While proximity key systems for cars have been around for decades, it seems that many automakers have different ideas on how their key fobs should look. Kia’s looks like a detonator, the one on the Volvo EX30 is a featureless plastic box, BMW used to offer a key fob with a touchscreen, and Tesla is going with flat plastic cards like you’d use to unlock a hotel room. However, one key fob stands out above the others, and not only is it surprisingly old, it was offered by Toyota exclusively for the Japanese market.
Over the past few years, several automakers have offered something called an activity key that you wear around your wrist. Water resistant and durable, it’s great in theory for hikers and other outdoorsy people, but in the grand scheme of things, something that looks like a FitBit but unlocks your car isn’t the greatest fashion statement in the world. Plus, it’s of limited usefulness outside of its narrow scope. Weirdly, Toyota seems to have figured this out and fixed it well before these modern activity keys came to prevalence.
This is the Toyota Smart Key watch, and it’s kind of brilliant. It does everything a modern activity key does, except it’s built into an actual watch that tells the time. It was first launched back in 2006 for the Toyota Crown, was made in collaboration with Citizen, and is as useful as it is stylish.
As you might expect, it works just like any other proximity key fob, and needed to be programmed to a car in order to do its duties. Of course, the cost of a smart key means that it’s a relatively rare thing today and only really useful if you have the car it’s paired to, but that hasn’t stopped second-hand examples going for actual brand name second-hand watch money. This one sold on Yahoo! Auctions for the equivalent of $219.
While this nifty accessory was most popular on the Crown sedan, Toyota did offer alternate versions that didn’t say “Crown” on the dial, including one branded for the Estima — the Japanese-market Previa — and one that just said “Toyota” for use with just about any smart key-equipped Toyota. Or rather, any smart key-equipped Toyota sold in Japan. See, different regions have different rules regarding radio frequency allocation, and one of these watches wouldn’t work with all smart key-equipped Toyotas. One Fijian Land Cruiser owner on the iH8Mud forum found this out the hard way.
Of course, while automakers were still figuring out the ultimate form of proximity keys. Several automakers offered credit card-style smart keys, and Toyota joined that bandwagon with the fourth-generation Lexus LS. In theory, this is even more discreet because you don’t need to wear it on your wrist, it can just live in your wallet and be slim. Of course, the downside to a credit card-sized smart key is if you forget your wallet in your jeans and throw them in the laundry, you might end up with one very soggy and non-functional key. Also, it’s probably not a great idea to have a wafer-thin card key in your back pocket, because the gluteus maximus can do a number on a thin and brittle piece of electronic hardware.
So, was Toyota’s shot at putting smart keys in watches a dead end? Not exactly. These days, car brands like Genesis offer key functionality on your smart watch, and while that’s great for anyone who wants to look like a Spy Kid, there’s something cooler and less distracting about an actual watch that works as a car key compared to a screen on your wrist.
Top graphic images: Toyota, Yahoo Auctions Seller
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$219 is far cheaper than the Aston Jaeger watch that does the same thing
Also, Aston Martin + JLC AMVOX2. Really nice watch.
The EX30 keyfob and Tesla card are crap. You can’t unlock the car from distance. Someone gets to the car before the driver? Too bad you have to stand there and wait for them to get close enough. They are putting form over function on something you don’t see.
The Tesla keycard is mainly a backup solution though. You pair the car to your Tesla account, and your phone acts as a proximity key. That way, passengers can open their doors as long as you are near-ish the car.
As someone who gives zero defecations about fashion, I would love a fitbit that opens my car. Bonus points if its programmable so it can open both my proximity-keyed vehicles.
Okay, so it’s basically a Ben Whishaw-era Q gadget
Indeed. I took delivery of a 2025 Lexus ES 350 Ultra Luxury yesterday evening, and it came with one of those. Lexus calls it a SmartAccess Card Key. It is largely the same design as it was when it was introduced on the gen. 4 LS. It’s a bulky thing, about the thickness of four or five credit cards, and (while it’s not got any buttons), it has got an actual metal key that you can remove, incorporated into it. The main reason I won’t be using it is that it’s a proper key fob, so–as the salesman told me–you can’t lock your wallet in the car with that key in it, as the car will detect it and prevent you from doing so.
It will end up sitting in a drawer.
