BillG Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 When pressing smart key to start engine, interior lights & headlights flash rapidly with rapid clicking sound under hood (similar to dead battery sound). After attempting several times to start, a "smart key malfunction - refer to owners manual" message appears. Car is only 4 months old, 1500 miles. Heard 2020's may have battery issues or some drain causing dead battery issues. Can't contact Service dept for 2 days due to holiday weekend. Anyone else experiencing same problem? Aware if cause found and if fix is available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexCamry20 Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 just had this problem last night. today i tried starting my car and it was completely dead. called roadside assistance, gave me a jump and it worked fine. still dropped it off for a service as a precaution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 This happened to me a couple of months ago where my battery was nearly completely drained because it sat in my garage without running for a couple of days. I charged the battery and took it to my dealership where they said the battery was defective and they replaced it. It just happened to me again today and I got the message that there was a smart key malfunction and the car would not start. Again the car has sat in the garage without running for a couple of days. Searching for this issue, I've found many other reports of similar issues with 2020 Toyota vehicles. I am currently charging my battery again and have yet another appointment to have my car serviced at the dealership. Upon speaking with a service advisor at the dealership to setup my appointment, he said he believes there is a computer update that needs to be applied to the car. Apparently, there are systems that continue to run even while the car is off, that drain the battery over the course of a couple of days. If you drive everyday, you probably won't encounter this problem until your battery is nearly shot. If you let your car sit for a couple of days, whatever is still running electrically in the car continues to drain the battery until you don't have enough power to turn over the engine. According to my service advisor, the "patch" for the computer system is supposed to alleviate this issue. I'll report back after my visit with the dealership tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khenry1948 Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 I just had the same issue with my 2019 Avalon. Completely dead. Blinking message said smart key malfunction. This morning it is completely dead. Anyone have this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyota Owners Club Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 I would look at the above post as it mentions replacing the vehicle battery which if discharged will give these symptoms. Additionally, the vehicle may need to be programmed to accept the new battery voltage, otherwise it will still read the discharged voltage reading A breakdown/recovery service should be able to get you up and running if the vehicle is immobile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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