Smart key entry - battery problems.

[red-demon85]

Hi all,

I've had a 2007 Yaris SR from new, with the smart key entry system. About 2 years ago I had to have the whole locking system replaced (at the cost of £250!!).

I've had to have the battery replaced in my key / spare key 5-6 times since I've had the car. The price started at £7 (inc VAT) and now its jumped up to £14 (inc VAT & customer discount due to the age of the car).

I've complained to Toyota that a) I have to replace the battery every 12 months and b) the price has gone up 100% but i'm not getting anything extra for my money! According to the customer service dept, the part has stayed the same price but I've kept my invoices which prove them wrong.

It was then suggested its not the battery going dead but it might be a problem with the key. They basically said it might be a problem with interference when i'm trying to open my car but I know that's not the problem, I've been stood right next to the car trying to open it to no avail, light has gone off the key fob and I can't get into the car at all.

Has anybody else had similar problems, or any suggestions? I'm reluctant to take it back to my local garage because I don't want to get stung for another £250 bill!

I also brought up the issue of the now frequent recalls from Toyota, the previous 2 recalls I was given M&S vouchers or a car cleaning kit but they no longer compensate their customers for the inconvenience of having it recalled and having to wait a month for a weekend appointment.

Any help / suggestions / thoughts would be great!

Thanks :smile:

[CTScott]

For that type of smart remote, replacing the battery once to twice per year is not unreasonable. If it was only lasting a month or less, then I would suspect a problem with the smart key itself.

I have one of the smart keys from a Japanese Vitz (Yaris), which I picked up along with the Smart Key ECU and ECM for some experimentation. I suspect that the Japanese and European ones share the same internals, and if so, the Japanese one uses a CR1632 lithium battery. Here in the US CR1632 batteries cost less than $1 US each, so you may want to just replace the dead battery yourself, instead of paying £14 for Toyota to do so. The case open in half to provide access to the battery (using a pocket knife to pop it open).

49800

[ciscobear]

I've had my Belta for 2 yrs and never had to replace the battery. The battery it carries is the CR2016.

[CTScott]

I've had my Belta for 2 yrs and never had to replace the battery. The battery it carries is the CR2016.

Does your belta have "smart entry" with no key and push button start, or does it have keyless entry? Keyless entry remotes only use the battery when you push the lock or unlock buttons, whereas the smart entry has an active RFID transponder, which draws from the battery even when no buttons are pressed.

[ciscobear]

It has smart entry Scott (no keys here :)). You raise a good point though, they did say not to keep any other electronic items near the fob that it may draw the battery down or cause interference.

[ciscobear]

Just to correct my previous post. I had to change my batteries two months ago and indeed the Belta X variant carries the cr2016 and the Belts G which I have carries the above cr1632.