Locked out of car while running. Keys don't work.

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by seeders, Apr 15, 2015.

  1. seeders

    seeders New Member

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    So a very bizarre thing happened to me at lunch. I got out of the vehicle (2012 Prius C) without hitting the power button, so the car was on and I did not realize it. I went to get food and when I returned to the car, I could not open it. I thought my fob had run out of battery, so I tried my mechanical key, but it did not unlock the car.

    I had to call AAA for them to be able to unlock it for me. Has this happened to anyone else?

    Working on uploading a video.
     
    #1 seeders, Apr 15, 2015
  2. DKTVAV

    DKTVAV Active Member

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    The C1 doesn't have the original fob, did you use an aftermarket one? If so it might be defected and can be fixed if it's still under warranty.
     
    #2 DKTVAV, Apr 16, 2015
  3. seeders

    seeders New Member

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    I'm not sure, we bought the car off of Carmax and they gave us two fobs. They have the toyota logo on them, so I don't think they're aftermarket and should be original?

    Shouldn't the car just turn off when you walk away with the keys? Why not? Shouldn't the keys still work even if the car is on? Why not?

    It's probably the dumbest system I've ever encountered.
     
    #3 seeders, Apr 16, 2015
  4. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    With my 2010 regular Prius, if you leave the vehicle powered and walk away with the key/fob on you, the doors can not and will not lock...and it's going to beep a few times to tell you it's still running with the key out of proximity. Go see a Toyota Dealer to find out why this happened as you stated.
     
    #4 frodoz737, Apr 16, 2015
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like a trip back to carmax. how did aaa open it?
     
    #5 bisco, Apr 16, 2015
  6. seeders

    seeders New Member

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    AAA opened it by using a tool to roll the window down through the door, since the car was running it was easy for them.
     
    #6 seeders, Apr 16, 2015
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    ah, thanks. in a prius with key fob as standard, the car stays running because if the fob battery died while you were driving, the car would shut down. you should not be able to lock the doors with the fob when the car is running, so whatever they jury rigged to add fobs to the c-1, needs to be corrected.
     
    #7 bisco, Apr 16, 2015
  8. Kneelshannon

    Kneelshannon New Member

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    I have the same car. I live in the city and was warming my car up in front of my house. I attempted to lock the car door and keep it running, however, my fob wouldn't lock the car. I Googled how to lock a Prius while running and found this thread. Long story short, someone suggested rolling the window down, hitting the lock button and rolling it back up. This worked, it locked the car. Unfortunately, the fob wouldn't unlock the car either. This is the original fob that came with the car. Fortunately, I managed to unlock it in 8 minutes using items from my garage and still get my daughter to daycare on time!
     
    #8 Kneelshannon, Nov 25, 2015
    PLSPUSH likes this.
  9. ftl

    ftl Explicator

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    Are you saying that the mechanical key stored in the fob wouldn't unlock the car?
     
    #9 ftl, Nov 25, 2015
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  10. HGS

    HGS Member

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    If everything is working as designed, the car door will not stay locked when closing it with the key fob outside of the car. The way to leave the car running and locked is to lock the door with the physical key that's inside of the fob.
     
    #10 HGS, Nov 25, 2015
    ftl likes this.
  11. ILuvMyPriusToo

    ILuvMyPriusToo Senior Member

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    Test the physical key now that the car is unlocked. I bet it doesn't work. It might be a replacement fob (as some suggested) that wasn't cut correctly or the lock has been damaged in some way (dirty, etc).

    Maybe a dealer can get a code based on the VIN to recut a replacement.
     
    #11 ILuvMyPriusToo, Nov 26, 2015
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    did you check the fob battery?
     
    #12 bisco, Nov 28, 2015
  13. ftl

    ftl Explicator

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    No sign of drive-by poster Kneelshannon from #8, who was seen here once last Wednesday and hasn't been back to the site since then.
     
    #13 ftl, Nov 28, 2015
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