Driving without a key?

its a conceit by the programers. what if you were on the highway and the battery in your fob died. the key would no longer register and the car would say there is no key in the car, and turn off while your are doing 55 or so down the highway.

 

If someone tries to carjack you let them have the car, but keep the key. Let them drive away and you are alive! Once they stop the car, that is the end of their "fun."

 

They could have it check once the car was in park. No danger there.

 

aren't they different programs key check and transmission. would require alot of interactive programing.

 

I'm pretty sure this is not a problem (battery dying) due to the fact that the identifying information in the key is stored in a passive RFID chip which doesn't require an active power source, but receives enough power to transmit its information from a ping from the car.

I have experienced the car running w/o a key issue as well and my friends have asked if it is a security risk. It could be, but it seems that it's no more of a risk than if you were to leave your normal car running.

 

Yea, I was just saying that there's no battery needed in the fob to use the smart key system. The battery is only for the remote (which I never use anyway). True, the car being on would cause it to constantly ping the fob, but i doubt the pings would cause that much of a drain on the battery.

 

If you had a "normal" car and did not shut it off before exiting the vehicle, anyone could get in and drive it away. Same thing with the Prius....you have to turn it off to secure it. Seems pretty obvious to me.

 

I think this is wrong. If your fob battery goes down SKS stops working, you must put the fob in the slot to start the car.

 

I think you guys are right about the fob needing a good battery to use SKS. I have noticed in my car that from time to time when I am driving I will notice the yellow theft deterrent light come on (usually I see that when I walk away from the car with the key in my pocket)even though my fob is well within range. I'm assuming my fob battery is getting low and i need to replace it.

 

prberg-
It might be because you have the fob in the same pocket as your cell phone. That can cause interference between your car and the fob.

 

I've noticed that there is also interference if my fob is in the same pocket as my iPAQ (PDA). Yet another electronic device to keep track of (how many of you have had to search for your coat for your keys because it's been so long since you've needed them in your hands?)

 

I too noticed this at the carwash the other day. I had been putting the key into the slot up to then thinking it was necessary.

My concern is if I switch cars with my wife and forget to give her the key. She, or I, will be in for a surprise when we try and restart the car.

I can see arguments for both points.

Safety and reliability in more situations seems to me to take precedence over security fears.

Except one safety issue I see: if children are in the car and you leave with the key and the car is left on because of a song on the radio, or to keep it cool in the summer thinking it could not be put in to Drive. I will be sure not to do that now, but most people would think that the car could not be driven in that situation.

I think Dan has complained that there is no way to go into acc mode from ready mode without first turning the car off which interrupts the radio, etc. I agree this would be useful to have available.

Are you listening Toyota??

 

Smart key will take some getting used to!

Good Morning--

As a very new Prius owner (my 2005 salsa red prius' odometer registers 46 miles this morning) the vehicle security system and smart key will take some time for me to begin to 'trust' it. I suspect you will be able to spot the new Prius owners easily--they'll be the ones who seem very reluctant to walk away from the car. That's me. As the sole driver, I will always carry the smart key--short of asking strangers to 'try and get into my car', I have to trust that the flashing lights won't lead me astray and that my car is secured.

Buying a Prius purchase was an act of 'Karma correction' for me, my other vehicle is a 13 mph Z71 truck (Big Red). A co-worker, shocked that I bought a hybrid car, suggested someone ought get out a compass and check to see if the Earth's magnetic pole had reversed yesterday.

I'm looking forward to motoring about in 'L'il Red' and getting some experience behind the wheel. I have noticed a couple of interesting things in my less than 24 hours of ownership. 1) People stare at me as I drive--understandable since there are no other Prius' in my small, NASCAR-obsessed town. 2) Mysterious finger prints accumulate on my front driver and passenger side windows when I leave the car in a shopping center parking lot. While I have yet to observe the behavior, I suspect this is part of the "Oh, look at that..." pointing-reflex common among the curious members of our species.

Any other unusual human responses I should prepare for?

Best regards,

Diabrotica

 

If the fob battery gets low or goes dead, SKS quits on you. There is that "emergency" key in the fob to open the door. You can then stick the fob in the dash slot and drive the car.

I'm unclear if using the emergency key will activate the alarm though. Seems to me, with the fob battery dead it won't respond to SKS polling, so won't SKS interpret a non-remote door unlock as a break-in?

Or will it assume the key in the door is correct and deactivate the alarm?

 

Uh, no. Just like Jayman was trying to tell you, the fob needs its battery in order for SKS to work. That's why it warns you when the battery is low.
Here's how SKS works:
One of the oscillators sends a transmit request to the fob. The fob responds and sends its id to the wireless remote receiver. If you look at your fob when using the SKS, you will see the little red light in the upper right corner blink.
If your battery dies, then you can use the mechanical key to open the door, and you then put the fob in the slot. The fob battery isn't needed only if the fob is in the slot, in which case passive RFID is used.