I wish toyota would build one of those into the FOB. Think about putting one in my car so I can find it in the mall parkinglot.
I have a 3rd fob, rubber on the buttons are gone, and no battery. It does however have a transponder chip, and the keylet is the correct one for the car. So the Valet can use the mechanical key to unlock the door and the fob to plug in the slot and start the car. Can't take the fob out of the slot as long as the ignition is on, so no leaving the key with the Valet!
My keys're always in my pocket. I never need to take them out, at least not while I'm driving. In addition, my family has found we can switch drivers (when I drive somewhere to get dropped off) without having to physically switch keys or turn off the car. I've found the SmartKey system so unexpectedly convenient, I now have to remember to take out my keys and store them away somewhere when I'm doing things like working on the car. Also, not sure if these are improvements to the SKS on the latest models, but the car does beep at you when you shut it off and leave one of the keys inside, which has saved my mom from leaving her purse (with key inside) in the car. The 2014 PiP also beeps at you if you leave the car running and remove all the keys. I've also seen the car shut off after a while after detecting all keys have left its detection zones.
I was actually indoors looking for something and, by the time I'd come back out (perhaps 5 - 10 minutes), it was already shut off. I guess I should test it explicitly, since this may be newer behavior not in older models. Will let you know.
Because I don't have to take my fob in/out of pockets. Just as important is the Prius's ability to shut down without having to put the car into park first. It's like putting a computer to sleep. Love it. The less work, the better.
prius smart key | eBay I see a ton of these on eBay and the prices are bound to go down. I had a regular remote fob for my old Camry and bought spare transponder keys and fobs over the years. I have my spare smart key and key insert in my nightstand drawer, will probably get a spare of each to use. I got in the habit of doing that after driving cars for years - the keys would wear out. I'd keep a freshly cut key handy as a master key in case the day-to-day key wore out.
I understand that Prius owners who have no more drivers than the number of FOB's provided (two), are quite pleased with the SmartKey system. Our Prius has one principal driver, but may be used by any of (4) drivers. Buying additional FOBs is not practical, so we have to manage our second FOB by dutifully placing it on a designated hook inside the house. In this case, the SmartKey is no better than a conventional key; it is actually worse since it too easy to drive away in another vehicle withe the Prius FOB still in one's purse or pocket. Having a key you have to touch to turn the vehicle off is better.
For your use case and with an unwillingness to buy more keys I don't think any scenario is more optimal than you already have. If you had a physical put it in the slot and turn key, I am sure people would still walk away with it in their pocket. It just happens. So it is only natural to keep keys in people's pockets and have the car recognize multiple keys.
Smart keys are dam nice and convenient. I think people who are habitual key misplacers/losers need to go find a bigger keychain and attach it to their keys...like back in high school or most private businesses when you needed to use the bathroom, they hand you a ridiculously huge and stupid hall pass or key attached to it problem solved, you're habitual key losing/misplacing will hopefully be fixed (if not...I guess the saying of "you can't fix stupid" is true)
I love the smart key. I never use the buttons. This is my first car with smart key and at this point I couldn't go back.
