Additional Key

[Shades]

Hello all, I just bought a 2006 Avensis T3 D D-4D and I got 2 keys with the deal. One key was a GREY one which I can open the door and start the engine with. The other is a BLACK key which only will open the car door as the buttons and circuit board inside is missing which makes it next to useless. 

My question is can I buy any Avensis key from say eBay and remove the switches and circuit board and put them in my existing black key then reprogram the car to recognize the key? I have found the reprogram post but was unsure if the car would start even if the buttons will lock/unlock the car.

Thanks!

[FROSTYBALLS]

The grey key will be the valet key, and the black, one of the two original masters.

[Heidfirst]

If it is missing the buttons & circuit board then it is also presumably missing the transponder (hence why it won't start the car) so is essentially useless (other than it will open/lock the mechanical locks).

Do you know the code for the key as you could just get a new unit's blade cut from scratch rather than make 1 key out of 2 old ones? Try a specialist auto locksmith.

[Shades]

Part of my problem is I don't have the key code to get another key cut but the black key I have is already cut and as you say will operate the mechanical locks. That's why I thought about getting an old key and swapping out the buttons and circuit board. Is the transponder specific to the car? Is it something separate from the buttons circuitry or are they the same thing? Would an old one once recognised by the car start it? £20 would get me an old key with the buttons so was hoping for a cheap fix. Thanks for the help. 

[Heidfirst]

I imagine that a specialist auto locksmith or even some place like Timpson's will have a machine that can copy the key blade by tracing the existing blade profile.

How you would code a new transponder to the car when you don't have an operational one to start with  is likely to be more of a problem imo ...

[Konrad C]

17 hours ago, Shades said:

Hello all, I just bought a 2006 Avensis T3 D D-4D and I got 2 keys with the deal. One key was a GREY one which I can open the door and start the engine with. The other is a BLACK key which only will open the car door as the buttons and circuit board inside is missing which makes it next to useless. 

My question is can I buy any Avensis key from say Ebay and remove the switches and circuit board and put them in my existing black key then reprogram the car to recognize the key? I have found the reprogram post but was unsure if the car would start even if the buttons will lock/unlock the car.

Thanks!

If I read this correctly, you (Phil) have two keys - one master and the grey valet key.

The black master key has missing buttons so cannot remotely open the doors. What Phil is saying is if he can move the internal circuit board to another key which has been cut to the same pattern? Yes and there is another way. get replacement buttons from places like Amazon or eBay! Just search for the correct buttons for your key.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Button-Rubber-Pad-Toyota-remote/dp/B00D44EYZG

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOYOTA-Avensis-Corolla-Lexus-Rav4-2-3-RUBBER-BUTTON-PAD-FOR-REMOTE-KEY/191053615436?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3D3cee9965f3f4498a9ff3ce52ec9274e1%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D191053615436

My main issue, is the missing second master key. Every recent car I had always had the full set - two masters and the valet. 

I have a couple of stories relating to buying a car without the second key. One bad - the second key was used to steal the vehicle later. Two good - I made my sister-in-law get a second key when the car was having the ignition barrel fixed at the Nissan dealers. They replaced the missing key with the new key in the cars memory. so the missing key no longer works with the car. A few months later, my brother put his coat in the boot (with key in pocket) and the car lock itself (keyless entry)!  He had to call his wife with the other key to come and rescue him.

[Shades]

The black key I have has nothing inside it. No buttons no circuit board. The key will open the door and when in the ignition it will turn over but won't start. So I guess what I'm asking is if I get the gubbins for inside the key can I just stick it in the ignition, turn it on and press the unlock button twice and hey presto. I suspect it's not so simple though. 

[Konrad C]

6 minutes ago, Shades said:

The black key I have has nothing inside it. No buttons no circuit board. The key will open the door and when in the ignition it will turn over but won't start. So I guess what I'm asking is if I get the gubbins for inside the key can I just stick it in the ignition, turn it on and press the unlock button twice and hey presto. I suspect it's not so simple though. 

That is bad!

I would get 2 keys then. There are some auto locksmiths who can supply and program car keys. They need to access the car and will be a lot cheap than Toyota. Or, you can program the keys yourself but it is a big faff. This may not work without a working master key.

The auto locksmiths have software to get the keys coded, so may be the way to go. You need to get quotes before deciding.   

[Heidfirst]

2 hours ago, Shades said:

The black key I have has nothing inside it. No buttons no circuit board. The key will open the door and when in the ignition it will turn over but won't start. So I guess what I'm asking is if I get the gubbins for inside the key can I just stick it in the ignition, turn it on and press the unlock button twice and hey presto. I suspect it's not so simple though. 

no, the transponder won't be coded to the car's ecu so the immobiliser will prevent the car from starting (same as now where you don't have a transponder in it).

I think that you as an user need a master key (rather than a valet key) to programme a new key.

[Shades]

Ah......... Crap ! This sounds like it could be expensive. Was looking on eBay there and was thinking it might be cheaper to get a door lock, ignition, keys and an ecu. Just swap out everything. Bit of work though.  I'll go see a locksmith and get a quote. 

[Shades]

So to confirm if I bought something like this 

KEY TRANSPONDER

I could not get my car to recognise it without a working black master key.?

[Konrad C]

Correct! You need a working black master key. Don't buy this as it will not work.

Some car lock specialists have software and kit that can re-programme new keys to the car, even if you have no keys at all.

Lock at the following link for example - http://www.locksmiths.co.uk/services/auto-locksmith-locked-out-lost-or-broken-car-keys/lost-car-keys/

This from the AA has general info:- http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/security/keys.html

There are lots companies available. Just a matter of picking the right. 

[Cyker]

My god, what's going on?! Suddenly there are so many posts from people about missing master keys!! 

It's a bit of a bugger but you have some choices:

You can use the valet key code to start the car but you CAN'T use it to program new keys into the ECU. If you want to get a new key from Toyota, they will probably tell you they need to replace the ECU with a full new set of keys - This is the 'proper' way of doing it when you have no master keys, but also costs the most. We're talking upwards of a £1000...

*some* auto-locksmiths claim to have cracked the Toyota ECU and can program in transponder codes from a new key without needing a master key; However they usually require you to remove the ECU from the car and send it to them, or leave your car with them. Turnaround is usually 1-2 weeks and costs a few £100. However, auto-locksmiths with this ability are hard to find; We had a guy called Chris? who was advertising this service on here some years ago but I haven't seen him around for ages.

The final option is to just frankenstein it - I did this with my Yaris: I bought a remote module from eBay but couldn't get it to start the car. However, I *was* able to program it to lock/unlock the doors! So what I did was get an auto-locksmith to clone my working key's code onto a blank RFID chip and stuck it inside the key case (I'm using a third-party flip-key case so there's lots of space inside.). So it uses the remote module's code to lock/unlock the doors and the cloned RFID to disable the immobilizer to start the car. It's a dirty dirty bodge, but it works...! (In hindsight I wish I'd just gone straight to Toyota as it cost almost as much making this bodge work after all the faff!)

 

While we're at it, I would complain at whoever you bought the car from tho', esp. if they advertised the car having 2 keys, as they've basically lied and ripped you off. If it was a dealer, I'd try and get them to pay for at least some of it!

To be fair, they may not have known; I ran into this when I was Yaris hunting - The dealer didn't even know the car had remote central locking because the previous owner had only given them a cloned key! It's a shame as the car was really nice aside from the typical shot alloys, but at the time I only knew about the £1000 option for getting a new remote key with no master keys, so I walked away.