OK - so I put my Prius in park, turn it off, get out of the car, and push the black button on the driver's door handle. Car beeps as expected, and beeps again approx. 30 seconds after I walk away from the car - no problem. Then periodically throughout the day, it beeps once. Is my car just trying to say "hi" or what??
When you lock the car with the black button it should beep once and then no more. Are you sure you shut the car completely off? It almost sounds like the warning you get when walking away with the car running.
If the FOB is being pushed, and you're close enough to activate it, that could do it. The car is probably being repeatedly locked or unlocked by something nearby. If it is being unlocked, it will relock itself after 30 seconds if no doors are opened. If the fob is close enough, then the SKS also could be activated by something as well. If one of the door sensors is shorted with the fob nearby the car will unlock then lock after the door is not opened.
Reminds me of the story of when I once dropped by to visit my Mother and Father shortly after they purchased a new car (not a Prius). We were sitting at a table located next to an outside wall where the car was parked. As we visited the horn let out a single honk. About ten minutes later it did it again. Then a short while later it did it again and I noticed my Father shifted his seating position at the same time. I asked him if he carried the keyfob on his key ring (my Father was notorious for carrying a ton of keys on his key ring). He said 'yes.' I asked him to take his keys out of his pocket and lay them down on the table. An hour later I pointed out to him that the honking from the car stopped. He never carried the fob on his key ring unless he was going to drive the car by himself.
I know that I am turning the car off - I put it in park and press the power button. The dashboard display shows the transmission graphic ("P" is backlit showing it in park) for a minute longer then all goes black.
I always put my FOB in my purse which is in my house. My car is parked in our driveway, so the FOB and the car are well outside of the 3 feet that the Owner's Manual says is the effective range of the SKS. However, I will try putting them somewhere where I know the FOB will not be pushed.
The fob has a much longer range than three feet. The three foot limit is for the SKS part of the fob. The manual buttons have more range. Tom
Ah, yes. I see that now. It helps if you actually read, and not skim. I will put my FOB where it cannot be activated. One more little piece to the puzzle, though. My co-worker just said he has heard the beeping while I am parked at work. The car is parked a good 5 stories below me, underground. I can't imagine that the FOB would work that far away?!
Does your coworker note the lights flashing as they do when you lock/unlock? And that high-pitched beep is VERY hard to locate even out in the open, and certainly in an enclosed parking garage. All Toyotas and Lexuses (Lexi?) make the exact same beep.
Want to try something quite interesting? Slowly back away from your car while pushing the lock button and find the point where pushing the button no longer illicits a response from your car (you just stepped out of range). Now hold your fob up to your chin and while touching your chin, press the lock button again. See what happens? Now continue to back away and see how much farther away you can move before the car looses the signal again. It is quite amazing!
First, there is no need to push Park. Just push the Power button. The system will automatically put it in Park before powering down. Your post indicates that it takes a minute before the display goes dark. It should go dark immediately. Are you sure you're not going into ACC?
That doesn't sound very safe! Then again, you could be opening your brain to a whole new set of possibilities!
I know I don't HAVE to push Park; it is a left over habit from my days with the "old" automatic transmissions. If you don't put them in Park before you turn the car off, you get that rather embarrassing stutter! The computer display (the one with the power flow graphics, climate control, audio control, etc.) goes dark immediately. As do all of the indicator lights (including the "Ready" indication). The radio and A/C all turn off immediately. The only thing still showing is the indicator showing the "gear" the transmission is in on the display where your speed, gas, etc. That is the one that takes a little while to go dark.
OK - that didn't work. I put my keys on a key hanger, well out of the reach of my 2-yr old even, and the car still beeped about 3 hours after I locked it and left it alone. Does anyone know if there is a difference to the SKS between using the door button to lock the car and using the FOB?
From all the posts it appears the door electronics module is freaking out. I'd take it to the dealer and have them evaluate.
jnoble, you're not going crazy. I just noticed yesterday that my Prius is beeping also............. Edited to add... ok, I guess I'm the one going crazy. Turns out the beeping is the unit in my garage for the electric fence. Oops! Now, to see if there's an invisible fence message board to find out why THAT is beeping every minute!
