Is there a key for the Prius?

No fob or key needs to leave your pocket, the door unlocks when it senses your hand in the handle, and you pull to open it! Its the coolest feature on the Prius in my opinion. I hope I never have another car without a system like the SKS.

 

Yes. If you have the fob on your person (in pocket or purse) when you touch the door handle (actually I think you have to touch the inside part of the handle?) the door unlocks. That's one of the handiest features of the smart key- you never have to touch it. You can leave your key in your pocket or purse and not have to be fumbling around to get your key out. Very convenient when you're shopping and carrying packages out to the car!

 

If you walk up to the car at night with the fob in your pcket, the interior lights come on without you even touching the car. The doors stay locked until you out your hand around the door handle, but even then you don't quite have to touch.

 

I made a video of the whole process. It takes less than 10 seconds. I could've done it faster if I didn't have the camera in my hand. The two beeps you heard is when it unlocked when I grabbed the door handle.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru7uuvRFD-c[/ame]

 

... However all the energy comes from petroleum

usbseawolf2000, Oops, what about your seatbelt?

 

I did put on my seatbelt. You can hear the click at 16 sec. The camera had to swap hands.

 

I really think that Toyota should be required to start warning customers that SKS is addictive. Once you've got it on the car, you start wanting it everywhere (house, office, etc.)

While I think SKS really is cool, it's not really that unique. Several luxury cars offer similar systems (if you start talking Lexus, it becomes the same system with different badging.)

IMHO, if you really want to talk about cool, it is hands down the whole HSD, the whole thing (ICE, PSD, MG1, MG2, traction battery, the various ECUs, etc.), all working together. That's the really cool part of the car.

 

usbseawolf2000, Sorry, your entry and camera work were so smooth I missed it.
Sorry for any offence I may have caused.

 

I do not know. It's subtle and even the stock windows are slightly tinted. I think there's a bit of a delay so if you walk up and grab the door handle the light just comes on as the door opens like you'd expect.

 

Patsparks,

Don't worry, it is all good. I should have explained it better.

 

Yup, right foot had to be on the brake pedal before pressing the Start button.

I also had my parking brake engaged prior to the entry. I disengaged it with my left foot after pushing the Start button. You could hear the click after I pressed the Start button at 12 sec.

 

I think if you will need to turn off the Smart Key, so the lights will not come on. The lights turn off by itself (fade away) if you stand outside and not open the door in about 30 seconds.

 

Not moot; you need to be very careful with this for these reasons:.

- In the ACC state you will be draining the 12V battery. A couple of hours of the radio can kill it.

- in the IG-ON state you will be draining the big traction battery. It would probably run the radio all day, but the air conditioning will also be active and that can drain the big battery in a few minutes.

The safest thing is to simply shift the car to Park, set the parking brake, leave it ON (that is, running normally and Ready to drive) and let it manage the batteries itself as it was designed to do. The engine will start and run from time to time as needed to recharge the batteries, so you should not do this if you are parked in a completely enclosed space (a un-ventilated one car garage, etc.). In an open space it's perfectly safe; people sleep all night in their Priuses with them ON. A full tank of gas will last as long as a couple of days doing this.

 

I have my lights always disabled by switching all the light buttons to OFF. The reason is to not accidentally drain the 12V battery if any door is ajar (especially the hatch). Also because when I work on the car, or vacuum or whatever, I usually leave the door(s) open for a long time. I've also disconnected the lights under the front doors for the same reasons.

I've found that I rarely need to turn the inside dome lights on, and when I need to I just turn them On manually then turn them Off when I'm through.

 

In short, you never have to take the key out of your pocket (or purse).

 

I had removed the center console this weekend while installing my Sirius receiver. Turns out (I might have seen this but had forgotten) that the fob sensor for the ignition is located inside the console. When I went to go to the store this morning I got the "no key" beep when I pushed the power button. After a second or two I realized what the problem was and stuck the fob in the dash slot and all was well.

 

You also have a choice of using the fob to open and start your Prius or go manually with the key as any other car. I would never do that I think the smart key is great.