[Mini Mo]

I just bought a 2006 Prius that will be kept in a garage in New York, which means that the key needs to stay in the car (so the garage attendants can move the car as needed). What is the best way to do this so as not to drain the battery?

I disabled the Smart system, but the car's transmitter keeps sending out signals anyway. According to the manual, the car should stop sending signals after ten minutes but it didn't. The only way I could get the car to stop sending signals was to leave the the key fob in its slot. Can the key fob be left in its slot for days on end?

 

[richard schumacher]

Yes, it's safe. Not wanting to experiment with it I don't think you can lock the doors that way except with the mechanical key, but in your situation you don't want to lock it.

Uhh, what led you to conclude that the Smart Key transmitter was still active even when the SKS button was off? The flashing car+key icon on the dash is for the security system, not the SKS.

 

[DanMan32]

The only way to tell that the car is transmitting is when the fob responds. In that case, the red light on the fob will blink.

If you can't unlock the car with your hand touching the rear of the door handle, or you can't lock it with the little black square buttons on the door, SKS is off.

Another tip to save on the 12V battery is that the headlights are off, and not just auto-off.

 

[Sanny]

Take the battery out of the fob. The Prius will recognize the fob in the slot for powering up, but you can be sure there's no other discussion between the fob and the car. Metal key in the fob will unlock the door if someone needs to.

 

[Mini Mo]

Thank you for all your reponses! I will let them leave the key fob in its slot without a care in the world. :lol:

I do want to leave the battery in the key fob, though, because I would still like an "old-fashioned" key fob that locks and unlocks the door with the push off a button. I just didn't want a key fob that drained the battery in the interim.

As for the security system, I did not realize that the flashing car+key icon blinks constantly when the vehicle immobilizer system is ready. I was overwhelmed by the first forty pages of the 450-page manual and apparently now need to read the remaining 90%. 8)

 

[richard schumacher]

Take the battery out of the fob. The Prius will recognize the fob in the slot for powering up, but you can be sure there's no other discussion between the fob and the car. Metal key in the fob will unlock the door if someone needs to.

That wouldn't help if the SKS were not turned off using the button under the dash. The transmitter would still transmit whether or not there were any fob to answer.