Questions about Smart Key system
Created December 9, 2006, at 2:48 am by DMImakai
My husband and I just purchased our new Camry Hybrid and are both excited about it. However, we are a bit confused about the Smart Key/keyless remote that is included. Any assistance would be most appreciated (I saw the post about how to disable the smart key system):
1. I know the smart key is cool and all, but is it possible to entirely disable the system and replace it with a traditional entry/ignition key? We both think the key fob/remote is very bulky. My cell phone is not much bigger!
2. How much of a concern is leaving the key fob within 7 feet of the car? (the manual mentions this). Our driveway is immediately next to our front door. We usually leave our keys near the front door as a matter of habit, but if this is going to unlock the car obviously we don't want to do that.
3. Have you found that keeping your smart key/wireless remote fob with your cell phone or near other devices (like TV or PC) lessens the battery life of the fob? The manual says not to keep those devices together, but I gotta say that is completely ridiculous -- I carry my keys and my cell phone in my purse, and my husband often carries both in his pockets. Is this a real concern, or just CYA in the manual?
4. How difficult is it to get a replacement smart key? I saw some info on line about jacked up prices and inconvenience in doing so. I was thinking of going ahead and buying one before we need it, along with replacement batteries.
TIA
DMI
Honolulu
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I can only help you with #3. I keep the smart key in my purse next to my cell phone. It's been there since July and hasn't caused a problem with either device.
I like the smart key and wish the doors to my house had one so I never had to pull out my key.
Thanks for the info, folks. Its not that I don't like the smartkey system -- although admittedly it is a bit weird at first -- its just that I don't want to carry the big fob around. Laziness, I guess.
The smartkey is the coolest invention for cars since the hybrid but I can see your points. My suggestion is to take out a home equity loan and have a contractor build you a garage with lead sheet lined walls to stop the radio waves from the smartkey possibly travelling to you car not to mention the lead sheets will also stop deadly radiation rays from the planet krypton. I would also stock up on bateries and keep a set at home and in the glove compartment.
1) people other than the driver have immediate access to the car
2) A quick-thinking car thief could easily jump in ahead of the driver, push the start button and steal the car.
Since there are no customizing options for Smart Key besides "On" or "Off," I thought my wife had a valid point.
Oh and Hybrid Norcal, a lead-lined garage isn't necessary to protect against "deadly radiation rays from the planet krypton." A tin foil beanie should do the job quite nicely ;)
figure2, the smartkey only opens all doors if you (the person with the fob in pocket) approach the passenger door or hatchback and put your fingers under the handle there. You might have mistakenly thought it did because you have one fob and wife has the other.;)
Try this: enable smartkey, give smartkey to wife, lock all doors. You must not have a fob. If wife is alone, she would be getting in the driver's side door, not passenger, right? So you pretend to be bad guy on other side of car. Have wife use smartkey to open driver's side door by approaching it and placing fingers under the handle. At the same time, you attempt to open any door you like. IT WILL NOT WORK.
So while your aims to keep wife safe are admirable, they have nothing to do with smartkey's ability. You could even argue that the smartkey would make her safer, not having to fumble around in purse for keys or have keys out already where unseen thieves would be able to grab them. Could even confuse evildoers into thinking she's going to a different car.
hookem-horns, I just tested my Smart Key System and you're right. It worked just like you said. I wish my owner's manual had explained this in more detal.
I made one additional discovery. I opened the driver's side door and then handed the fob to my wife who was standing outside the car but still close to the door. The car wouldn't start. Smart Key apparently knows if the fob is inside or outside of the car and will only start if the driver brings the car inside.
hence "smart"-key
I love the smart key on my 2006 Prius. I didn't, however, like having to unlock the passenger and rear passenger doors for my wife and kid whenever I opened the driver door.
I read the manual and followed the instructions on how to change the behavior so that when I unlock the drivers door (by touching it) it also unlocks the other doors. It's configurable. Very cool.
So not only do you not have to worry about the other doors being unlocked if you don't want them to, you also can configure it so that they will be!
Even smarter than i thought! :D
Now for those of us so lazy as to want to avoid looking stuff up in the manual (smartkey lovers, after all, not exactly the kind of go-getters who reach for keys), or for others who may have spilled something on the manual and made it less than readable (tailgating is hell on manuals--they are usually parked in the glovebox right next to the napkins), could you please please please summarize the directions for us here????
There is no little smiley person on knees begging or i would put one here. ;)
I absolutely love the keys! The only drawback is the hurricanes and that long bridge to get there....but all things considered a few margaritas when you get there takes care of that! Now that's smart! :p
Happy Hump Day!
Crybrid:p
My first day with my new Camry Hybrid and I was trying to figure out the Smartkey system. My son ran across the road with the key. The trunk still opened. So did the doors. Read the manual over and over. Finally figured out the problem. I just drove home from the dealership. So my spare key WAS IN THE CAR. So, it always allowed opening.
Anyway, now that I'm used to the Smartkey system, I think it's pretty cool. My son does too. Like others, I'm so used to not fumbling for my keys or phone that I expect to just walk in to my front door and have it open automatically. You get used to good things fast.
Not that I can't wait for winter (I live in Toronto), but it'll be great in winter when I don't have to take my keys or phone out of my pocket to lock or unlock the doors or trunk or to make or receive phonecalls.
I doubt the interference the manual is talking about is anything more than CYA stuff too. My mom has a pacemaker so I was worried about that too. And I think the diagrams in the manual show that the activation area is very small - not usually where the front door would be so close to the car. It's easy enough to test out.
