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Posted

G'day guys,

I thought I'd share a recent experience I had with my 'stivo.

When I got it, I only had one key with a chip/buttions in it. This was on a keyring that I lost. I considered getting another key cut & coded, but at about $350 I didn't think it was worth it.

Until I lost my master key!!

Car stuck in the garage, and can't do a thing with it. I have a spare key shell whcih nmeans I can open the doors manually, but can't start it.

All enquiries led back to the one point - which is, if you lose your master key, you need to replace the car's ECU with another one which has a matching immobiliser transponder chip (found in the head of your key).

A previous topic mentioned a replacement cost of $1800 for a new key and ECU - which is on the money from a dealer. The service staff at my local dealer here have been excellent in assisting me - but it's a massive amount of money!

From my enquiries, I found a wrecker willing to supply a key chip and ECU for about a quarter of that, provided I removed the ECU and took it to them, whcih is a risk in itself, and the car is off the road until this is done.

Bottom line folks - to save you the stress that I have just had, please, make sure you have a spare key coded and stored somewhere safe. If you don't want to pay Toyota $350-odd, buy the chip off them for approx $220 and a key shell off ebay for about $10, then get it cut & programmed to suit your car. This is probably obvious advice, but I wish I had followed it, and if it saves one person from this pain in the butt, it's worth it!

Cheers & all the best,

Nath.

PS: My story ended well - I put an ad in the paper and an honest guy found my keys! I gave him a $100 note and he was blown away!!

Not as stoked as me though - I had a key to my wife's lancer on the same keyring which, though cheaper than a Corolla key, was still going to cost $200-odd to replace. I have got a spare key made up and am getting it coded as I type.

Posted

install a power fc for less than that - bye bye immob ?

seriously, why cant you just get your car towed toyota so they can code a key off the ecu ?

Posted

Note, there are some locksmiths around now who can re-code the ECU to accept a new master key, so no need to purchase a new ECU.

One example is DLC Locksmiths at the Gold Coast who do the work for Motorama Toyota in Brisbane.

Posted
Note, there are some locksmiths around now who can re-code the ECU to accept a new master key, so no need to purchase a new ECU.

One example is DLC Locksmiths at the Gold Coast who do the work for Motorama Toyota in Brisbane.

Nice stuff - it makes sense that the technology is around to be able to do this. The line I got from Toyota was that it couldn't be done - it seemed odd to me, so I was going to go with the wrecker option if the dude hadn't found my keys. One dealer referrreed me to a specialised locksmith that then referrred me back to Mr Minit.

Out of interest, any idea what DLC would charge to code a key to an ECU without a master key?


Posted (edited)

around $300-400 from memory. The new chip keys can be had for as little as $30.

I believe it's IC900 that stores the key codes on a 1ZZ ecu, there is also some info on the net out there on how to reset this IC but those methods usually involve desoldering the 8 pin surface mount IC and putting it in a programmer which is a pain in the neck

eg http://www.ecufocus.com/admin/toyota%20key%20programmer.pdf

Edited by CHA54
Posted

just cut a black head key with no remote in it, around $70 bucks, so if u do end up loosing your remote key, you can use this spare key to cut and program another remote key

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