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04 Toyota Prius FOB No Longer Working

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Prius 04, Mar 20, 2016.

  1. Prius 04

    Prius 04 New Member

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    a while ago I lost my second FOB for my 04 Toyota Prius. I ordered a new one online and when it arrived I went to do the, "Chicken Dance" to set it up. Before starting the process I got inside and tried turning the car on with the original key but all that happened was the Key with an exclamation point came on the dash board and beeped for about 5 seconds. The manual said that this means, "the smart key was not in the effective range." I inserted the original key into the key slot but the same thing happened. This also happened when I put the key next to the power button and pressed on. I double checked to make sure the SKS button below the steering wheel was not pushed in. I tried all of this again with the new FOB away from the vehicle and a couple days later. Same result. Did I trigger an anti-theft button when I brought the new FOB into the car? Does this sound familiar to anyone?

    Thanks for the help.
     
    #1 Prius 04, Mar 20, 2016
  2. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Try replacing the batt in the original Fob.

    Hopefully you were smart and purchased a NEW SKS Fob, as this will allow you to self program the NEW SKS Fob to the car and retain all SKS and remote functions.

    You can not program a used SKS Fob. This requires you to spend $2xx at the dealership, as they have to clear out all learned SKS Fob and start the learning process.

    FYI, the Prius can only learn 4 Fobs total. 2 were programmed at the assembly line, leaving subsequent owners room for two more Fobs.
     
    #2 exstudent, Mar 20, 2016
  3. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Correction -- The Prius has space for 5 fobs.
     
    #3 dolj, Mar 20, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2016
  4. Prius 04

    Prius 04 New Member

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    I replaced the battery but it still is not working. Any other ideas on what might be wrong?
     
    #4 Prius 04, Mar 21, 2016
  5. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Are you sure this "original" SKS Fob ever worked to start ("Ready") the car? If you do not know or never tested it, I am inclined to believe that this "original" SKS Fob was never programed into your car. If this is the case, you will have to tow the car to the dealer to reset and reseed the SKS ECUs with your "original" and newly purchased replacement SKS Fob.
     
    #5 exstudent, Mar 22, 2016
  6. Prius 04

    Prius 04 New Member

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    It might not have been the first fob. I bought this car used from the dealer months ago. It was working fine until I brought the new fob into the car to get it programmed.
     
    #6 Prius 04, Mar 22, 2016
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    This is very strange, . Try disconnecting the car's battery for a few seconds and resetting the car

    SM-N900P ?
     
    #7 JC91006, Mar 22, 2016
  8. Prius 04

    Prius 04 New Member

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    I'm a little worried, could that cause the immobilizer to forget the previous fobs?
     
    #8 Prius 04, Mar 22, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2016
  9. sammy8887

    sammy8887 Junior Member

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    I would like to tag onto this thread instead of starting a new one if possible. My '08 Prius key fob is not locking and unlocking the doors automatically anymore and I have tried changing out the battery which did not help anything, so it seems there is an electronics issue. It still starts the car and I am manually unlocking it with the key.

    First, let me start with I am interested in getting a new/used fob off of ebay. What I THINK I have gathered from doing some reading on this site is that buying a used key fob will require a visit to a local locksmith willing to do the job of programming it to my car...while buying a new key fob could allow me to program it myself as long as I have a key fob currently programmed to the car.

    Is this correct? If so, to me it makes more sense to buy a new key fob as it will cost more for a used one to be programmed by a locksmith. Please someone set me straight on this...

    Thank you!
    Jeremy
     
    #9 sammy8887, Mar 22, 2016
  10. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    No, it won't. Have a little think about what it would mean if that did happen.

    Pretty much on the money.
     
    #10 dolj, Mar 23, 2016
  11. Prius 04

    Prius 04 New Member

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    Thanks for all the help.

    Just in case anyone else has this problem in the future.

    I took it into the dealer and they said that brining the other key into the car probably created the problem with the immobilizer. Basically, they said the immobilizer might have lost the original key info. They "reseeded" it for $180 and reprogrammed the keys to the car. Now it drives fine.
     
    #11 Prius 04, Mar 24, 2016
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    check your 12 volt health.
     
    #12 bisco, Mar 24, 2016
  13. sammy8887

    sammy8887 Junior Member

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    Yep, I checked it one morning and all seemed to be normal with the readings. Right before the fob started acting funny, it got some soda all over it so I think that may have affected the insides. Thanks for all the replies!
     
    #13 sammy8887, Mar 26, 2016
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yip, that might do it.
     
    #14 bisco, Mar 26, 2016
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