of the black button. i'm surprised there are v's with the button?
First, it is Prius v, lowercase v, not uppercase. Pet peeve of mine as it causes confusion with the 2010 Prius which had uppercase Roman numeral packages and it actually is a lowercase v for Prius v anyway. You have 1 door sks, which is only the drivers door since you have a Prius v Three. Only the Prius v Five has 3 door sks which is the drivers and passenger door and the rear hatch. As far as I know, there is no little black button on the door handle of the Prius v for the sks. The Gen II Prius (2004-2009) had the little black button for locking the door via sks. Now you just touch the little indented stripes on the door handle to lock the door. And you grab the door handle to unlock the door. This is assuming you have the key fob on your person to make it work.
You're right, it is officially a Prius v--lowercase v. I guess the reason I wrote it with an uppercase v is because the logo on the rear hatch says clearly "Prius V" --definitely uppercase. SCR
RTFM, lol. You can also toggle between one door unlock and unlocking all doors when you grab the door handle by pressing and holding down two buttons on the fob.
why do they use a large V on the back, to add to the confusion? have we solved the question of why some v's have the black button?
Best attempt at explaining the large v on the back of the prius wagon was that it was a large font lower case v like this; v (actual lower case v in font size 7) I don't think any Prius v (wagons) have the black button. I would need some more sightings from Prius Chat memebers or a photo to investigate further.
Same can be said about the Prius c logo then Bisco, it too is bigger on the car but it as well is a small c. They just make it larger in size on the car since that's pretty much the whole thing that makes a c a c and a v a v logo-wise.
OK, I can add to the confusion. I had a 2009 Prius V (Roman Numeral 5: all the electronics, but no leather) with 3 door SKS. You could open either front door or the hatch by touching it with the Fob nearby. You can also program it to open all doors when you touch one and to open all doors with one press of the Fob or two. I now have a Prius v 3 (versatile) with 1 door SKS, although you can still program it to open all doors with one press (via a fob 'dance') and to open all doors when you touch one (via an entune setting) I wish I could buy a v4 with 3 door SKS and LED headlight fog lights but no leather, no larger wheels . Sadly there is no v4.
This post has the data on unlocking all doors with the fob Prius v verses Gen II 2004-09 | PriusChat Here are the steps via the entune, to unlock all doors when you touch the drivers door How to unlock all the doors automatically | PriusChat
Re the "key" on the v: we established this eve that once the car is running the key doesn't have to be present, or aboard, and you can drive off merrily on your way to wherever, with the on-dash reminder (key graphic with !) that the key is not present.
Here is a Youtube channel with many videos on different things about the Prius. They have both Prius and Prius v. Toyota City Luther Auto - YouTube One of the videos explains the Smart Key System and unlocking and locking the doors. Here is the video specific to your vehicle.
