So I only have one key fob for my car and about six months ago the battery started dying about every three weeks or so. I don’t know why. I’ve even gone to the point of taking the battery out but I remember to at night sometimes and it doesn’t really extend it much may be a few days. I thought maybe V contacts inside needed to be cleaned so I can scrub them with a brush really good clean them and still no difference. Is there something I can do? A new key fob is expensive Toyota said they were over $200 I don’t really want to spend $200.
You should spend the money for a second fob. If you lose the one you have, It becomes 10x the cost to get one (they have to replace the ECU). JeffD
On our 2022 you can hold the lock button down and, at the same time push the unlock button twice. Keep holding the lock button until the red light on the fob flashes 4 times. This puts the fob effectively to sleep, conserving the battery. I have no idea if it works on earlier generations.
are you leaving the fob inside your car at night or do you keep your keys really close to it in the garage? if it's within range of the SKS sensors it'll drain the battery. There could be something causing a short inside the fob...You may went to spend that money now for a spare while your current one still works.
How close to your car is the fob? If we are talking Gen III Prius, and I think we are with a 2010, I seem to recall from the owners manual that the fob has to be within about 3 feet of the door to be unlocked. But sometimes the vehicle will ping the fob from further away several times a day causing it to power up and use battery energy. Those 3V lithium cells should last a good long time, like 2-4 years. Could be internal damage of the fob too, like if it got run through a washing machine in a pocket and wasn't allowed to dry properly. Look for etching on the internal printed circuit board or damaged electronic parts.
Are you purchasing cheap batteries? And $200 is considered a steal for a second keyfob (at least in my experience)
Our 13 persona pretty much resides in the car all the time the remote that is doesn't seem to die it's been about a year and a half just sitting red light worked yesterday. Now my Gen 2 is a different story we won't go there but both remotes if you open them correctly there's a sticker inside with all the numbers that need to be fooled with to make this happen and I guessing all Gen 3's or SKS so they have a transponder chip more than likely even if the remote doesn't work anymore the transponder will still turn the alarm off in my other Priuses if they're SKS and you can drive the car you just wind up locking the car with the physical key which locks all the doors that one time when you do it still even if the remote doesn't work in my Gen 2 the remote hasn't worked in a long time but with the key in the slot the car is always beeping when you open the door because the transponder requires no battery just like my motorcycle No battery needed no remote transponder equals no power. I thank all that needs power in a locking and unlocking button pushing equal power.
My wife's fobs were having that problem for awhile - until I figured out it was the battery. Cheap Ray-O-Vac batteries (et. al) would die in a few weeks. Switched to Energizer (be careful where you buy it from, as there ARE counterfeits on Amazon, etc.), and no problem since.
Yep those batteries don't last long...I replace ours about every year. And I second that advise to get a 2nd fob pronto....it's big bucks, no whammies, if you have NO fob and have to get the dealer to re-program your computer to use a new one!
My 2004 Fob Batteries lasted about 5 years as did my 2016 (never had to replace a fob battery) in the 4 years it lived) JeffD
I have two 2010 Prius's and the fob batteries last for several years. I made RF safe cases for them and leave the fobs in the cases, tucked in the little pocket in the driver's doors. Of course the vehicles are stored in a locked garage. Much simpler than having to remember to bring the fob with me to use the vehicles. I also keep the keys in all of my other vehicles as well as in the ignitions of my motorcycles. They are locked in the garages or barn. I do this incase I need to get them out of the buildings in a hurry due to a fire or other calamity.
