Question 1

Are you licensed and insured to work on Lexus vehicles?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EZ Car Keyz is a California BSIS licensed locksmith company (LCO#6792), fully insured, and operating under a real business name with verifiable reviews and years of documented work. You can confirm the license directly through the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. The 1999 Lexus ES is well within the range of vehicles we handle regularly -- transponder key work like this is a core part of what we do, not a stretch job. We show up in a marked vehicle, give a firm price on the phone, and the price does not change when we arrive.

Question 2

How do I know you are not a scam locksmith?

Accepted Answer

It is a fair question and worth asking any locksmith before you let them touch your car. The scam pattern is always the same: a fake listing, a price that sounds too low, and a number that doubles or triples once the tech is already there. They show up unmarked, cannot name their company, and dodge any request for ID.

EZ Car Keyz has over 100,000 followers across YouTube and TikTok. You can watch us do this exact category of work on camera before you ever call. We give a firm price on the phone. We show up in a marked vehicle. The tech who answers the call is the same person doing the work.

Question 3

Will a replacement key work exactly like my original on the 1999 Lexus ES?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The replacement key blade is cut to your vehicle's lock specification, and the transponder is programmed to communicate with your immobilizer the same way the original did. This is a turn-key ignition setup -- there is no remote, no fob, no buttons. The job is a correctly cut blade plus a properly enrolled chip, and we test the start before we leave.

One thing worth knowing: if the engine starts and then immediately stalls, that points to an anti-theft element that needs to be diagnosed on its own terms. We handle that on site. It is not a reason to stop troubleshooting, just a different step in the process.

Question 4

My 1999 Lexus ES cranks but will not start and I know the battery is fine. Could this be the transponder?

Accepted Answer

That is actually the classic symptom. A strong crank with no start -- especially when fuel and battery check out -- points directly to the immobilizer not recognizing the key's transponder signal. The system is designed to prevent the engine from running if the chip read fails, and that is exactly what it does.

A few things cause this on a car this age. The transponder inside the key head can fail outright after years of use. The key could have been exposed to heat or a strong magnetic field. Sometimes it is just wear -- the chip still exists but the signal is too weak to register. Copying a key from a copy instead of from the original can also produce a weak or incorrect signal that passes a basic test but fails in real use.

Diagnosis comes first. If your original key is the problem, a freshly programmed replacement will usually sort it. If the issue is on the vehicle side, we identify that before cutting anything.

Question 5

Can I just buy a key blank online and have someone cut it, or do I need the programming too?

Accepted Answer

You need both. The cut gets you into the door and lets you turn the ignition. The programming gets the engine to run. On the 1999 Lexus ES, skipping the transponder enrollment means the car cranks and does not start. It is not optional.

The blank quality also matters more than people expect. Not every aftermarket blank available online is reliable for this vehicle. We source blanks that have been confirmed to work, cut them on-site, and program them in the same visit. Buying a blank separately and hoping it works is a gamble that sometimes costs more to undo than it would have to just do the job right the first time.

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