2005 Prius. 220K miles. Smart/Keyless entry. 2 Key Fobs. 1 of them, the one I carry, got really banged up and the front rubber/plastic cover deteriorated to where the button covers were gone and one could see the circuit board underneath. I never use the buttons so didn't bother with it. About a month ago, sporadically when I approached the car the panic alarm would go off. Immediate thought is that the button is getting pressed in my pocket. However I was able to replicate it with the FOB in the palm of my hand face up with nothing touching any buttons. Next thought is/was that dust/dirt must be shorting out the panic button. Ordered a new Key Fob case from amazon, disassembled the old FOB, cleaned the board with isopropyl and q-tips. I still have the issue. I can see the little indicator light on the key fob blinking Red when I approach the car. The keys, otherwise, still work fine. The second key FOB, carried by my wife, doesn't do this at all. Any suggestions other than dropping $$$ to buy a replacement FOB? Disabling the panic alarm altogether is def. an option if It's DIYable. I have no need for any alarms on this car.
If you can get a used fob from a salvage yard and chicken dance the programming. I did this for a third fob as a spare works perfectly fine. As long as one fob works perfectly you can easily program more. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
When you transferred the circuit board did you hit it with compressed air to make sure no dust was lurking in any connections?