Meanwhile, some cars these days—including a BMW I had until recently—use the same NFC tech as Tesla, meaning you get an actual credit-card-factor key that you touch to specific points (the door to unlock/lock, and a spot in the interior to start the car). You can also add it to your Apple Wallet or Google Pay, like a credit card, and then use NFC tech on your phone or watch to access and start the car. I find this a lot more useful, and Lexus’ goofy SmartAccess Card Key just shows how dated their tech is in a lot of ways. For better and for worse.
But all of that pales in comparison to this wristwatch, which is just effing cool. I had no idea this was a thing. I wish this had come to the US. I’d absolutely rock one. I also like that the branding is subtle; at first glance, it just looks like an ordinary dial watch.
The watch is great. If you get mugged, though, you’re stuck walking back home.
Metal keys have done the trick for many decades. Personally, they get the job done very well, and don’t require batteries and programming. They do get locked inside on occasion, though, although it’s easy to take steps to prevent that from being a problem.
Meh, metal keys and lock cylinders work great and almost never fail. They also make dumb stuff not happen, like when the person with the electronic key gets dropped off and takes the “key” with them.
Simple is better. Prove me wrong.
To be fair, cars with proximity keys since pretty much forever have had setups that will audibly (both interior- and exterior-wise) and visually alert you if the key leaves the car while it’s on. Our 2005 Murano SL had that. Contrary to popular belief, the car also won’t cut out on you if you drive off while the key isn’t present…but with all the binging and alerts, you’d have to be a proper fool to actually do so by accident.
The bigger issue with proximity keys, these days, is that thieves are able to create relay attacks using the signal that the key is always putting out, clone it, and then impersonate it to access, start and steal the car. Toyota/Lexus vehicles are prime targets, but I also had a friend get his 2023 Acura TLX Type S stolen this way. On, certain Mopar vehicles (crucially all the ones with the Hellcat engines), not only are they vulnerable to this, you’re even able to bypass security protocols and program a new key to the car, then drive off with it as though it were yours.
Whereas cars with physical keys (sans certain Hyundai/Kia models between 2010 and 2022) are virtually invulnerable to being stolen using a key exploit. So, in that regard, you’re right.
No, cars with physical keys that are “virtually invulnerable” are only that way if the car has an immobilizer – which is electronic and communicates with the key. The reason those Hyundais and Kias got stolen so often was because they weren’t equipped with one – and this was only a problem in markets where they could get away with not installing it like the US.
Keys aren’t actually particularly good security devices, and they’re relatively easy to exploit and work around.
That’s exactly my point. The Kias and Hyundais did not have immobilizers, and so were easily stolen. Such was the case for my sister’s ‘14 Soul, which was stolen and crashed into a ditch, likely by unlicensed children, given how they wrecked it just several hundred feet from where they stole it. I installed a Ghost Key when we got it back, and it’s not been an issue, although it wouldn’t stop someone from breaking the window and trying again.
Cars with immobilizers and physical keys…it’s extremely rare that you hear about them getting stolen using the ignition. They are impractical to steal. That said, at the end of the day, the transponder codes can be cracked. Most likely, though, they are stolen some other way, such as being towed or forcing the owner to part with the keys.
My point is more that the key is the failure point, and thus doesn’t actually work that well from a security perspective.
it wasn’t just the lack of an immobilizer there is a switch you can turn if you take the cowl off the steering column that BYPASSES THE IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER and starts the engine. its like something you would setup on a test mule except they put it in a production car.
Downside of a physical lock is when some arsehole thinks they can break in to your car, by just hammering a screwdriver into the lock. They won’t be able to unlock the car, but they will destroy your lock.
(I ended up buying a replacement lock, then swapping the, um, plates? not sure what they’re called around until I got the new lock to work with my existing keys)
Haha, very funny. My parents were stranded for four or five hours after a snorkel on the Big Island because they left the fob for the rental Grand Caravan inside the car and only brought the backup physical key. They got back to the car, turned the key, heard ‘crunch’, and were locked out. Of course they had no phones since they were in the car too, so they had to wait until someone else pulled up to the beach an hour later.
I’ve never heard “crunch” from a lock cylinder.
Try out one of the newer ones in cars that are primarily fob-based. OEMs cheap out big time on the lock cylinder because they assume no one will ever use it, so twisting it with too much gusto as you would an old-fashioned key breaks it quite easily. I fear being locked out any time I use the lock cylinder on my ’12 Volvo as the resistance to turning is quite high and the physical key itself is fairly slender and weak.
