2012 Toyota Tundra
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2012 Toyota Tundra Transponder Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

I got a call from a woman out in Casitas Springs on a Tuesday morning. She'd broken her only key for her 2012 Tundra. Not lost, actually broken: the key head had cracked where the blade meets the plastic, and the blade itself was bent enough that she wasn't sure if it had damaged the ignition cylinder.

She'd already called the dealer. They needed the truck there, couldn't give her a straight answer on whether the cylinder was okay without looking at it, and the soonest appointment was later in the week. She didn't have a second key to drive it anywhere.

I drove out to her place. The cylinder had some wear on it but was intact. I decoded the existing blade before it gave up completely, cut a new key to spec, and enrolled the transponder. Then I tested it the right way: multiple cold starts, not just one turn and a thumbs up.

She asked what would have happened if she'd let the broken blade sit in the ignition a few more days. Probably nothing good. A worn blade in a worn cylinder has a way of making the problem worse faster than people expect.

The dealer quote, once she finally got someone on the phone who gave her a number, was a good chunk more than what she paid me. And she would have needed to arrange a tow just to get the truck there.

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