smart key on 2007 xle

[jgosney]

Hi all,

We just bought a 2007 XLE this weekend and it has the smart key system. My wife had a question about it that I can't seem to find in the owners manual...

I know that if the battery in the key goes dead, I can use the manual key to open the door. But there doesn't seem to be a way to start the car with the manual key. If the battery in the smart key fob is dead, am I just out of luck until the battery can be replaced?

[Tobeit]

Originally Posted by jgosney

Hi all,

We just bought a 2007 XLE this weekend and it has the smart key system. My wife had a question about it that I can't seem to find in the owners manual...

I know that if the battery in the key goes dead, I can use the manual key to open the door. But there doesn't seem to be a way to start the car with the manual key. If the battery in the smart key fob is dead, am I just out of luck until the battery can be replaced?

That is how I see it...but you will get warning signs of 'low key fob battery charge' (or so) for a long time before that happens. You need to ignore that warning for weeks before it actually stops working.

[jgosney]

Originally Posted by Tobeit

That is how I see it...but you will get warning signs of 'low key fob battery charge' (or so) for a long time before that happens. You need to ignore that warning for weeks before it actually stops working.

So I've just got to make sure my wife pays attention to the warnings!

She's going to be the primary driver of the vehicle. I'll tell her to just carry a spare battery with her at all times just in case.

thanks

[98CamryLE]

There is a way to start the car even if the Smartkey's battery is dead.

1) Hold the transmitter up to the start button- the silver Toyota symbol must be turned towards the start button.
2) Press down on the brake pedal.
3) Press start button- vehicle should start.

This should be in your manual. It's in mine, but hybrids have slightly different owners manuals.

Congratulations on your purchase.

[Tobeit]

Originally Posted by jgosney

So I've just got to make sure my wife pays attention to the warnings!

She's going to be the primary driver of the vehicle. I'll tell her to just carry a spare battery with her at all times just in case.

thanks

Mine was giving me the warning and blinking for a few weeks when I finally decided to put a new battery in - $7 at the dealer.

[Tobeit]

Originally Posted by 98CamryLE

There is a way to start the car even if the Smartkey's battery is dead.

1) Hold the transmitter up to the start button- the silver Toyota symbol must be turned towards the start button.
2) Press down on the brake pedal.
3) Press start button- vehicle should start.

This should be in your manual. It's in mine, but hybrids have slightly different owners manuals.

Congratulations on your purchase.

Interesting, good to know. Even though I am not sure if that works if the battery is really dead...maybe I will try by removing the battery. I believe this instructions only help when some minimal remaining battery charge is left but the signal is not strong enough to send it from the distance....therefore holding the transmitter close to the receiver helps. W/o battery et all it's a passive, dead circuit which can not be recognized by the car..at least I have no idea how that would work.

[mrcarnut]

I have an '07 XLE with the Smart Key and my battery died and I was able to hold the fob up to the start button as described and it started right up. Once I put in a new battery at Radio Shack everything worked as normal. Should have no problem using this proceedure. Having a spare battery never hurts either. Welcome and enjoy.

[profuse007]

smart key is no different than regular. Think of the smart key cars is always having the key turned but no transponder chip read. The car will always have a transceiver to read the chip, w/ or w/o the battery.

The smart key is just a radio transmitter that transmit the chip wirelessly. If you remember there were stories on news about BMW 7-series getting stolen with a special laptop.... that's the idea.

[AML]

You can still start the car with the SmartKey even if you take the battery out of the fob. I tested this several times to show it to other family members that would be driving the TCH that you're NOT SOL if the battery dies. lol

[BigIke]

Originally Posted by 98CamryLE

There is a way to start the car even if the Smartkey's battery is dead.

1) Hold the transmitter up to the start button- the silver Toyota symbol must be turned towards the start button.
2) Press down on the brake pedal.
3) Press start button- vehicle should start.

This should be in your manual. It's in mine, but hybrids have slightly different owners manuals.

Congratulations on your purchase.

this is what the dealer told me to do on my 2011

[jgosney]

Originally Posted by 98CamryLE

There is a way to start the car even if the Smartkey's battery is dead.

1) Hold the transmitter up to the start button- the silver Toyota symbol must be turned towards the start button.
2) Press down on the brake pedal.
3) Press start button- vehicle should start.

This should be in your manual. It's in mine, but hybrids have slightly different owners manuals.

I saw that in my owner's manual and tried it but it didn't work. I'll try again. Maybe I wasn't holding it just right.

[jgosney]

Originally Posted by jgosney

I saw that in my owner's manual and tried it but it didn't work. I'll try again. Maybe I wasn't holding it just right.

OK, I tried this again this weekend. I pressed the brake and placed the toyota logo of the keyfob against the start button. Nothing happened. I'm wondering if this only works if the battery in the fob is dead?

[Tobeit]

Originally Posted by jgosney

OK, I tried this again this weekend. I pressed the brake and placed the toyota logo of the keyfob against the start button. Nothing happened. I'm wondering if this only works if the battery in the fob is dead?

...the '3 step' instruction is nothing else as you do every day starting your car, only difference is holding the key fob (transmitter) very close to the start button. What do you mean it does not work?

[jgosney]

Originally Posted by Tobeit

...the '3 step' instruction is nothing else as you do every day starting your car, only difference is holding the key fob (transmitter) very close to the start button. What do you mean it does not work?

OK, Maybe I'm having a senior moment . I was misunderstanding the instructions, thinking that I was supposed to put the Toyota logo up against the start button and it would start automatically without me having to push the button itself. My bad.

So the purpose of the battery in the fob (other than opening the doors) is to transmit the chip ID to the starting computer. But if the battery in the fob goes dead, if I put the fob right up against the start button, the computer sensor can read the chip ID anyway. Is that a good explanation of how it works?

[Tobeit]

Originally Posted by jgosney

OK, Maybe I'm having a senior moment . I was misunderstanding the instructions, thinking that I was supposed to put the Toyota logo up against the start button and it would start automatically without me having to push the button itself. My bad.

So the purpose of the battery in the fob (other than opening the doors) is to transmit the chip ID to the starting computer. But if the battery in the fob goes dead, if I put the fob right up against the start button, the computer sensor can read the chip ID anyway. Is that a good explanation of how it works?

Basically yes, except that I think holding it close just helps with an 'almost dead battery', i.e. you still need some minimal charge left but the transmit signal is much weaker and therefore holding it close helps.
If the battery is dead-dead, it should not work. You can try and remove the battery from the fob and try to start even holding it as close as possible - I bet it will not work.