Electronic car keys
 

I lost/had stolen 2 car keys and was left with just one non-remote key for my 6-year old car. According to Toyota they cannot simply replace this type of key for my type of car as part of the electronic control unit has to be replaced. They gave me a quote of €715! After a chat with a friend I took the key to a small shop in a run down part of Palermo. There they stuck the key in a box connected to a computer, programmed a new key and then cut the key part all for €45 in 3 minutes. The key works perfectly. Why can't Toyota do that? Ok there may be a small security risk but the key is half-mechanical and the shop has been in business for many years so Im not particularly worried

Re: Electronic car keys
 

On Ebay you can get a blank Toyota key with transponder for under £10 so your shop made quite a decent profit for 3 minutes work. Who knows how Toyota come up with the figure of Euro700.

Re: Electronic car keys
 

Good to know Phil although I would still have needed a machine to read the code on my key and reprogram the Ebay key and another machine to cut the key so I am happy with the price I paid. Toyota said that the high price was due to the fact that I only had the valet key. They do replacements at about €100 if you have the master key.

Re: Electronic car keys
 

Gosh! It sure pays for lurkers to check out what's being talked about in other forums, once in a while. I'm nowhere near Italy, but I do have an old Toyota (well, two of them, actually, both 1997 models) and have in the past needed to cut another key. I think it cost me abut $75 (75 pounds, more or less), after an initial quote from the local Toyota dealer of ten times that - if I recall correctly! Also, it's wise to look for second-hand parts. Both my cars needed new rack-and-pinions; second-hand they were $150 each time (again, 150 pounds). New would have been horrendously expensive.

Re: Electronic car keys
 

Sounds like you saved yourself a small fortune Nick.