1998 Toyota 4runner
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

1998 Toyota 4runner Metal Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

A guy flagged me down near the Midtown Ventura library on a Tuesday afternoon. Not literally flagged me down, but close enough. He had found my number online and called while I was already parked up the block. Said he had paid another locksmith to replace his 1998 4Runner key, and the key the guy made would turn the ignition but the engine wouldn't stay running. The other locksmith told him something was wrong with the vehicle's security system and left him with a bill and a truck that wouldn't go.

I asked him one question before I even walked over: does the key turn smoothly in the cylinder, or does it drag a little? He said it dragged some. That told me most of what I needed to know.

I brought my decoder and a key blank over to his truck. The blade the first locksmith had cut was close but not right. One of the cuts was a half-step shallow. Enough to turn the cylinder, not enough to let the engine run cleanly. No mysterious security failure. No bad module. A blade that wasn't cut correctly.

I decoded the lock, confirmed the correct key code, and cut a fresh key on-site. It started clean and stayed running. He stood there for a second, then looked back at me with that expression people get when the answer turns out to be simpler than the story they were told.

The dealer quote he had gotten earlier was a lot more than what I charged. The first locksmith had already taken money too. I can't fix that part. But I could hand him a key that actually worked, and that was enough.

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