:help:I am brand new to this whole format - forum / message board thing - so bear with me! I hope to have some fun, plus give and receive some good info about this incredible automobile that we own or are interested in. I have a couple of questions right off: 1) Are the alloy wheels on my 2008 Touring ugly or something? It just seems odd to have alloy, then cover them with plastic. I tried for a few minutes to pull the wheel covers but they weren't going to come off to easily, so I gave up. I was afraid that I would break the covers, then find out that the alloy was in fact ugly! Any experience with what's behind the veil, and if there's a special trick to taking off the covers? Thanks! 2) At first I thought it was a fluke, but it happens over and over. I fill up, reset TripA or TripB on my dash, pull away from the station, check my multi-info display, and my mileage is zero-d out without my clicking "reset" on the screen, but the mpg average continues. Is there something I'm not getting here? Is this happening to others? Is this by design? By the way - I love this car - poltergeist or not!
This happens to me too. It's normal. I wish toyota gave us the option to keep a lifetime mpg average separately, instead of it being reset with the reset button.
Welcome to PriusChat, Whiteyprius! Yes, it's the smartest car on the road, even if some things are goofy. 1) Pull off with a jerk, but know you will have axle holes in the wheels that you will want to get covers for. 2) You're right, the MPG is cumulative until you press the reset button on the screen, but the tank milage resets automatically with each fill up. Keep all your receipts for gas purchases and note the milage on them, then at the end of the year you can figure your annual average MPG. BTW, MPG goes up as the tires and driver break in :car:
The little removable key just opens the doors, isn't an ignition key. There's a rectangular slot in the dash just below and to the right of the steering column which is the ignition key switch. If the battery in your key-fob is dead, stick the entire fob into that slot and you'll be able to power up the car. Most folk on here air their tires (cold) to 42/40.
Once again, unless I missed something that was in fact there, I'm amazed that such information (How to start the car with a "dead" key fob) is not given in the owners manual (I'll be glad to eat my words if someone can point me to chapter and verse.) Thanks!
Thanks for the info on tire pressure - about the key thing. Does my "dead" fob get powed up by the car's battery to then start the car? (I'm sorry, when I was a kid I always tore apart the toy to see how it worked) Thanks!
No, there's a separate battery in the fob. Do take off the trim rings - the charcoal rims look much nicer. That was my first "mod". I was also afraid to pull too hard too, but Hobbit encouraged me to "just yank 'em off". Glad I did too. Still need to get those little caps for the middle though.
RE: Fob to start car. The fob has a little chip in it, and the slot in the dashboard has a reader. No power in the fob is required for the reader to read it... the power is ONLY needed in order to make the buttons on the fob open the doors, AND/OR to have the SKS system unlock/allow power on with the fob NOT in the slot. Welcome to Priuschat!
Rae Vynn is right, but the slot reader actually powers the chip by sending radio waves into the dead fob to get the chip to talk to it. As long as you want details about the fob, the SKS sensor that allows you to start the car with the fob in your pocket is located in the center console. If you have your fob in your jacket pocket and put your jacket in the back, you may get a long beeeeeep instead of the car going to ready; move the fob closer to the console. SKS sensors in the front doors and the hatch note the proximity of the fob and turn on the interior dome lights when the fob is outside and gets close. To change the battery in the fob, first slide the latch at the bottom and remove the metal key. Continue playing with the latch and sliding the back of the fob down; the back will slide off. You'll need a number 0 phillips screw driver to remove the battery cover. The battery is a CR2032. Be careful not to dislodge the O ring that provides a water-tight seal when you replace the cover and reassemble. Every fob has a unique ID, which only a dealer can match with your car. The car can accept up to four fobs to control it. When two, or more, fobs are in the car, the first one sensed is recognized as the primary fob, so if you have your fob in your pocket, and your wife has her fob in her purse, and you're driving, but she opens the door and gets in first, her fob will be primary. When you drop her off at her karate class, the car, still in READY mode, may give you the three beeps to let you know the primary fob is not in the car. You can set how the car unlocks the doors using the fob. Those directions ARE in the manual.
Wow! I'm really glad to find priuschat and many smart people! Thanks, Bill, for the information. Yes, I have already found the information on how to program the fob. I have mine set to open all doors when I touch the driver or passenger's doors. Much more convenient when I want to throw something in the back seat, or merely travelling with the family. Thanks!
For my personal/security reasons, I prefer to just unlock the driver side door especially when I am travelling alone late at night. If I want to unlock all doors, I simply touch the front passenger door handle. :nod: Welcome to the forum.
