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Your Toyota Prius won't start with that
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new spare key you just bought. Or maybe
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you're trying to add a second one before
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your only key gets lost forever. Yep,
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you're in the right place. Hey folks,
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I'm Tom from Car Justify, your virtual
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wrench buddy. I've helped tons of folks
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get around dealership headaches. And
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today I'm going to show you how to
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program a spare key on a Toyota Prius,
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including the immobilizer part, which is
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what trips most people up. All right,
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couple things first. This guide works
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for second gen Priuses. That's 2004 to
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2009. And the steps are pretty similar
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for third gen 2, but I'll call out any
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differences as we go. We're going to do
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this with no special tools, just your
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working key and the new spare. If you
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don't have any working key, you're in
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chicken dance territory. And yeah, that
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one's trickier. Let's assume you've got
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at least one functional key fob. There's
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two parts to this process. Programming
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the immobilizer, so the car recognizes
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the key chip and starts, and programming
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the keyless entry, so your buttons work.
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We'll start with the immobilizer. Step
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one, grab your working key fob. That's
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the one that starts the car. And your
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new spare key. Now, open the driver's
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door and leave it open. Don't touch
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anything else. Next, insert the working
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key into the slot. Don't turn it. And
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then pull it out. Do this twice. In,
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out, in, out. It kind of like swiping a
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hotel card. Now, here's where it gets
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weird. Insert the working key a third
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time and leave it in. Close the driver's
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door, then open it again. Do this twice.
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So, close. Open. Close. Open. Still not
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turning anything. just inserting,
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closing, opening. Then pull the workings
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key out. You've now entered programming
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mode. And I know it sounds like car key
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hoke pokey, but it works. Within 10
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seconds, insert the new key, your spare,
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into the slot and leave it in. Don't
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press anything. Don't turn anything.
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Just let it sit there. Now, wait. Yep.
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Seriously, just let it chill for about a
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minute. You'll see the little security
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light on the dash blinking slowly at
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first, then go solid or shut off once it
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recognizes the new key. That means the
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immobilizer accepted it. If it keeps
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blinking after a minute or so, it didn't
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take and you'll need to try again. Quick
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tip, this whole timing thing is picky.
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If you wait too long or go too fast
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between steps, it won't work. I've had
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people try five times before it finally
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stuck. Don't sweat it. All right. If the
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car now starts with your spare key,
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congrats. The immobilizer is programmed.
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Now, let's get the keyless entry buttons
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working. Lock, unlock, all that. For
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this part, sit in the driver's seat with
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both keys. Make sure all doors are
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closed. Here we go. Insert your working
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key in the slot and pull it out twice,
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just like before. Then, close and open
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the driver's door twice. Insert the
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working key again and pull it out once.
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Then, close and open the driver's door
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twice again. Yeah, I know. More door
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dancing. Now insert the new key, your
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spare, and leave it in. Close the door.
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Turn the car to on, not ready mode, just
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on where all the dash lights come up.
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Then turn it off and pull the key out.
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You'll hear the car beep. Maybe once,
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maybe twice. One beep usually means
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success. If you don't hear anything, it
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might not have taken, so you can repeat
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the process. Now, hit the lock or unlock
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button on the new key and see if the car
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responds. If it does, boom, you're all
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set. If not, don't worry. Sometimes
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you've got to redo just the button
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pairing step. The immobilizer part
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should still work fine. I had a viewer
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last month who did the immobilizer step
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perfectly, but couldn't get the buttons
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to sink. Turns out he wasn't fully
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closing the door between steps. Yep,
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that'll do it. This system's finicky,
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like a toddler at nap time. Okay, let's
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do a quick recap so it all sticks. To
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program the immobilizer, the chip that
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lets the car start, use your working key
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to enter programming mode with that
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inout door close open routine. Then
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insert the new key and let it sit for a
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minute. For the buttons, go through the
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same kind of sequence, just a little
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more door dancing and turning the car on
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and off. No OBD scanner, no dealer
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visit, and definitely no $100 fee just
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to get a spare key working. You can
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totally do this in your driveway. If
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this video saved you a trip to the
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dealership or helped you avoid that key
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panic moment, hit that thumbs up and
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subscribe. I've got more Prius guides
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and DIY fixes coming your way every
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week. Thanks for hanging out in the
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garage with me. I'm Tom from Car Justify
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and I'll catch you in the next one. Keep
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those keys safe and your ride
