Avensis Keys

[wah07]

Hi guys,

I've got a question... I'm buying a Toyota avensis 1.8 vvti 2006 soon and the seller said that it comes with 2 keys black and grey.

From what I understand these cars have 3 keys from New?

Is this anything to worry about that it comes with only 2 keys? What is the grey key for?

Thanks for the help

[FROSTYBALLS]

From memory, my 2006 Corolla came with three keys - 2 black keys with the central locking lock/unlock buttons, and one grey key without the central locking lock/unlock buttons. The grey key can manually unlock the car and can be used when having the car serviced, etc. Toyota seem to have stopped the practice of issuing the grey keys - I think with the Auris (2007 on) - as my subsequent two Auris just came with two black keys.

[wah07]

From memory, my 2006 Corolla came with three keys - 2 black keys with the central locking lock/unlock buttons, and one grey key without the central locking lock/unlock buttons. The grey key can manually unlock the car and can be used when having the car serviced, etc. Toyota seem to have stopped the practice of issuing the grey keys - I think with the Auris (2007 on) - as my subsequent two Auris just came with two black keys.

Thanks for your reply.

I've actually put a deposit on the car so can't turn back now. Is it easy to get another master key made as I will only get 1 black and 1 grey key when I buy this car?

I should have noticed this when I went to see the car but didn't realise that the grey key was just a valet key.

[FROSTYBALLS]

If there is a plastic or metallic strip with the car's details, this is the key number - having that will make getting a replacement key slightly easier. If not a Toyota dealer can supply a key using the car's details. Be quite expensive though - £150'ish and maybe a programming charge.

[wah07]

If there is a plastic or metallic strip with the car's details, this is the key number - having that will make getting a replacement key slightly easier. If not a Toyota dealer can supply a key using the car's details. Be quite expensive though - £150'ish and maybe a programming charge.

that's expensive. What do you think it'll cost if I have that strip with the key number?

I think I might ask the dealer if I can have my deposit refunded as I was told there are 2 keys but wasn't told that one was a valet one and the other a master one.

The car is a Toyota avensis 1.8 vvti t4 2006 66k miles and immaculate condition, I am being offered it for 3800 pounds with 1 former owner and full main dealer service history. Do you reckon it's a good deal?

Thanks for the info FROSTYBALLS

[t-spiritpete]

Yes you should have 2 black keys and 1 grey one.

One other thing to remember Is WHO actually has the other key that could steal the car, it may just be the last owner who put it somewhere safe at home. This happened to me when I bought my car, the garage agreed to knock £250 off the car as the satnav disc was also missing. When I got the car home I traced the last owner who after me producing the bill of sale for the car sent me the key and disc FOC, a great result for me. The other thing to be aware of is some insurance companies ask if you have all the keys but others may not but be aware that if you lose the one black key you have it could cost up tp £1500.00 to have new locks, keys and ecu fitted.

Your best bet in my opinion disregarding all of the above is to get the garage to sort everything out for you as part of the deal otherwise they are just fobbing you off.

Pete.

[wah07]

Thanks for the reply Pete very helpful. That is exactly what I was worried about that the car could be stolen. I trust the dealer but the previous keepers could have the key.

I have spoken to the seller and have been told that the car has 2 black key fobs and that they scrapped the grey key a long time ago.

I might just try to get a refund on my deposit in this case. Need some advice please.

The history of the car is, it has 1 former keeper then was sold to a Toyota main dealer who sold it to a private dealer who is selling it to me.

[t-spiritpete]

Ok,

if you have the 2 black keys then that should be fine, just tried my car with the grey key and yes it unlocks the door but the alarm goes off if I open the door, only the black key will stop the alarm. Once the alarm is stopped the car can be started with the grey key so I think you should be ok. My car is a 2007 model and it came with a grey key for valet/service use only I think so if you leave the car for service it must be opened with the black key first then give them the grey one. If they lock it with the grey one later it won't start again (without opening the car with the black key) and the alarm will go off also. So although not really a problem a grey key would be better but it should be ok without it .

Regards

Pete.

[wah07]

Very helpful advice Pete :)

That is good news and the seller is going to make sure and get back to me on the 2 black keys but I hope he has them both so now I am not really worried about the grey one as you have advised me that the alarm cannot be switched off with that.

Thanks again

[Pete W]

On mine the grey key won't unlock the glovebox either, so you can leave private things in there during service etc, and no one can take a look.

[wah07]

Yeah that's a good feature to have. I've just spoken to the dealer and he has told me that there actually isn't 2 black keys but only 1 black and 1 grey one. He is going to ask the previous owner if he has the other key.

otherwise I will have to get a new one from Toyota and get the lost key deregistered from the car if that's possible.

[t-spiritpete]

Quote .... otherwise I will have to get a new one from Toyota

Should that not read ........... so THEY will have to get one from Toyota! LOL.

Good luck with whatever solution you choose.

Pete

[wah07]

LOL, I've already put a deposit on the car and the dealer has said that's all your getting with the car so it's my problem now.

thanks for all the help Pete :)

[wah07]

picked the car up from the dealer recently and noticed the front windscreen washer didn't work, the motor wasn't making a noise but rear wash was working fine. I rang him and he said that he Will get a price for me for the parts.

I got the car like that so it should have not been like that and it had just passed the mot 5 days before so I don't know how it passed. he claimed it was working fine when he tried it.

