Hi! I happened to lose my smart key off my lanyard on my college campus. I bought this 2005 Prius from a used dealership in my hometown. They only sold me one key with my car. Since I lost it, I need to get a new one and reprogram it. However, I do not know how to reprogram a key without the old one. PLEASE tell me you guys can help me. I am in desperate need of some help. I cannot afford to pay for towing, new key, and programming. Sincerely, BROKE COLLEGE KID
Unfortunately you are out of luck. Without a key to copy/clone the dealership must make a new fob. Big bucks. Shop around for your best bad price...
Okay, so saddest news ever... RIP bank account... do you have any possible other suggestions on how to not make this suck so much??
Without any fob, the dealer also needs to reseed the car too, so the old fob will not work AFAIK. If you have a choice of more than one Toyota dealer, their prices may vary. Perhaps you can buy virgin (unprogrammed) fobs online if you can convince a dealer to reseed the car & program them for you. Already programmed fobs will not work for this.
For a second key fob you can buy a blank from eBay or a private party and save some money, but I don't think the dealership will allow you to do that with the one primary key.
If you happen to have the key code (it's on a small metal tab.... like a dog tag but very small), then you may be in luck and they can reprogram a blank fob. If the previous owner didn't turn in that small metal tab with the codes to the dealer, then you're out of luck and the new set of codes and reprogram will be $$$.
Check your owner's manual - maybe the previous owner wrote the code down. I used to always write in the RADIO code etc - figuring that if someone has broken into the car and stolen the radio, they're unlikely to also steal the owner's manual - but if I have a flat battery and need the code to listen to the radio, I had it handy.
Also, check the lost and found at campus security. Maybe if you are really lucky, someone found and turned it in!
I'm not confident that the number on that tag is useful for anything except cutting a new mechanical key (the part that slides out, and can be used for opening the door). I don't think it helps with fob programming. The thing with fob programming is, it's not all that complicated. If you have a working fob in hand that the car already recognizes, it's just a matter of: show the car the fob it recognizes, tell it you want to add another fob, show it the new fob, done. You can do that with Techstream (just the ordinary "professional" subscription is needed, $55 will last two days); there might even be a non-Techstream "chicken dance" for it (for Gen 2, I'm not sure, but someone must know). But in the situation where you don't have any fob the car already recognizes, it's more complicated: now you need to convince the car it should accept a new fob it has never seen before. That feature in Techstream requires the "security professional" subscription, which doesn't cost any more ($55 for two days or $1095 for a year), but is only available to current members of the "NASTF Vehicle Security Professional Registry." In other words, locksmiths. But they don't necessarily have to be Toyota dealers; if you find an independent locksmith that has Techstream and a security professional subscription, they can set you right up, and the price might be better. TIS subscriptions As for buying fobs, I'm not exactly sure about Gen 2. Gen 1 was easy, you could buy any transponder, new or used, and teach the car to accept it, no problem. Gen 3, I know you can't do that: not only does the car remember the fob, the fob remembers the car, and buying a used fob that was mated to somebody else's Gen 3 means your car won't accept it, so you have to either buy new ones, or used ones that have been "virginized", which you can find on eBay, from people who have figured out how to make them forget the previous car. They cost more than simply used ones, but they'll also work, so there's that. I'm not sure whether Gen 2 fobs are more like Gen 1 or more like Gen 3 that way. I just did a quick search for virginized fobs and I was only getting Gen 3s, so maybe for Gen 2 that wasn't an issue yet. (So, don't take my word for it, check with somebody more sure of the Gen 2 situation.) -Chap
Sorry. No cheap options to report, other than what will correctly work for you. You will have to get a RESET and RESEED performed, since all working Fobs are missing (irregardless if your car is SKS or non-SKS). Price shop various Toyota dealers. Beg them for any discounts (starving student, AAA member, etc). Price shop lock smiths (ie Pop-A-Lock) who have the tools to perform a RESET and RESEED, b/c you lost all working fobs. Read Post #8. It explains SKS well, and has part number for the SKS fob. SKS (Smart Key) Trouble; Hybrid Immobilizer Light | PriusChat You lack the physical key tag, which contained the five digit numeric key code. The dealer would enter this number into their key blank cutter, to produce a working physical key to lock/unlock the driver door. The dealer will be able to retrieve this key code for you, at a cost, or maybe for free if you have them do the RESET and RESEED. A physical key is a good idea b/c if the car's 12V battery should ever die, your only option to gain entry into to vehicle is: tow service to "slim jim" the door to gain entry, break a window, or maybe you left a window open enough to pull on the interior door handle.