Smart Key Works Everywhere Except in Ignition Slot

I have this same exact problem. Were you able to find a solution?

Please help!

 

maybe something broken in the slot?

 

Gen2 (2004-2009) Prius have 2 encoding systems in the keyfob. It would appear that only the proximity / remote key portion has been set up. The transponder (key in dash) function has to be set up separately. Notice that there are 2 chicken dances, the short one for the transponder and the longer one for proximity/remote key.

 

rob, can you help @CatCar ? she seems to have the same problem.

 

I had the same problem when I damaged my fob while trying to replace the battery. I purchased a new fob shell and inserted the old circuit board with a fresh battery. The key fob door lock/unlock buttons worked fine, but i couldn't start the car. It turns out that the original fob also contained a small magnet (inside the fob - at the end that gets inserted in the key slot). Removing the magnet and installing it in the new fob fixed the problem.

 

I've got a similar situation, and this thread has helped me see the problem- but still need help if someone can chime in. I had one good key for my Prius, and at some point the button covers broke off, so I replaced the key innards into a new fob shell. I did not know about the magnets, and so my key has worked for the last several years in proximity mode only apparently. Now, I have purchased an OEM fob and tried many times to perform the chicken dance, but since my one good key doesn't work in the ignition slot- it doesn't put the car in "program mode" when inserting the key in 5 times. Any ideas?

 

Hi and welcome to PriusChat

They are not magnets, they are RFID chips. It is what the reader in the key slot reads to enable the car to proceed to start.

Unfortunately, your key is not a good one.

Because your current fob is not complete (i. e. it is missing the RFID chip), ...

... you will need to delete and reseed and then add your keys back to the car. There are posts in the Gen 2 forums that will take you through how to do that. Use the Advanced search (Press the "More..." button on the search popup window) to limit your searches to just the Gen 2 forums and child forums.

Good luck.