Last week my husband & I traded in an '05 Prius for an '07. I had purchased an extra SmartKey (for $273, including programming) for the '05 and assumed I could have it reprogrammed for the new car. The salesman from whom we purchased the '07 said it couldn't be done. So I relinquished the mechanical key from the extra SK, but held onto the fob because I'd seen posts on this forum about using old fobs with new keys (i.e. , after reprogramming). Before phoning the service dept of the '07 dealer (different from the dealer from whom we bought the '05), I phoned the '05 dealer's service dept to check whether the extra SK I'd bought from them could be reprogrammed for the '07. I spoke to a service advisor who said a new mechanical key could be ordered for the '05 fob, which could then be reprogrammed to the '07 vehicle. The new key would cost about $5-15 and reprogramming would cost $80. So I went ahead and made an appointment with the service dept of the '07 dealer to have this done. About an hour or so after I'd dropped off the car, I was informed that my old fob could not be reprogrammed. When I explained that I'd researched the matter and had been told it could, the service person claimed there was no software for reprogramming the old fob. Today, I phoned the '05 dealer's service dept and asked to speak to a service advisor. The receptionist wanted to know what I needed and when I explained insisted she could answer my question herself. Her story was that the '05 fob can't be used with the '07 vehicle because each model year's SK contains a chip that only works with the same model year vehicle's computer. As someone who has worked with computers and a wide variety of wireless devices for the past 23 years, this makes no sense to me! Plus, the fact that I got 3 different stories from 3 different Toyota workers makes me suspicious. Does anyone out there know the real deal on this? Frustrated,
I find it hard to believe that the fobs are year specific. I looked into ordering a replacement fod and the question, "What year Prius is this for?" was never raised. I have also seen dealerships that sell them online, but they are listed only as "Prius 2004-07 w/SKS", which would indicate to me that all 2004 - 2007 fobs are the same. Check http://www.metrotoyota.com/ou/brookpark-to...der_accessories to see what I mean.
I thought I had heard that 2006-2007 models can't use a 2004-2005 fob. I hope Galaxee weighs in on this thread, because she (or DH) is sure to know.
mcbrunnhilde is correct. the part number changed along the way, and the new ones can work with the 04-05s but the old ones are not compatible with the 06-07s.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jun 17 2007, 12:16 AM) [snapback]463296[/snapback]</div> So how do you distinguish between the two different keys? What are the old and new part numbers?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jun 17 2007, 12:16 AM) [snapback]463296[/snapback]</div> Thanks for the info. Guess I'll have to save up for a new extra SK.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ Jun 17 2007, 06:32 PM) [snapback]463602[/snapback]</div> Actually, according to this thread (you have to read all the way to the bottom for the full story on part numbers) <http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=33358&hl=SmartKey>, there's no difference in the numbers inscribed on the keys. I checked this by opening the battery cases on both my '05 and '07 fobs, and it was true. So I guess the different part numbers only show up when the fobs are scanned by special devices at dealer service centers.
