Sure sounds like a batch of bad remotes. The Chamberlain opener at my current home, I had a bad batch of three of them. There were no questions asked, they accepted the dead one and gave me another one, shrink wrapped. As it turned out, the brand new shrink wrapped one was also dead. It's fun trying to program a dead clicker into the opener. Like a certain YouTube I posted here, I ended up screaming many bad words at the opener and the remote The Chamberlain at the hobby farm, I also had a couple bad clickers. In that case, they worked fine out of the box, about two months later quit working.
Gee, thanks Tom! Wish I had thought of that! Thanks Jayman, appreciate your answer. I might just kill a few more in the name of research...but not by running over them.
Just a quick update for all of the skeptics out there...we (the HOA) ordered a new batch of remote openers. I put a new one in the car and it worked beautifully...for about 8 weeks. Then one day...NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a researcher by education and trade and can say definitely that the car can not be ruled out! So I'm back to having to use the keypad at the entrance each day.
You are correct that your car cannot be ruled out with the existing data. However, that does not mean that the car is the likely culprit. There is nothing special with the Prius that is likely to kill a remote control. Conditions in a Prius are very similar to those inside all automobiles. I still suspect poor quality remote controls. Perhaps heat or other environmental factors are aiding in their early deaths. Tom
Get a voltmeter. Open the remote. What voltage do you find on the battery? Then while pressing the button on the remote measure the voltage again. If you are still keeping the remote in your pocket all day the simplest explanation is that the button is getting pushed repeatedly and wearing down the battery. This happens all the time when I carry my remote while doing yard work. If you find that the battery voltage is low, replace it and keep the remote in your car, not your pocket.
It would be helpful if we knew the exact model of the gate opener. Are the "dead" clickers simply thrown out, or are they examined? Eg dead battery, dead oscilator, etc?
