How to Program a New Key Fob for Full SKS Functionality

Thanks, I was hoping you ("usnavystgc) would reply to my situation. This is what I was thinking (and my son in law) that there was a total failure in the signal system between the fob and the car. So the only thing I can do if I want the SKS system to work is take it to a dealer or can a qualified locksmith do it too?

 

Your car has somehow lost connection with the FOB. Try resetting the car by disconnecting the 12v battery negative for a couple minutes. If that doesn't work, you would need to reseed the car's memory of the key fobs, meaning erase everything and add the fobs again into memory. A dealer should be able to do this for about 1hr labor rate.

Also check to make sure your 12v battery is in good condition, with a healthy charge

 

Thanks JC, I think I had seen that before but in my frustration I had forgotten about it. I'll give it a shot and let you know the outcome. Again I appreciate the help and suggestions from everyone.

 

Ok checked the 12 volt accessory cabin battery and it had 12.54 volts and with a load it was around 14.1 to 14.3/14.4 volts. Also disconnected the negative cable on the 12 volt accessory cabin battery for about 7 minutes and it made no difference. Got any other ideas other than going to the dealer and having to "reseed" the car's memmory. I only have the one original key fob. I bought another and was able to get it to start the car after I did the "chicken dance" but not do any of the SKS functions. If they "reseed" the original fob then I should be able to "chicken dance the one I bought?.

Thanks for your help.

 

I had a used original key fob from a salvaged car and programed with a key without open and close door buttons and it worked. I have the one without smart start but it worked without a problem.

 

I have a 08 Prius and the key was stolen some years ago and Toyota reprogramed the lock system. They took all day and only programmed one key. The other one sat in a drawer for years. I decided today to google the procedure and found this thread. It worked flawlessly and I now have 2 keys. Thanks for the info.

 

Worked for me on the first try. (Thanks!) I bought a new spare key for $120 from a Toyota dealer in Roswell, GA (including them cutting the metal key) for my 2007 Prius. Like the instructions said was required for some people, I needed to do this step twice in a row instead of just once: "Press both the Lock and Unlock key (simultaneously) on the NEW fob. Hold for about 1.5 seconds".

 

I had bought a new fob key got it to work were i can use it to turn on the car by inserting. My car is a 07 has sks but i think i bought a non smart key but it works. I do have a problem though. The old key stoped working which is why i decided get a new one, It used but one day it stoped working I changed the fob batter voltage was 3.3v I think the key messed up so i am not able press the unlock/lock button for step 9 so am stuck there. Is there any way around it? or should i go to the dealer for this?

 

Thank for all the nice discussions in this thread. I bought the blank smart key from Amazon for $112. My son was able to make it working on every functions in just 5 minutes. I believe that he used the instruction post in this thread.

 

The key I bought has a silver logo on the back, i.e.
PRIUS '04-'09 Toyota Prox Remote With Smart Entry System (Factory Original - NEW)

 

I also got one from Amazon, same link, but sold by Daytona Toyota, fulfilled by Amazon. Worked flawlessly, and was able to program via the Chicken Dance in just a few minutes. So happy to have a second key now.

 

I can't get my 2004 Prius (with SKS) into any sort of key programming mode using the steps in the the first "chicken dance" procedure. The red anti-theft light never stays lit.

I lost my only key fob, which was left of the two that came with it. I called Pop-A-Lock and told them my car's year and that it had SKS. They ordered an off-brand non-SKS key for some reason and after hours of fiddling (!) managed to get that new fob to start and stop the engine with it plugged in. It didn't lock or unlock the doors, so I was lucky I still had the emergency key from my old fob. This was just going to be a stop gap measure so I could get to work while Pop A Lock ordered an SKS fob. Before they got it, I found my old fob. I notified Pop A Lock, and the tech said my old fob wouldn't work unless he programmed it, but it worked just like before. I returned the nearly useless non-SKS fob to Pop A Lock and paid their service call fee. During this whole debacle, I had researched getting and programming a new fob and found this and another thread detailing the "chicken dance". I ordered a Toyota brand SKS fob from Amazon (Daytona Toyota) for ~$110. Today, I tried to use the chicken dance with my old fob and the new fob from Amazon, but my car won't enter the start/stop engine programming mode. I tried 5 or 6 times, following the timings of two different YouTube videos. What did the Pop A Lock tech do to my car? How do I undo it so I can make my own 2nd working fob?

