Smart Key not Smart anymore

welcome! there are a few threads here, with many posts and advice. i think the main thing is, you need a new fob. try searching key words like 'key fob programming' and 'chicken dance', etc.

 

sorry, i didn't mean your old fob, i meant trying to program another one. i don't think you can program a used one. your old one probably just needs reprogramming.

 

yes, read through the threads i mentioned above. it's too complicated for someone to remember.

 

You learned the old addage (penny wise, pound foolish), the hard way about used Toyota SKS fobs.

You can add a used sks fob to your sks prius, but this used fob will lack sks functionality, as you learned. Not having an sks fob work properly, sure kills the convenience of that feature, esp since your car is an sks model Prius.

Had you purchased a new SKS fob from a local Toyota dealer or an online Toyota dealer (just under $100), you could have done the reprogramming yourself and maintain sks functionality.

To regain sks functionality for this used sks fob you have two choices, but only one given your lack of knowledge and likely limited DIY capability.
1) Price shop local dealers for reseeding the current sks fobs in your posession; $200 range is what I have heard. This procesure will clear all sks fobs from the prius sks ecus; Prius only has room for four. The two sks fobs on hand will be added one at a time to the prius sks ecu, leaving you room for two more to be added down the road. The nice thing about the maser reset is the lost sks fobs will no longer work on your car. You can push the dealers for discounts (AAA, Costco, etc); this procedure is easy for them and not laborous despite the BS they tell you.

2) Acquire Techstream, a spare 32bit Windows based laptop (XP or 7), and pay for a master reset procesure from someone in Europ selling this service. I have read of one person doing this on PriusChat; too sketchy for me. You already got burned once, cheaping out.