I've just bought a second Toyota Rav4 (the first one is for sale: see Classifieds), and one of the two remote control key fobs only works intermittently.
The Toyota dealership has opened the unit and the circuit board looks as though there is some corrosion on it. They've also tried fitting a new battery, but the performance was not improved. My understanding is that if the unit is used to set the immobiliser/alarm system (it's a Toyota 5000 Thatcham I device) and then it fails, it will not be possible to use the car until the whole set-up is replaced at some cost (>£200, I'm told). This will be my wife's key, and not used so often, but I don't want to run that risk.
I've seen reference here in The Back Room to companies who will, for example, reset BMW dashboard computers for a fraction of BMW's quoted price. Does anyone know if it is possible to fix this remote control in a similar way?
Martyn [Back Room moderator]
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mailto:webmaster@honestjohn.co.uk
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Martin
Surely you won't be completely stuck? You say you have two remotes, so will the second remote not open the car? It seems unlikely the car must be opened with the remote used to close it. We have two remotes for our Astra, and either opens the car, whichever was used to lock it.
Might be expensive, but can a replacement remote control not be purchased from Toyota?
Regards
John S
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Yes, you're right; the other remote will work it. But there are two scenarios here. The less likely one is that my remote -- which is the same age as the faulty one, and thus just as likely to suffer corrosion on the circuitry -- also fails, and it's S od's Law that if it does it will be at precisely the most inconvenient and expensive moment. More worrying is that my wife uses her key, drives to meet one of her mates in, say, Salisbury, however many miles away that is, and she finds herself stuck.
As for buying a replacement, Toyota tell me that they come as a matched system, complete. The remotes are programmed individually to the alarm. My hope is that this is the normal flimflam designed to take money out of the pockets of motorists, and that someone somewhere knows of an unofficial but successful workaround.
Martyn [Back Room moderator]
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mailto:webmaster@honestjohn.co.uk
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Martin
From what you are saying, even as the legal owner, you can't just get just a replacement remote, and programme it to the car's system. Toyota want to sell a package of remote units plus a matching system for the car, which sounds expensive. Hm, what price security?
I assume that if the transmitter fails you can't just open the door with the key and cancel the alarm/immobiliser by putting the correctly chipped key in the ignition? My previous car (Vectra)would trigger the alarm if opened with the key rather than the remote, but turning on the ignition (provided the chip in the key was one recognised by the car) cancelled it. This wasn't explained in the book, and gave the impression you had a major problem if the remote battery failed.
Regards
John S
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John S wrote:
Hm, what price security?
What indeed! Although I do get nearly 30 per cent off my insurance premium for having the alarm, so there *is* a value attached to it.
turning on the ignition (provided the chip in the key was one recognised by the car) cancelled it.
That's a thought. Thanks. I'll give that a try tomorrow when I have both sets of keys.
Martyn [Back Room moderator]
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mailto:webmaster@honestjohn.co.uk
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My previous car (Vectra)would trigger the alarm if opened with the key rather than the remote, but turning on the ignition (provided the chip in the key was one recognised by the car) cancelled it. This wasn't explained in the book, and gave the impression you had a major problem if the remote battery failed.
Sorry, but I was reading the manual in the P-reg Vectra I borrowed for the weekend (I know it's sad, but the garage had sold out of newspapers!) and it explained the above procedure in the section about remote control battery failure. Didn't make a fuss about it.
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D_T_D, My Vectra manual (yr2000) says the same about the alarm cancellation by ignition key if the key battery is flat.
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DTD
Never said the book made a fuss, it was the alarm going off that did. My book simply said you could open the car with the key - didn't say it would alarm if you did!
Regards
John S
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Martyn
They're US sites so I don't know how much use they'll be but take a look at
www.keylessride.com/
or
www.remotesunlimited.com/shop/default.asp
The first one is quoting very low prices for RAV4 and written programming instructions (or a call to a local specialist!)
HTH
Terry
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M(BRM)
Flogging the North East again:
www.alarmremotes.co.uk
?
DVD
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DVD wrote:
Flogging the North East again:
Blimey, DVD, I've only just come back from there! Well, the other side, really (been to stay with friends in Appleby in all that lovely sunshiny weather last week!)
Anyway, that is one more to try, and thank you very much.
Martyn [Back Room moderator]
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mailto:webmaster@honestjohn.co.uk
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terryb wrote:
They're US sites so I don't know how much use they'll be but take a look at
I will.
I did. Thanks. I've emailed them both, and we'll see what response we get!
I'll report back, because this could be a very useful addition to the Useful Websites Directory.
Martyn [Back Room moderator]
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mailto:webmaster@honestjohn.co.uk
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Try www.davidsonelectronics.co.uk/
Graeme Davidson is a good friend of mine. He is an absolute whizz kid with electronics of all kinds. He resoldered two key fobs for my Xantia and repaired an obscure fault in my Citroen (Blaupunkt) radio. Does lots of key fobs and specialises in recoding radios.
Drop him an Email and see what he thinks.
Graeme
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