I live in the country, and right near my driveway is a powerline (it's about 15-20 feet away). I do not have a prius yet, but I'm planning on getting one really soon. My question is will it be any problem for the car or the battery or anything? It isn't any problem for any of my cars here, but I wasn't sure if the prius was any different. Would it be a problem if I decided to add the smart key? Thanks!
A power line should be OK. If you had a large transmitting antenna next to your house you might have a problem.
You'll be fine...you'll just start getting mad b/c you can't use that power line to plug your car in to charge a battery.
I would say that as long as the power line is more than 6 feet off the ground you shouldn't hit them. No worries! Seriously though, you're concern is not a new one. But to date, power lines or any external power source has ever posed a problem.
If you had a commercial broadcasting radio or television antenna next door, that might be a problem. If you lived on a hill and were next door to a forest of microwave and cellphone antennas, that might be a problem. If you lived near a naval base and had aircraft carriers and their associated aircraft creating radio waves, that might be a problem. Otherwise you should be good to go.
Even this is HIGHLY unlikely to cause problems. The SmartKey is digital, so any signal not strong enough to fry a chip (put it in a micro wave or right in front of a MW antenna). I work right next to the Emergency Services Department for our county. There is a large tower there, with many antennas plus cell phone antennas (Sorry Latinologists and biologists). I am parked closer to the tower than the tower is tall with no problems. The electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear explosion might take out your Prius' electronics, but that would be the least of your worries.
