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Any way to have my Prius auto lock the doors?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Ironworks, Apr 11, 2005.

  1. Ironworks

    Ironworks New Member

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    When I walk up to my Prius the light automatically comes on. Why did Toyota not automatically lock the doors when it does not sense the smart key anymore? It would seem fool proof, not leaving you lock your key in the car. It would not present a problem reentering your vehicle since it unlocks at your touch anyway.

    Is there a hack or work around to do this?

    Can anyone point me to the thread I stumbled across about the #4 package alarm just being disabled and able to be turned on?

    Thanks!
     
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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  3. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    I'm the guy with the Auto-Lock module. It is built to lock the doors after a variable delay at startup and a variable delay at shutdown. There is currently a quirk with the module; the "lock after startup" function only works about 80% of the time. The problem is, I haven't yet figured out why not, although my latest theory is that sometimes the voltage is quite high on the trigger wire and is throwing off the module. I will be experimenting with a voltage regulator later this week to see if that fixes the problem, but testing is difficult because I won't know if it's fixed until I drive around for a week.

    In contrast, the "Auto-Lock AFTER shutdown" function has never failed. The best workaround I can offer you is to set the "Auto-lock at startup" to 5 seconds, and also install my "Auto-UNLOCK at shutdown" module which has a fixed 5 second delay before LOCKING at startup. That way, if the one module fails, you would be certain to have this function.

    This two-module solution seems to work quite well. Here's the scenario: Walk up to car. Smart key is active, door unlocks and alarm disarms when you touch the handle. Open door, get in. Power up the car. 5 seconds later, all doors lock. Drive for a while. Park. Power down car. (45 second delay begins). After 45 seconds, OR after opening either front door, all doors unlock, and the countdown timer (adjustable, typically 60 seconds) begins. After the countdown timer, all doors lock. If any door or the hatch is open at that time, the system will wait indefinitely for you to close all door and the hatch, then 30 seconds later, the alarm will set.

    You can purchase the two module solution for $125 and includes free shipping anywhere in the contigous USA. Or, you may wait and see how my voltage regulator works out for the one module solution; it might be a few weeks, and it might not solve the problem.

    Also, please understand, the system is obviously still in development. I have yet to observe a failure to lock after shutdown, but am paying close attention to make sure the car locks every time. If you have valuables in your car, or are not comfortable with the neighborhood, push the lock button on the outside of the door. I would feel really bad if your ipod was stolen because the module failed to lock. Again, this hasn't happened, but I want to make it clear that this is a aftermarket workaround, not an official Toyota solution.

    Be sure to read my long winded disclaimer before deciding to purchase.

    http://priuschat.com/forums/auto-lock-afte...ble-vt7283.html

    Nate
     
  4. raf

    raf Junior Member

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    Coastal Electronic Technologies sells an auto door lock kit. Their web site is http://www.coastaletech.com. I have it installed on my Prius and it works well, locking the doors when the car reaches 15 mph. The only problem is that I would like to have the doors unlock when the driver's door is opened. Sometimes I get out of the door and find that the back door is locked when I try to get something out of the back seat.
     
  5. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    raf, that is precisely what my UNLOCK module is for. (The locking feature of UNLOCK module is optional).

    Let me know if you want one.

    Nate
     
  6. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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  7. raf

    raf Junior Member

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    I didn't see a description of the unlock function in your posts. Can you give me a more specific pointer?
     
  8. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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