2010 Toyota RAV4
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in San Diego

2010 Toyota RAV4 Smart Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

A guy in National City, over near Bay Marina, had already been burned before he called me. He found one of those bait-and-switch locksmith ads, the ones running "$19 service call" with a stock photo and a call center voice.

He called them for his 2010 Toyota RAV4. They quoted him one price on the phone and tripled it once the tech was standing at his car. Paid a lot, got a key that worked maybe half the time, and the proximity detection at the door handle was completely dead. The fob would only start the car if he held it right against the start button area. Not how it is supposed to work.

He found EZ Car Keyz through Google Guaranteed and called to ask, basically, how do you know who is real. Fair question after what he went through.

I gave him my BSIS license number on the spot. That is California's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, the state body that licenses locksmiths. It means background check, insurance, registered business address. He pulled it up on his phone while we were talking. I told him to check Google reviews, check that there is a real business behind the name, and never pay in full before the job works. Basic stuff, but nobody had explained it to him before.

When I got to him in National City, I opened the fob and checked the CR1632 first. Battery was fine. The issue was in the registration itself. The previous tech had programmed the fob incompletely. The immobilizer recognized it enough to allow a start but the proximity functions were never properly enrolled. I used my programmer to wipe the fob's registration and re-pair it to the vehicle correctly, full handshake, all three buttons confirmed, door handle touch unlock working at normal range.

The whole thing took about 35 minutes on site. He paid a fraction of what the dealer would have quoted for the same reprogramming job, and this time it actually worked when I drove away.

BSIS Licensed

LCO#6792

CA Bureau of Security & Investigative Services

NASTF Certified

National Automotive Service Task Force

Fully Insured

Liability & vehicle damage coverage

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