Help with Smart Key Programming for 2006 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by frugalfella, Dec 15, 2024.

  1. frugalfella

    frugalfella New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2024
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    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi everyone,
    First post,

    I recently bought a 2006 Prius from Facebook Marketplace. The car came with only one key, a Smart Key, but it doesn’t seem to fully function. Here’s the situation:

    1. The Smart Key does not lock or unlock the car remotely.

    2. I can only unlock the car using the physical metal key.

    3. I can only start the car by inserting the key into the ignition port.

    4. I replaced the battery on the Smart Key, and I can confirm the buttons work because the little red light on the key turns on whenever I press them.

    I purchased an OBD reader and Techstream software from eBay, intending to program the car myself. However, I ran into an issue during the programming process:

    • When Techstream asks me to hold the lock button on the key, it fails at this step because the key does not lock or unlock the car at all.

    I’m unsure how to proceed from here.

    Additionally, I have not yet purchased a second key because I want to figure out what to do with the current key before investing in another one.

    Has anyone else experienced this issue? Do I need to reprogram the current key first, or is there something else I should try? Any advice on next steps would be greatly appreciated!
    Thanks in advance for the help!
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
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    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    A few things:

    1) There's a button under the steering wheel that allows you to turn the smart key function on and off...

    2) You can confirm your car is equipped with SKS (some are not) by access the spare tire area and looking for a white box about twice as a big as a matchbox on the driver's side above the spare tire wheel well. If it's not an SKS Prius its way easier to program the FOBs.

    3) It sounds like person who sold the car had the original RFID chip inside the FOB that starts the engine when FOB is in the slot, as well as physical key to open the door, but they put it in a FOB that's not programmed for the car and you might need to do a wipe and reseed of the immobilizer to get new FOBs to work normally.
     
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  3. frugalfella

    frugalfella New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2024
    2
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    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    1. The button for smart key function under steering is in the on position

    2. I found the white box in the trunk

    3. If i were to do a wipe and reseed, I saw on the forum i have to buy a seed?