But I couldn't find anything about the particular problem I had this morning.

I'm up in Calgary and it was -32C (-44C with the wind) this morning when my boyfriend started my 07 TCH to warm it up for me (I didn't make him, he volunteered!). It started fine, but he said he couldn't lock the doors...so when I went outside to go to work I decided to "test" it.

So, I threw my purse and lunch on the passenger seat, hit the lock button on the inside and closed the door. I walked away from the car so I was out of range and waited for about a minute. I walked up to the door, held the handle and nothing happened. I tried again (made sure I took my mitt off) and still nothing. The car was running and I couldn't get in. On the info screen it said "Key not detected" even though I was right outside the car. Then, I tried to open it with the manual key and it wouldn't move inside the lock. I put some lock de-icer in there just in case and still nothing. Crap.

Luckily, the manual was inside the house, but that didn't help me at all. My boyfriend and I were standing outside for car for about 20 minutes like idiots, we must have looked like 2 squirrels trying to crack open a basketball or something.

Anyway, my boyfriend finally got it open by just walking up to it and touching the door handle! WTF??? I don't know if the car was getting confused because we both had keys and were walking around it, or if just needed time to reset some things. Who knows.

I have one theory though....when I threw my purse inside and locked the door, it had my cell phone in it....could this have affected things? Once I got going I noticed that I had no Bluetooth connection but I didn't have time to play with it since I was late for work but I don't think my phone is paired anymore.

The thing that disturbs me the most is that the manual key didn't work, and of course I don't think we actually tested it at the dealership...we just trusted that it would work! So do I take the keys to Toyota or does someone have another suggestion for me?

*** The car ran for almost an hour straight...so much for my FE on this tank!

Thanks everyone!

 

This doesn't say anything about the rest of the problem but the "Key Not Found" complaint is just because the car was running and you removed the fob from the cabin.

 

I thought that message went away as you come within range with the key...maybe I just haven't noticed before, but yes I know about that part.

 

I think it's as long as the key is not within the car and the car is running--it's warning you that if you drive away you won't have the key with you to start the car again (or unlock it for that matter).

But yeah my only trouble with unlocking the car is when I'm in one of a couple of spots in the city where I seem to get interference--first time freaked me out, I had to pull the mechanical key out and dig out the manual to figure out how to start the car (once I'd reassured myself the fob probably hadn't just died). I've determined that when I have this apparent interference problem the best spot for triggering the doors to unlock is by holding the fob near the lower left corner of the rear door's window. I've certainly never had it fail to unlock with the fob buttons but open by grabbing the handle--though I almost never use the fob controls to unlock it, because digging the key out and putting it back is a) a pain and b) risks getting the fob in a position where it might fall out of my jacket pocket and disappear (happened on the way to Maine for Christmas, got to a liquor store to buy some holiday cheer, got out, couldn't lock the door because the key was in the car. Took a good 5-10 minutes of sweating and trying not to panic before I managed to latch onto the fob which had slid down between the driver's seat and the center console. Too small a space for big hands!! And might have been even worse if it had fallen under, that doesn't look like a space conducive to reaching hands underneath!).

 

dianmichele — From the fact that the mechanical key wouldn't turn in the lock, I wonder whether the lock might have frozen solid, and so neither the SmartKey nor the mechanical key could open it until it had unfrozen. This doesn't explain how your boyfriend managed to open the door in the first place, however. Perhaps the application of a bit more lock de-icer now would be a worthwhile safeguard. And do check that the mechanical key now works in all the locks (trunk included). Strange!

Stan

 

I know! I just went outside (it's still -28C, -43C with the wind) and tried the manual locks...they barely worked, and I really had to wiggle the key around. I wish the key was a tad bigger because it felt like it was going to snap off in my hand. But I think I'll be keeping some lock de-icer on hand both at home and at work, just in case!

I'm still confused about why it wouldn't detect the key in the first place though, maybe it was just really really cold.

This is what I get for buying a car that's smarter than me!!!

dianmichele

 

You didn't by any chance freeze the battery in the remote did you?

 

Nope, the fob was inside all night, it just stays in my coat pocket. But I think I might want to stock up on extra batteries for the fobs just to be safe.

 

Here's a possible explanation of what is happening: (Not saying this actually happened, but something to think about):

Your boyfriend started the car with FOB #1. You then manually locked the car w/o any FOB on you. When you tried to open the car with your FOB ( #2 ), the car didn't recognize it because of the way the car was locked.

Not sure if this scenario would cause a problem, but I DO know that my TCH has reacted strangely when I use change FOBs while working on the car, especially if the car is "ON".

In the morning, I'll see if I can check out this scenario. (And hope and pray that I don't get locked out of the car like you did! ) -- May be sure to leave ONE window down.

 

Thanks for this thread! I just tested my manual key. It's probably a good idea to figure out how (and if) it works before you actually need to use it. In addition, I decided that if it's ever 32 below zero (C or F) I will call in sick and stay home that day. No need to take any chances that my car wont open.