We gave our 2008 to our daughter who lives in NYC. Che only uses the car once a week, at best. Often just to move to a new parking spot (street cleaning rules, etc.) Anyway, this week the car needed a jump. Mechanic suggested she needs to actually drive it a good 15 minutes every week, which makes sense. A friend also suggested disabling the Smartkey System to save a bit more battery life. So, how do you disable the SKS in the 08? And does this mean she just uses the metal key to lock and unlock the car? And insert the fob into the slot every time? Thanks. Tim
There's a button well below the steering wheel (almost near the pedals) that says "SKS OFF". You can use that to disable the Smart Key System. No, you can still lock/unlock with the remote keyless entry function (lock/unlock buttons on the fob) like a normal car with remote keyless entry. However, yes, you have to insert the fob before press the POWER button to start the car.
even 15 minutes a week is going to be prolematic. it does not sound like a good situation going forward. normally, i would recommend a maintainer in a case like this. since she parks in the street, i would recommend a new battery, and drive it 15 minutes a day, or less days but longer each time
