I lost my keys!!!! Need help!!!!!

by **carisav34** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:47 am

So I have a 99 solara sle. I lost the key and toyota is saying that it's going to need a whole new ECU... $450 dollars and tons of waiting... does anyone know anything about this? I got a new key made for the car and it turns the car over but it wont start... it just sits there turning over and never starting... so if I could get some confirmation that it's not Toyota trying to screw me over I will feel much better.... let me know!

Thanks
C

by **TOYODRIVER01** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:08 am

does it have a alarm on it?

by **carisav34** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:19 am

I'm not sure if the alarm is active or not... there is a light in the right front dashboard and the security light flashes when you put the remade key in.

by **DrLove** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:02 am

sound like it will cost a lot. You can program yourself 100000 keys if you want, but you need one already programmed to do this. If you lost all your programmed keys, then Toyota is probably right.

Is it cheaper to just ask toyota to remove this protection and your car will start with a normal key?

by **carisav34** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:06 am

they said they couldn't take the unit out of the car... i guess i just have to deal with it. thanks for your help though!

by **Gangis** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:30 am

Don't despair! There's a Toyota service policy which offers a free ECU replacement. Tell them to look up the PANT bulletin 03-09, posted on May 14, 2003. See what they say! Worked for me, heheh.

by **synenergy52** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:38 am

Just go on ebay and get a replacement ecu.. they're like 30 bucks!

by **carisav34** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:26 am

and then how am I supposed to put the thing in my car??

by **rewmomi** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:49 am

I have no idea the same thing happened to me and they said they would not charge for the ecu but they charged to make the key which was like 300 bucks but i found it in a liquor bag in the back seat so yeah lol

by **Mole** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:57 pm

sle guys have transponder keys no?

OP: was your key fat and puffy or flat and stiff?

by **LatinUSMC** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:24 pm

cheaper to "have your car stolen" and pay the deductible for a new car. :lol:

by **Jakecallun20** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:33 pm

Mole wrote:sle guys have transponder keys no?

OP: was your key fat and puffy or flat and stiff?

Yeah the SLE has a transponder key, not the stiff regular one.

by **cdaniel76** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:53 pm

Gangis wrote:Don't despair! There's a Toyota service policy which offers a free ECU replacement. Tell them to look up the PANT bulletin 03-09, posted on May 14, 2003. See what they say! Worked for me, heheh.

That's probably what he's getting. The policy is that the ECU is free to the customer, but the customer must pay the cost of installation and the new keys.

A new ECU would be in the $1000 range PLUS installation, keys and programming. So $450 sounds right for installation and a set of keys to me...

by **cdaniel76** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:55 pm

DrLove wrote::o sound like it will cost a lot. You can program yourself 100000 keys if you want, but you need one already programmed to do this. If you lost all your programmed keys, then Toyota is probably right.

Is it cheaper to just ask toyota to remove this protection and your car will start with a normal key?

Sorry. Toyota cannot just "disable" the transponder key system. It's an active part of the ECU function.

If I'm not mistaken, the 2nd generation has a seperate Transponder ECU, but I'm not sure how unplugging that would affect if the car would even start or not....

by **Gangis** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:17 pm

It cost me $130 for the whole ECU and one key...

I lost my keys!!!! Need help!!!!!

I lost my keys!!!! Need help!!!!!

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