Key FOB no longer locks/unlocks after driving.

Hi PriiNZ and welcome to PriusChat.

I don't think putting the wrong key fob in should upset the car.

How old is the battery in the key fob? When the fob fails to lock/unlock, does the red light on the fob illuminate when you press it?

When you say the manual lock, do you mean the physical key from the fob?

 

I can't say I have heard of this issue before, is the Prius a NZ new or an import? Does it have SKS – ie remote entry and start?

Have you checked the voltage of the 12 V battery recently?

 

Good to know, as I believe the Jap imports key fob use a different frequency range. Not sure if that is relevant, at the moment, but it is if you need to get a new one. They are different part numbers.

Have you checked the voltage of the 12 V battery recently?

 

It's better to just use a voltmeter on the battery terminals or the jump start point.

 

Sorry I missed seeing this. SKS is Smart Key System and essentially is the ability to remotely lock/unlock the car without getting the fob out and pressing buttons and the ability to start the car without inserting the fob in the slot. It is also called keyless entry and start. The easiest way to know if your car has SKS is the fob has a silver logo on the back, there is a button on the dash under the steering column labelled "Key" and the front door handles have a black button on them, as does the rear hatch.

So when you say it was good, what were the open voltage; loaded voltage and voltage after resting overnight?

Only other idea, is may be one of the buttons is sticking on and preventing the lock/unlock from working. Although I don't see how this can be related to putting the fob in the slot.

Do you have a second fob to try and see if that behaves normally or the same as the original?

 

This is sort of good news in that it is unlikely the problem is the fobs. The sort of bad news is that it is possibly something wrong vehicle side.

Unfortunately, I haven't come across anything like this before, and I assume the same for other PriusChatters, as no one else has chipped in.

Maybe it is time to have Toyota look at it and see what they say.

 

Rule number one when diagnosing or servicing any battery operated electronic device is change the batteries. It’s cheap, and you get to start from a known standard.

I have had customers replace the batteries in their safe lock when it starts acting up. First thing I do is put in MY brand new batteries and that almost always solves the problem.