I own a 2007. A friend who owns a 2008 claimed to me that he can recharge his keyless entry key fob by inserting into the dash. Since I can't locate a 2008 manual online, it's difficult to verify whether or not this is the case. And searching priuschat with words like "recharge" and "rechargable" (in this case) is an exercise in futility . Any 2008 owners care to comment? Thanks!
It's not rechargeable. Why does your friend think that it is? (I'll guess that the salesanimal told him so.)
My guess would be the salesguy. On a side note, my FOB is going on 3 years with the original battery.
Mine's coming up on four years. I almost always use the car's buttons for locking, though; using the fob for locking would no doubt reduce the battery life.
Yes but it's still communicating with the car, otherwise how do you think the car knows whether to unlock the doors or not when someone touches the door handle?
Probably a salesman. I have a friend/coworker that also has a 08. He got his about a month before I got mine. He told me that putting his key in the slot would recharge the battery. I assume his salesman told him that. When I got mine I read the manual and realized that it does not charge. I mentioned it to him and he read his manual and for sure there is nothing about charging. Steve
TP, I was being conservative. Battery life depends on how you use the fob, and, perhaps, where it lives when you're not driving. You're right, the car and fob are always trying to carry on a dialog, or rather, the car is always asking Are you there? and the fob responds I'm here if it "hears" the call. The car's "voice" only carries about 15 to 20 feet (4.5 - 6 m), so you should keep your fob farther away than that to minimize radio chatter and maximize fob battery life. I recall a few years ago a PCer who kept having her fob battery die. It turns out she parked in her garage and was in the habit of dropping her fob in a little basket just inside the kitchen as she entered her house, about eight feet (2.5 m) from her car. The car constantly polled the fob until the fob's battery died after only a few months.
Just did one of mine (we have 4) and it's nearly 4 years old. It was getting flakey. Here's the link (with pics) to change it: 2004 Prius Keyfob Battery Change It says "tiney phillips screwdrive" and the DO mean tiny.