Here's the procedure:
CHANGING THE DOORS TO BE UNLOCKED
Each time you push the lock button
together with the panic button on the
smart key for about 5 seconds with the
hybrid system off, the setting for door
unlocking will change as follows:
1. Driver’s door unlocking mode: If you
perform smart unlocking operation on
the driver’s door, it will unlock. Performing
unlocking operation on the
front passenger’s door or back door
will unlock all the doors. When the
system switches to this mode, one
beep sounds inside the vehicle and two
beeps sound three times.
2. All doors unlocking mode: Performing
smart unlocking operation on either
front door or back door will unlock all
the doors. When the system switches
to this mode, one beep sounds inside
the vehicle and two beeps sound twice.
3. Single door unlocking mode: The
driver’s door or back door on which
you perform smart unlocking operation
will unlock. However, performing unlocking
operation on the front passenger’s
door will unlock all the doors.
When the system switches to this
mode, one beep sounds inside the vehicle
and two beeps sound once.
My Camery has constant key problems.
I dont think I will ever get anohter Toyota again they are not well built like they used to be.
Karen
I have a 2007 Camry Hybrid. The other day I forgot to turn the car off when I parked. Four hours later I was outside and noticed the car was still on. The smartkey was about 40 feet away from the car. I asked the service guy at the local Toyota dearlership about this, as I thought the car should have shut off on its own with the smartkey being so far away. Toyota said the the car would have continued to run until it either ran out of gas or someone shut it off. Someone could have gotten in the car and driven off and the car would have continued to run until they shut it off. Once shut off they would not have been able to restart it because they would not have the smart key. I don't like their answer to this. I assume the service rep knows what they are talking about. Just wanted to share this little bit of info.
actually, if you step out of the car with the car still running and the keyfob is on you, you should be hearing a beeping sound from out side of the car tlling you that the car is running and the fob is outside of the vehicle.
if the car automatically shut down every time you walk out with the fob, them you will not be able to warm up the car on freezing winter mornings and run back inside without leaving the fob in the car itself.
with any human invention, there is always some drawback but the benefits usually outwiegh them. same here with the smartkey, it is really convinient but it is not perfect.
I wish the alert 'beeping' to let you know you've left the keyfob in the car or the car on were just a little louder, though. If you're in a high-traffic area, or hard of hearing, they can be difficult to hear.
One solution, though, is to use a Club and lock it to the steering wheel every time you leave. Even if you accidentally leave the car on, a potential thief probably will see the club and move on before they notice! The quietness of the motor is a little freaky.
I have a 2005 prius w/smart key...all of a sudden the driver's door smart option does not work anymore...all the other doors work fine, what could be the problem? Thanks
I never forget to turn my 08 TCH off because I love to see it say "Excellent!" at the end of my trip! :-)
no wonder a smart key was developed.. there are an awful lot of dummies out there.
Memo to Patricia:
Don't forget to turn off your car. I'm amazed that someone would even need to tell you this. Have you ever forgotten to get dressed before leaving your house?
I am looking at buying a camry hybrid, and was wondering what the black button is on the 2 front door handles. I assume it is a part of the smartkey.
With the Smart key system, you can keep the key fob in your pocket the whole time. The black button is what you hit to lock the car when you get out so you don't have to dig the fob out of your pocket.
Note that the car usually senses if the key fob is inside or out, although it's not always perfect. So if you leave the keys in the car, shut the door and hit the black button, it should sense that you left the keys inside and NOT lock the doors. Instead, it beeps loudly at you as a warning.
The digital key fobs are cool however their are those few issues, yes expensive around 460 dollars to replace the whole unit. beware of online retailers that sell these identical keys for a slightly lesser fee however a trip to the dealer with your wallet will still be required as the keys do not come programed and also the inner valet key is around $120 (included in the $460) and has to be ordered from the manufacturer so ordering before you need it is a good idea. You dont need to worry about the seven feet thing, that car will not recieve the signal unless fob is located within two feet of door handle on either side which is about seven feet from the transmiter located in a black box in a unknown location in the motor compartment. I think you might be a bit silly in the fact the size of the fob is no larger than the remotes for any of my vehicles and eliminates the keys, considering my home happens to be automated this completley eliminates keys fo me! I f you want a standard key, well then it kinda sucks that you paid the extra costs associated with the smartkey! As far as electronics I only try to keep the key fob away from hard drives and unprotected credit cards but not for batterie reasons but simply possible magnetic issues> I hope this might help. I have a 09 tch with 20" wheels, hid headlight kit, underbody leds, dynomat dampening kit throughout, custom smoke burl wood water transfering on select interior parts, interior lights converted to leds, sound system and tint on 8/8 windows
I have never used the valet option on the smart key and want to take the car to be detailed for my husband. How does it work??? I have the 2006 Prius. Do I take the smaller "key" out of the fob, put it in the ignition and then take the fob with me? Does this allow the attendants to drive the car?
Hi, I have a 06 Prius with the smart key system. Actually, there are settings - you can set it to only open the drivers door when that door handle is touched. The others stay locked. IF you touch the front passenger door handle, they all unlock. I feel that this is actually safer than a key lock - if you are nervous about someone around you, this setting allows you to quickly get in the drivers door WITHOUT having to nervously fumble with a key, and the others remain locked. Yes, there is a setting where they all unlock, and yes, that doesn't seem safe. Just check the manual and put it on the safer setting.
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