2004 Toyota 4runner
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2004 Toyota 4runner Transponder Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

I was up in the Riviera on a Tuesday afternoon, steep street, one of those driveways where you park sideways just to keep the truck from rolling. The owner had found me through Google Guaranteed and called ahead, which is exactly how it should go.

He had a spare key made at a hardware store after his original got bent. The copy looked right. Same profile, fit the door, turned the ignition fine. But the engine would crank and quit. Every time. He thought something was wrong with the starter or the fuel system and had already spent time troubleshooting the wrong thing.

I looked at the spare. Plain metal, no key head with a plastic cap, no chip. A purely mechanical copy that could open the door and turn the cylinder but had nothing to say to the immobilizer. The original bent key was still on his ring and still started the car every time because the chip inside it was intact.

We cut a proper replacement, transferred what needed to transfer, and registered it on site. I also checked the original. The blade was bent enough that continued use would have snapped it in the cylinder, and a broken key extraction on a 4Runner ignition column is a longer job than a simple replacement.

He kept both keys after that. Smart move on a 20-year-old truck.

The dealer question came up and I told him what I tell everyone: call them if you want, get the quote, then call me. He already had my number.

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