Brief speaker issue

[daniel]

Today when I went to the car the phone unlocked it, but when I tried to put it in gear it wouldn't go. My phone was in my left-hand pocket, so without taking it out, I sort of raised the pocket so it would not be quite so shielded by my body from the sensor to my right.

The car then went into gear and drove just fine, but music would not play. Trying to select my USB flash drive, it could not open it, and when I selected a streaming station it would not play. The Voice Command button just said "Try again." And the turn signal blinker blinked but would not make its clicking sound.

I got where I was going, and when I came back half an hour later, the phone again opened the car, but the car demanded the key card before it would go into drive mode (this time the phone was in my right-hand pocket). I pulled the card out of my pocket, tapped it, and put it back in my pocket. At this the music started playing and the car drove as normal and the turn signal made its clicking sound as it should.

Moral: Even if your phone always works to open the car, always have your key card with you!

 

[Electroman]

Today when I went to the car the phone unlocked it, but when I tried to put it in gear it wouldn't go. My phone was in my left-hand pocket, so without taking it out, I sort of raised the pocket so it would not be quite so shielded by my body from the sensor to my right.

The car then went into gear and drove just fine, but music would not play. Trying to select my USB flash drive, it could not open it, and when I selected a streaming station it would not play. The Voice Command button just said "Try again." And the turn signal blinker blinked but would not make its clicking sound.

I got where I was going, and when I came back half an hour later, the phone again opened the car, but the car demanded the key card before it would go into drive mode (this time the phone was in my right-hand pocket). I pulled the card out of my pocket, tapped it, and put it back in my pocket. At this the music started playing and the car drove as normal and the turn signal made its clicking sound as it should.

Moral: Even if your phone always works to open the car, always have your key card with you!

Yes it happens with iPhone too. Inexplicably it opens the door with the iPhone but won’t go into Drive unless I put the keycard in the slot, or switch off and on Bluetooth again.

I thought that happened only when car goes to deep sleep, but I have had it happen twice so far, even when I am in and out of the car for a few minutes.

 

[daniel]

Yes it happens with iPhone too. Inexplicably it opens the door with the iPhone but won’t go into Drive unless I put the keycard in the slot, or switch off and on Bluetooth again.

I thought that happened only when car goes to deep sleep, but I have had it happen twice so far, even when I am in and out of the car for a few minutes.

My phone is, indeed, an iPhone. Specifically the SE, running iOS 10 because of all the bad reports about iOS 11. This has only happened to me the one time (so far) and the car was not in deep sleep because I had driven it the day before.

But as noted, when I got in the first time my body might have been blocking the phone's BT. On a couple of previous occasions the phone would not open the car when it was in the wrong pocket and my body was between the phone and the car. On those occasions I had to turn so the car could "see" the phone.

Clearly, the phone key is flakey.

I've never had anything like this happen with the Prius "smart key" fob in 14 years of ownership. (Once the battery died and I had to use the physical key and the dashboard slot.)

 

[Electroman]

I love the no-key solution with the phone as key, because I always carry my phone with me. Rather I don't ever want to be going out without my phone.

But then it is frustrating if and when it fails, although it has been rare.

 

[daniel]

The phone key is cool when it works. But you still have to carry the key card, so the phone is kind of redundant. And the phone is less reliable than a fob. And the phone has no advantages over a smart fob. And a fob can actually do more than the phone does because with one button-press a fob could open the frunk.

Personally, I prefer not having to carry my phone with me. I'd rather leave the phone in the car when I go in to the grocery store and have one less thing in my pocket. The Prius smart fob is so small I don't even notice it, but the phone is bulky, even my little SE.