The other day we were at the pool and I had the FOB in my beach bag. When we left the pool I just tossed my beach bag in the hatchback portion of the Prius and then got in the front seat to start the car. It would not start and I got that yellowish light flashing with the slash through the key like when you take the FOB away from the car and leave the car running and it indicates that the FOB is not in the car. Why did this happen??, I thought the Prius would start as long as the FOB is anywhere near the car or within a certain range of the car?? The car would not start until I took the FOB out of the beach bag and brought it back up toward the front seat with me. Then it started with no problem at all. If this is any indicator, people that wanted to go jogging and not carry the FOB with them once mentioned in another post that they wanted to hide the FOB someplace near the car but others commented that someone could then start the car and steal it because the FOB was within a certain distance from the car. But obviously, based on my experience on Sunday, this is NOT the case, as the FOB was actually inside my car in the hatchback portion in my beach bag. But it seems as if it was too far from the front seat and therefore the car would not start and that little yellow light came on showing that the FOB was not within range. Very strange..
Your Prius knows the difference between a fob in the front seat and a fob in the hatch area. You must have a fob near the driver's position for the car to start with the SKS. This is done for safety reasons to keep kids from driving off while a parent loads groceries in the back. Tom
Thanks Tom, that does make sense, good to know this. Then in regards to the other thread a while back, anybody hiding a FOB while jogging does not have to worry about someone starting their car and driving off with it. Just as long as the person hides it well and some thief does not find the FOB.
Right, if the fob is placed correctly. A surer method is to wrap the fob in metal foil, which keeps it from talking to the car. Tom
LOL,, you know that reminds me of the movie "SIGNS" when the kids put the foil hats on so the aliens could not read their minds..
The FOB must be within about 1 metre (3 ft) of the sensor. The sensor is in the dash about where you can plug in the FOB. I have stood outside the car with the FOB in my pocket, and stuck my foot inside on the brake pedal, and managed to turn the car to "Ready" (for demonstration purposes to interested people). For unlocking the doors (SKS, different from the theft deterrent system), Pearl wants to see the FOB within 2 metres of a door sensor. Again, from demonstrations to interested people. The SKS is integrated somewhat into the theft deterrent system, but is still separate, as some cars don't have SKS but all have the theft deterrent system.
My GF can leave her purse in the back seat and the car will start w/o any issues apparently. For me the key is always in my pocket.
