i read this from the manual...

if your key fob is low on batteries, you will get a display on the MID to change batteries. If your battery does die, there's no actually key to start the car. you hold the key 10mm from the start/stop button, and enter in some combination of buttons and the car technically should start. my guess is there is a chip inside the remote, and the start/stop button has a sensor. oh yea, and you use the regular key to get into the car to try this sequence.

 

my fav features....
keyless entry
bluetooth
ventilated seats

most wow factor...
folding side-view mirrors
rear view back up camera
sonar park assist
car lights up as you walk close to it

i also enjoy....
rain sensing wipers
auto-headlights
restaurants coded as countries flag on the screen
rear sun-shade


there's actually a whole lot more that i'm probably forgot to mention

 

is there a place in the manual to program the door to lock once you walk far away from it? sometimes i forget to push the nipple, and i don't like to look for my keys in my pocket anymore to push the lock button

 

Does the manual tell you which combination of buttons to push? Without that info, why do they even bother putting info like that in there.
I can see this happening a lot in about 4 years.

 

The info the dealer gave to you doesn't sound correct. I can tell you fundamentally how I think this system works - however, you should (we should) check back with a tech at Lexus for more clarification.

1st: the battery in the Key Fob is used for the older fuctions - whereby you push a button and a signal is sent from the fob to the car receiver. Yes, if the battery dies then this function will not work.

2nd: the new Smart Key/Smart Access system works differently. It uses what is called RFID technology. RFID = Radio Frequency Identification. There are several levels of sophistication in this technology and I'm assuming that Lexus is using the highest level. The device works as follows. There is a transmitter in the car that emits an electromagnetic field. The RFID chip which is embedded in the key fob (separate from the other functions) picks up this signal and actually uses the energy from this signal to power itself up. It needs no battery. From the energy it picks up from the field it powers itself up and transmits the security sequence back to the car. The transmitted energy from the fob is very low and part of the reason you have to be within a few feet of the car for it to work.

This technology will become quite pervasive in the future. The low cost chips cost about $0.10 in high volume (Millions or billions) and companies like Walmart plan to use this extensively in the future. Every single item that Walmart sells would be required to have one of these chips embedded - say on the label or in the price tag. When you go to the checkout you would just walk your cart through the scanner field and everything that is in your cart would communicate with the scanner. So you wouldn't have to scan each item 1 at a time. You would just pass through and the itemized total would be known. The possibilities for this technology are pretty extensive. All Walmart employees would have badges with their own RFID tag that would allow them access to certain areas of the store. It would track their commings and goings and what they are carrying. "Look there goes Joe out the door and he has a new Sony Boom Box under his arm that he hasn't paid for!" Would almost eliminate shoplifting.

By the way, a less sophisticated theft prevention system is in use today. Have you ever bought a CD from a store and the clerk didn't run the CD over that machine before giving it to you? And you set off the alarm at the door? The tags that do this are similar to RFID - they don't require a battery either.

Also, the GS has a lock cylinder on the driver side and the key fob has a hidden key. So you can manually unlock the door if necessary.

I would be surprised if what I'm telling you is not in use in the Lexus, but we should check to be sure.

 

frebay- I haven't seen that yet, but it would be a cool idea. It is so easy to get in, it would be nice to be able to walk away and it would lock itself.

If I find anything I will let you know.

 

It seems real solid.

What I'm concerned about is forgetting to put it back up and then getting out and tearing it off with my knee!! I almost did this on a test drive. It is pretty sturdy - so the other bad possibility is to tear off my knee!!!

Remember to close this thing!

 

Yah i called another dealer and frebay's description from the manual is correct. Although the guy i talked to on the phone told me nothign about combination of buttons. All he said was you gain access thru the physical key (located in the fob)...and then you hold the fob up against the start stop button and hold down the brake and push the button - the car will start. He said nothing about combination of buttons to press.



What combination of buttons are u referring to frebay? Sequence of pressing the buttons on the fob???

 

frebay: is there a place in the manual to program the door to lock once you walk far away from it? sometimes i forget to push the nipple, and i don't like to look for my keys in my pocket anymore to push the lock button





Wait a minute. Are you saying that if you walk out of the car - more than 3 feet away with the fob...the car does NOT autoamtically lock? I thought ti automatically does that...thats the impression i got. I was told that to gain access inside-- you just have to come within three feet and then touch that black button thing on the doorhandle. And then obviously, when you get out of the car, n move past three feet - it automatiaclly locks. Is that not the case?

If not, then its stupid havign to touch the black button everytime you come out of the car just to lock the vehicle.

 

isn't the automatic door locking and option under the cbest personalizing options along with how fast you can travel before nav input, phone input freezes? i don't mind it not locking whereas when i get out to check the mail down the street on my way home i don't have to go through the unlock process again. i think with cbest you can probably do like 10-30 sec after you leave vehicle it will auto lock or somthing like that anyway...
anybody else have info on cbest options

 

right now when i get out of the car, it doesn't lock. what i would like for it to do is lock when it can't detect the key anymore or lock in 30 seconds or something like that. i don't mind pressing the nipple, but i sometimes forget. but i do mind looking for the remote to press lock since it's in my pocket when i need to open the car, and in my pocket when i start the car.

 

i think you guys should contact your dealer regarding cbest. the personalization options are done only once(dependent on the dealership). anyway, they should be able to set this for you without a problem. one suggestion, drive your gs for a couple months before you decide what changes since it seems only once would make it basically a permanent feature.
with lexus i think you must remember: if something seems forgotten or just kind of stupid, don't get upset just look into it further. these guys have been making nearly perfect cars for years and i can't count how many times i've read somebody claim a mistake on lexus' engineering and later uncover that it was just the persons oversight. with lexus the more you learn the more there is to find out. most of these so called quirks are actually just ways of providing owners more personaliztion options.

 

Well the coolest feature to me is the fact Lexus must have some of the top designers or simply a more advanced computer than some competitors because like the 1st and 2nd generation, the 3rd generation looks like no car on the road. I think that is the most impressive thing, considering how hard it is to be original.

 

They provide this info to the owner. But then again were you even planning on buying one? I wouldn't want to share the code sequence with you that doesn't have this vehicle. Once again, you're being devils advocate for a car you have no intention on buying nor it's competition. Have no fear, those diesel cloth interior econoboxes of the future will not have a feature like this, which is what you're looking for right?

 

The Smart Access key fob functions the same as the '04 and '05 LS430's. When you get about 3 feet from the car and place your hand inside the door handle it unlocks the door. You can set it yourself three different ways. If you touch either the front or back door then both of them unlock on the side of the car you are on. The other side remains locked. Or finally you can set it so all of the doors unlock as soon as you touch any of the doorhandles.

You push the little square button to lock up when you leave. It gives a confirmation of one beep so you know it's locked. An alternative would be to use the remote on the fob to lock remotely. It does not autolock when you walk away and has nothing to do with the CBest system which can reprogram how the locks work when the transmission leaves park or at 13 MPH. The system can unlock all doors when you place it in park again if you like for instance.

All Lexus will relock themselves if you use the remote to unlock them and don't open any doors within 30 seconds in case a stray signal has unlocked your car by accident and you are not around to relock it. Once you open any door the car will not relock.

Any questions not answered for you?