Fob *RE*programming. Possible?

I’ve lost a set of keys with my ‘22 ORP fob attached. I still have access to my wife’s fob (for the same vehicle.)

I’ve talked the dealership down to $300CAD for a new fob and cut key, but I’ll still have to pay ~$150CAD to have it programmed. Not stoked.

I also have access to a free set of ‘22 4Runner fobs via a friend of mine whose vehicle was stolen last year. Dealer says they cannot be reprogrammed; internet says yes/no.

Anyone know if you can reprogram a previously locked/used fob?

 

You can get the smart key from Amazon and have a locksmith program and cut the key for you.

 

I would definitely call your local locksmiths and see if they have the equipment to reprogram a key. I went through this with my Mazda3 recently, three locksmiths said no and the fourth one said he had the program. I took two keys from a totaled Mazda3 that I previously owned into them, and they reprogrammed them for 40 bucks each. Dealer wanted several hundred dollars and they said my old ones could not be reprogrammed.

I realize there's a difference between Mazda and toyota, but I would definitely make phone calls to Independent locksmiths before I drop that kind of coin.

 

Kind of to echo what folks are saying: make sure a locksmith can do it. I can't remember the year the change was made, but Toyota changed the fob programming process to where it's a little more proprietary. As an example, I was able to program multiple fobs on my 2017 Tacoma using Techstream and some shenanigans. I could not do it on my 2022 4runner. The largest locksmith company in my area was also not able to do it.

I bought a supposedly virgin fob from eBay for a fraction of what Toyota wanted, but the dealership was unable to program the fob into the vehicle. I'm not sure what the issue was. I just had the dealer order the fob, program it in and cut the emergency key. It ran me $600-$700 USD to have done. I was super unhappy, but I had no choice because I bought the vehicle used and only had one fob. If I had known the details, I probably would have pushed the purchasing dealer to cover it for me.

 

Do you have a link? I couldn't get any to pop up. Thanks

 

https://www.amazon.com/Aichiyu-Repl...5------------&vehicleName=2022+Toyota+4Runner

 

Thank you! Says it's only good up to 2022 but it looks exactly like the fob I have for my 2023. I may chance it.

 

i hear good things about Tom's Keys website

 

As an update - I acquired 2 fobs to an identical year/trim 4Runner (that was unfortunately stolen last fall,) and took them to an automotive locksmith.

it looked promising at first, when he was able to wipe them, but hopes were quickly dashed, when he tried several different ways to re-code/re-program them, only to fail repeatedly.

He did, however, have a line on the a new fob from a locksmith provider, and was able to retrieve it, cut the key, and program it (copying our remaining fob,) in just about a half hour. The buttons are stiff, but it works perfectly.

It sounds like it was somewhere between 2020 and 2022 that all Toyota fobs (except the Camry, apparently,) became proprietary, and cannot be reprogrammed.

 

Transponders are a one and done MOST of the time. Glad you got it hooked up though.

 

I'm pretty sure the key/fob changed in 2017. I obtained a replacement key/fob for my 2016 from Amazon when one of my originals stopped working. It would still start the vehicle, but the remote fob stopped working altogether. Before it stopped, it was intermittent, but its battery was OK, and I even replaced the battery to no avail. The guts of the new key/fob from Amazon fit the old shell perfectly, so I only needed to program the new fob's remote since the old key was still intact. After searching the Internet for programming instructions, I found conflicting information and several different methods to manually program the fob - none of which has worked. I contacted a locksmith who was skeptical the new fob from Amazon would work, and he quoted me $120 to reprogram it or $50 if he couldn't do it. I'm skeptical that "special equipment" is really required to do the programming based on what I've seen, so I'm posting here as a last resort. It would be nice to know definitively whether or not "special equipment" is really required, but I don't believe information from a locksmith or a dealer is necessarily reliable since it's their business, where neighborly advice gets lost.