2009 Lexus ES
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in San Diego

2009 Lexus ES Smart Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

I got a call from a woman in Eucalyptus Hills, out near the east end of Lakeside. She said her ES had started acting strange after she had a spare smart key made somewhere else. For the first week it was fine. Then the push-button start started hesitating. Then some mornings it would crank and catch, and by afternoon it wouldn't start at all. She assumed the car had developed an electrical issue and was already mentally budgeting for a dealer diagnostic.

When I got there, I connected my diagnostic equipment and pulled the key registration data. The spare fob that had been programmed was not correctly paired to the vehicle's security system. It was reading as partially registered, enough to pass the initial check but not deep enough to hold up under the full verification the system runs after a few cycles. That kind of partial pairing is a known failure mode when the programming process gets cut short or the wrong procedure is followed for this specific platform.

I cleared the registration, started the process clean, and paired a correctly prepared replacement fob. Then I tested every function: door handle touch unlock on both front doors, the lock button, the start button, and the mechanical emergency blade function. Everything held.

She asked if the car was actually okay. I told her the car was fine the whole time. The problem left with the bad key.

What she paid me was a fraction of what the dealer quoted her over the phone just for the diagnostic, before touching the key at all.

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