I would be willing to bet it is the cars with the cloth upholstery, I have never had this happen since i went to leather seats years ago but did have the problem with cloth years ago.

TCH-43mpg
VW TDI--48
08 LS 600 HL-20
08 LX 470-16

I looked at my door handle, and there is no sensor. I assume it works off of low level inductive electrical charges we all have. The inside of the door handle is the same material that the rest of the handle is.

Interesting.... on the Prius there is a small rubber pad on the inside of the door handle (front doors only). I assume the guts for SmartKey is under those pads. I'd be interested to hear how SmartKey is implemented in the Camry

Dan is an official (Honda) Hydrogen Economy Convert!
Houston Hybrid and Hypermilers Club <106mpg.com>

Best commute = 14.3mi @ 114 MPG (sg2)
Best (non-trivial) tank = 769mi @ 85.7 MPG (fcd)
MPG Centurion-Hybridfest 2007-Prius II-26mi @ 106 MPG (sg2)
Dan <11011011> @ CleanMPG.com

Happens to me on my Pilot, Maxima, & TCH...all three are leather.

I agree, I've been getting some pretty stiff shocks since day one. I have a cloth interiored TCH.

Like many, I didn't really think about it until recently, but since I've been more aware of it, I notice it doesn't happen when I'm in my gfs cloth interior Pathfinder or my brother's cloth Ford Ranger. (Granted, those don't have the microfiber-type cloth, which I'm sure exacerbates the situation.)

It DOES have me a little concerned about safety, however. Now I'm not one to go chasing the Loch-Ness Monster, Bigfoot and worry needlessly about random things, but on Mythbusters about a week ago, they proved that static electricity can fairly easily spark a fire at the pump.

They were testing the myth that cellphones would cause a fire while pumping gas, and although the cellphones wouldn't ignite no matter what they tried, person-to-car static electricity certainly did.

It's difficult for me to determine whether or not the Hybrid system contributes at all to this since my last two vehicles were leather interior, but what I can say is the static shocks I experience are certainly some of the most powerful I've ever experienced, and about 5 times more powerful than any shock I remember feeling when dragging my feet across the carpet and touching a light switch.

I have to say, this is something I am a little concerned about.


Google Search Turned Up:

PEI.org
Static Electricity
The Petroleum Equipment Institute began investigating mysterious refueling fires in the mid-Nineties. We learned that static electricity– the same thing that shocks you after dragging your feet across the carpet– can ignite gasoline vapors at the pump. We have made our findings available.


Mercola.com
"The real culprit: Static electricity that builds up in the body, especially when a person leaves the gas pump and returns to their warm car waiting for the pump to finish fueling their car. After returning to the pump, that built-up static electricity on your body, created from rubbing against cloth seats and carpeting, may discharge when you touch it, creating a flash fire from gasoline refueling vapors."

Step I learned and helped with static electricity with a previous car. Touching the car with sleeve of jacket or shirt would dissipate the charge. No long sleeves, would brush agains car with leg or "butt". (do not try this naked) Could feel it slightly, but no uncomfortable zapping.

Did you ever notice the gasoline refueling trucks ground themselves with a grounding wire when they transfer the fuel into the underground tanks? Did you ever notice that airplanes are also grounded during refueling operations? You think they know something?
I rerely get electric shocks but when I do it's when I'm wearing my rubber soled jogging shoes. Leather soles are better conductors especially after absorbing some perspiration and therefore do a better job of draining the static electricity.

In my last car I ALWAYS got shocks...I just made sure I touched the ground or did as tjq suggested....this is why I went leather this time!