 

There is a 5 keyfob limit that you may have run into. Techstream (Mini VCI) will show the current registration count. And it can reset the keyfob count back down to one (the key you're using). Then you can add up to a total of 5 new or previously registered (with that car) keyfobs. To add a keyfob previously used on another car, you'll need a reseed which is a dealer/locksmith process.

 

After reading more of this thread, I think I have a multi-part theory for a whole picture of what's going on.
1. The "Start/Stop Engine" and "SKS" fob lists are maintained separately in the car.
2. The Pop A Lock tech only reset the list of "Start/Stop Engine" fobs to add the non-SKS fob to that list. He claimed that he had to use one of his tokens or whatever to reset something, and it obviously wasn't the "SKS" list, because my old fob still works for SKS.
3. My old fob is gone from the "Start/Stop Engine List", and therefore can't be used as the baseline fob for either procedure. This is based on the fact that if I stick my old fob into my car slot right now, it won't start!

So, I think I need to call Pop A Lock and find out if they still have the non-SKS off-brand fob they ordered by accident, because it's currently the only fob that can be used as a baseline for the "Start/Stop Engine" procedure on my car. I think that if I am able to borrow it from them and use it as the baseline for the "Start/Stop Engine" procedure to add my old fob back to the "Start/Stop Engine" list, I can then use my old fob as the baseline for both procedures with the new key from Amazon. Then, I just have to figure out how to remove Pop A Lock's fob from the "Start/Stop Engine" list, which they honestly should have done before accepting it back.

Does this make sense? Are all the parts of my theory possible?

 

Yes.

 

A bit more explanation. There are 3 locking systems on a Gen2 (2004-2009) Prius. The mechanical key, the transponder chip inside the keyfob, and the circuit board inside the keyfob. The transponder works in the keyslot with a range of an inch or two. There are two versions of the circuit board, non-SKS and SKS. The Techstream terminology for the transponder function is "Immobilizer". I think the Techstream terminology for the SKS circuit board is "Smart Key".

There are entirely separate lists and registration procedures for the Immobilizer and SKS functions.

Registering a transponder is essentially adding the transponder id number to a list in the security computer.

Registering a SKS circuit board is a double function. A "Car ID" is programmed into the circuit board, and a circuit board id is added to another list in the car.

The "Car ID" function is the source of all the problems with registering keyfobs previously registered to another car. The "Car ID" is only set when registering a new keyfob, or as the first keyfob after a seed reset (probably requiring a token). Try adding a keyfob previously registered to another car and it will fail because of a "Car ID" mismatch. <Your old keyfob has the correct car id, thus will not require a seed reset to be registered>

Permission to add a keyfob is by using another keyfob that is already registered, or by a seed reset. Again, there are two registrations required - one for the transponder and another for the circuit board.

Now, who's on first...

 

thanks for the great explanation. This actually brings me to another question. I had wondered why Pop-A-Lock was willing to keep that non SKS fob after I read that registering a fob makes it unusable on another car. I had figured that they would make me pay for it since it was essentially locked to my car. After reading your post, and knowing what I know now about how Pop-A-Lock registered that non SKS fob (i.e., only the transponder and not the circuit board since the unlock and lock buttons didn't work) I think I understand a little better. Even though the tech claimed he used a reset token to add a new fob, he only registered the transponder, so no car ID was ever imprinted on the non SKS circuit board in that fob. Does that sound plausible?

Edit: If I do manage to convince the Pop-A-Lock tech to let me borrow that fob, as long as I don't somehow accidentally register the circuit board of that non SKS fob, Pop-A-Lock can still have it back and it will be as good as new to them (i.e., they can use it for someone else's car)?

 

If you were down to zero keyfobs, then a seed reset of the transponder system was required to register the transponder portion of the non-SKS keyfob. The Car ID function only applies to the SKS circuit board, which was MIA... Now you need either that transponder registered keyfob, or another seed reset to re-register the transponder portion of your old fob.