Then I discovered there was water in the spare wheel well which I dried and was wet again. There was a knocking sound coming from under the car when turning or going over humps like something is loose. The car started to kidder in 1st gear and I even stopped and set off slow just to make sure that it wasn't just me. not too happy about this.

[peter273]

My '08 avensis came with one black and one grey key, which I immediately noticed.

After mentioning this to the dealer I bought it from, he had to admit there indeed should be two black and one grey key but "the previous owner couldn't find it any more".

The cost for a black key (according to my dealer) is about 20-30€, which he didn't charge "to show his goodwill".

He supplied me with a second black key and he did the complete reprogramming effort at no cost at all.

Reprogramming involved some weird cycle of inserting-removing the key in the ignition lock combined with opening-closing the driverside door, took him about five minutes.

I very soon lost track of the exact sequence, so don't ask

[wah07]

That's good that your dealer sorted it out for you, I did read about the coding sequence somewhere and doesn't sound too hard.

My dealer gave me a number of a locksmith who Will make me an extra key 'cheaply' and they quoted me £160 lol which is more than the dealer. first I need to get the dealer to fix the faults that he sold me the car with.

[Konrad C]

When the new key is supplied the dealer should remove the missing key from the system. That way anybody with the missing key cannot disarm the immobiliser and alarm.

The windscreen washer motor failing just after the MOT is a bit of a coincidence! The fix is easy so that should have been done straight away. The water leak is a another problem. The car shopuld not have any knocking!

Now with the other problems, do you trust the dealer? How did they get the car to sell in the first place.

You have a 2006 1.8 vvti. Does it have the indicator repeaters on the mirrors? The reason I ask is the mirrors plus the front grill are different on the phase 2 version. Also the engine should have had the modifications to stop the oil burning problem that affected the earlier cars with the vvti engine. Check the dipstick at least once a week.

The Avensis is a good car but like any model, there are a few problem cars.

Get a snag list so the dealer can fix before it is too late.

I don't mean to worry you but from what I have read, the dealer does not give me confidence. The car can be sorted if done properly.

[wah07]

When the new key is supplied the dealer should remove the missing key from the system. That way anybody with the missing key cannot disarm the immobiliser and alarm.

The windscreen washer motor failing just after the MOT is a bit of a coincidence! The fix is easy so that should have been done straight away. The water leak is a another problem. The car shopuld not have any knocking!

Now with the other problems, do you trust the dealer? How did they get the car to sell in the first place.

You have a 2006 1.8 vvti. Does it have the indicator repeaters on the mirrors? The reason I ask is the mirrors plus the front grill are different on the phase 2 version. Also the engine should have had the modifications to stop the oil burning problem that affected the earlier cars with the vvti engine. Check the dipstick at least once a week.

The Avensis is a good car but like any model, there are a few problem cars.

Get a snag list so the dealer can fix before it is too late.

I don't mean to worry you but from what I have read, the dealer does not give me confidence. The car can be sorted if done properly.

Hi,

Thanks for your your reply and helpful advice, I appreciate it.

I will make sure to tell the dealer to remove any previous keys from the system when I get the new fob made and just have my existing keys programmed in.

Yeah it might just be a coincidence that the washer motor has stopped working but on the drive home after buying the car the washer wasn't working, but the dealer said he had just filled the washer tank up and tried it before I picked the car up. It's a cheap fix so doesn't really bother me that much but it's the other faults which could be serious and have put me off abit.

I do trust the dealer he seemed like a nice enough chap, he was a nice old chap and is a private dealer which is a family business which they run at their countryside cottage house. They got the car from a Toyota dealership as the previous owner had traded it in to them and then they sold it on to the dealer where I bought it from. 1 owner from new and has full Toyota main dealer service history. The previous keeper bought it from there and traded it back in to the Toyota dealer at the end.

The water problem seems to be gone as I adjusted the 2 grommets in the boot but have not driven the car so can't tell if water if getting in from underneath. I have poured water on top and it's not getting in.

It does not have the indicator repeaters on the mirrors so I don't think it will be the phase 2 version. I will be sure to check the oil once a week as I don't think this engine has been fixed of the oil problem.

The day I brought the car home I parked it up the next day after noticing the faults and haven't touched it since as I wanted to reject it but I will give the dealer a chance to repair it or refund me in full and take the car back. I have sent a letter to dealer indicating the faults the car has and will await their reply before deciding on what options I have.

Thank You

[Konrad C]

Let us know what is happening. Somebody may be able to advise you, so post any questions.

You are correct that you have the phase 1 mk2 Avensis. With the oil burning issue, if the oil level drops from max to min in less than 1000 miles (or it could be 500 miles) then your engine has the problem. Also your car is close to the 7 years warranty period ending. It helps if the car has full service history. The problem can occur from 30,000 miles onwards.

Not every engine had this oil burning issue so you may be fortunate to have a good engine.

If the dealer cannot sort the car properly, they should send it to the Toyota garage or someone who knows how to deal with the problems, at their own cost from the money you paid for the car. They don't want bad business!

I hope it goes well for you.

[wah07]

Thanks Konrad C,

The oil looks fine I have checked it but the has not been driven a lot anyway so I don't think this can be tested properly. The car does have full Toyota main dealer service history so that shouldn't be a problem, the car was made in July 2006 and has done 60k miles so it does fall in the extended warranty criteria as there are a few months left yet if I am not wrong.

I am still waiting on a reply of the letter I sent to dealer so I can take it from there, I will post here how it all goes.

I appreciate the help :)