Leaf drives off with no key

I may be the first here to do this, or at least to admit to it. My son came in from out of town with his girlfriend and saw the Leaf for the first time today. I offered to let him drive it to the store and he accepted. We went out to the car and I had him sit in the driver's seat and showed him all the controls, told him how to operate, etc. and let him drive around the block to get used to it. He had no trouble, so I hopped out and headed into the house while he drove away to go shopping. Then I realized I still had the key in my pocket. He had his cell phone with him, but I knew he wouldn't answer it while driving. I called anyway, and as I hope, his girlfriend, who was also in the car, answered it for him and I told them to come back and get the key, which they did. It all ended well, but I felt like an idiot.

I can beat that one! After a bike ride about 20 miles from home, I was putting my bike in the back of the leaf and "momentarily" set the key fob on the bumper. After getting everything situated and closing the hatch I drove back home and parked on the driveway. A few minutes later I got back in the car to pull in the garage and got the "key not detected" message and realized what had happened - the car had started with the key on the bumber - I got the other key and returned to the scene of the crime and found the fob had been smashed to pieces in the parking lot by traffic. A couple days and $200+ later I had a new fob. :shock:

All keyless ignition systems do this. You'll find plenty of similar stories on the Prius forums too.

The car does beep at you and even displays a warning on the dash. You need to tune yourself to pay attention to it.

Good to know.

(Note to self: Do not lose or destroy key fob! )

highcountryrider said:

(Note to self: Do not lose or destroy key fob! )

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$200 sounds like a bargain. A Prius fob will cost closer to $400 by the time you get it programmed, at least from the dealer.

Ray

jlaw99 said:

After a bike ride about 20 miles from home, I was putting my bike in the back of the leaf and "momentarily" set the key fob on the bumper.

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Please explain why your key fob would be OUT of your pocket? There is absolutely no reason to have the fob leave your pocket which would have saved you over $200. A dealer on here said they cost closer to $300 which includes the labor for programming. I have had my LEAF for almost five months and have NEVER needed to take the fob from my pocket. It's zipped in for extra security even.

Hey LEAFfan, how often do you wash your pants?

I have had my LEAF for almost five months and have NEVER needed to take the fob from my pocket.

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I would think Leaf would not allow to go out of park if key is not detected. But of course it does. Only the start up is prevented with no key.

GeekEV said:

All keyless ignition systems do this. You'll find plenty of similar stories on the Prius forums too.

The car does beep at you and even displays a warning on the dash. You need to tune yourself to pay attention to it.

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Yep. When I bought my Prius, the salesman explicitly told me about this scenario and at least demoed the yellow key warning light and beeps the car emits when you close the door on a Prius in READY mode w/o the key in the car. He warned me about passing the key to the person taking over because if I don't, the other person won't be able to power back up, once the car's been turned off.

AP1 said:

Hey LEAFfan, how often do you wash your pants?

I have had my LEAF for almost five months and have NEVER needed to take the fob from my pocket.

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How often do you wash your key fob with YOUR pants! :lol:

This has happened to me at least twice when our family goes out to dinner. My wife has the FOB in her purse, and I am driving. It is a busy night, so I drop my wife and daughter to get on the waiting list, while I go battle other drivers for a parking spot.

My wife is half way to the door before I realize that she has the remote, but I cannot get her attention and the parking lot is very busy, so I have to move on. I just have to be extra careful, realizing that once I turn the car off, it will not be going anywhere.

mbutter said:

I just have to be extra careful, realizing that once I turn the car off, it will not be going anywhere.

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How do you lock it once parked ? Does it do that without the key fob in the (outside) vicinity of the car ?

TMI! :lol:

AP1 said:

Hey LEAFfan, how often do you wash your pants?

I have had my LEAF for almost five months and have NEVER needed to take the fob from my pocket.

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LEAFer said:

mbutter said:

I just have to be extra careful, realizing that once I turn the car off, it will not be going anywhere.

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How do you lock it once parked ? Does it do that without the key fob in the (outside) vicinity of the car ?

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If its like my Prius, the manual/electric door locks still work just fine without the remote nearby. In fact, I've gotten into the habit of using the manual switch all the time. It saves me from having to dig the remote out of my pocket, and saves wear and battery life on the remote.

Locking the LEAF with the FOB in your pocket: press the button on the outside handle.

Without the FOB, don't you need to use the inside "lock" button?

Yes, that's what I meant. On my Prius you can't use the outside lock on the handle without a Smart Key, but the manual lock switch inside the car works just fine. I usually just hit the inside switch as I exit, unless my wife is lagging behind and I have closed the door already.

mbutter said:

This has happened to me at least twice when our family goes out to dinner. My wife has the FOB in her purse, and I am driving.

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Simple solution: There are two key fobs, one you can carry and the other she can carry when you drive and use hers as a backup if you lose yours for some reason, like taking it out of your pocket and putting it down somewhere.

LEAFer said:

mbutter said:

I just have to be extra careful, realizing that once I turn the car off, it will not be going anywhere.

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How do you lock it once parked ? Does it do that without the key fob in the (outside) vicinity of the car ?

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The 'old fashioned' way. Just hit lock and close the door. I actually had to pause and think about that for a moment, as I am very used to using a remote for all of my cars.

If all things electric fail there is still a mechanical knob on each door.

smkettner said:

If all things electric fail there is still a mechanical knob on each door.

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You picked the wrong car to buy if you have that little faith in the mighty electron!