Does anyone know the expected life of the smartkey battery? What will happen when it dies? I know the mech key will open the dopor, but will the car start?
I've had mine now for just under 2 years, still works. It gets used 3, sometimes 5 times everyday! Love the smartkey...still don't understand a $40,000 + Highlander hybrid without it... Just stick the FOB into the slot on the dash to the right of the steering wheel and press power (foot on brake, of course) as usual.
i have had mine for 20 months and it still works fine and still has probably 100 + feet of range. i dont have SKS which no doubt helps with battery life
I change both batterys, the one in my Classic fob and the one in the wife's 2k4 about a month ago. Took them to a big parking lot, before and after and the Classic now works about twice the distance as before about 100 yards and the 2k4 about 200 feet now. 4 new batterys cost about $9 and the old ones went into the battery recycling box at the wife's workplace.
If you Smart Key battery is dead, you can use the manual key to open the door, then stick the entire key in the slot, like it works on a non-SKS car.
In general, smart key functionality will become flakey as the battery dies. The smart key warning light on the dash will also help to let you know that the battery in the fob is getting close to death. Details are in the manual. The mechanical key in the fob and the fob slot on the dash prevent the car from being unaccesible or undriveable should the battery die unexpectedly. Ever try using the physical key. The physical lock will unlock all the doors or lock all the doors also. Very cool.