Yet another reason I’ll stick with pre-2010 cars.
A proximity key has never locked me out of my car because the lock tumblers were frozen. And if it “wears out” like a physical key can, you just replace the battery.
I’m not going to say proximity keys are flawless either, but it’s hardly as if physical keys are perfect.
A cylinder lock has more moving parts than a solenoid. So yeah, I wouldn’t call them simple. And stupid is as stupid does; if you misplace your key or fob, that’s on you, not on the design.
FWIW, I had the steering column lock break on one car. It was no fun carrying two keys, and remembering which one was which. No start button or solenoid door lock has broken yet.
Letter opener through cylinder = poof
I’m the least likely person to advocate for no contact / radio / Bluetooth tech in cars, but the proximity sensor thing is legitimate progress.
Don’t open? Dial faced quartz watch batteries don’t last THAT long. How are you supposed to replace the battery?
Let me guess, it’s a dealer only service.
The mechanism is belt-driven, so it’s no-go for Tracy.
I mean, it’s a watch. It’s almost certainly using the holy grail of timing systems: gears.
That back face with the two retention screws is definitely not the normal Citizen screw back, so my guess is that’s actually where the antenna lives. The warning is probably meant for Joe Schmoe at the mall watch repair kiosk who would normally just unscrew it without bothering to check for the coupling wires and brick the whole thing. So yeah, dealer only service, or someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
I dunno. A watch repair kiosk guy would be trained to do at least basic service to a mechanical movement so it’s not like they can’t handle fragile tiny bits and pieces. Besides I’m pretty sure they can replace the battery in a smart watch which has to be even more of a PITA.
Yeah, but smart watches weren’t so much a thing when this watch came out.
True, however even if smart watches may not have been a thing remote key fobs sure were and changing the battery in one of those is trivial, antennas and all. Its not much different from swapping the battery in a watch.
This is neat
Having the option to make a RF or RFID watch paired to your car as the key
And/or a credit card RFID paired to your car as a key is a fun and practical option
Japan was way ahead of the curve on tap-to-pay and NFC too. When I was there for work back in 2010, tapping your flip phone to pay at convenience stores and such was already commonplace, and some of those places were totally cashless.
Japan’s love of the flip phone lasted far longer than the US, but many of those flip phones had more connected functionality than the smartphones of the day.
I love it in concept but I use a Garmin and wouldn’t want to deal with two watches.
As far as battery on this, are we sure it’s a proximity sensor? It may just be sending an RF signal to lock/unlock when you press the button and not doing anything else.
Based on my research (and, I’d imagine, the fact that they’re calling it “Smart Key”), it has proximity function. Also, it’d be pointless if it didn’t. You’d have to carry both the watch and an actual key to start the car, if it was just a normal “dumb” remote.
That’s a really good point, I wonder if it’s NFC or does it pre-date.
Thanks!
I doubt it’s NFC under normal operation, especially since I don’t see reports of you needing to touch it to surfaces to operate it. My guess is that it works the same way an ordinary smart key would; it just happens to be incorporated into a watch casing.
Only downside i see is not being able to open the back. In 2006 i assume there isn’t wireless charging, maybe there is a micro usb but i doubt that.
I bet this thing scarfed down batteries, so you’d be replacing every year.
Citizen watches are known for their “Eco-Drive” which never needs charging or battery replacement. Hopefully they used it in this application.
Buddy of mine has a Seiko withe the battery and a rotor to change it. He just had to replace the battery, after 25ish years.
All batteries die eventually.
Like in my Citizen that died months after its warranty ended…
Wuffles Cookie had a good point, which was:
That seems logical. Worst-case, maybe you did have to got o the dealer, but it was a simple procedure. Or you could do it yourself if you had the right screw bit, and did so carefully. Possibly, it took a standard CR2032 battery, or whatever.
If Casio and Toyota would do this using a G-Shock, and it was available in the US, I’d be all over it!
I feel like it would have been a hit item on something like the FJ Cruiser—although that vehicle was never available with a smart key, to my knowledge—and it’s a shame we never got to see it.
“Kia’s looks like a detonator”
LOL, funny, but that’s actually called a “USB Dongle”