I hope it's okay to resurrect this old thread...

Our 1999 4Runner is having a similar issue with the security system. There's a red light to the left of the steering wheel (no button), and a small red button on the vertical kick panel (if that's what it's called?) to the left of the clutch pedal.

The red light was flashing (no alarm sound), and what worked to start the vehicle was to hold down the small red button while turning the key to on (the horn beeped at this point), then back to off, releasing the button, then starting the vehicle as usual (like in the post quoted below). However, after doing this, the red light stayed on (not flashing), and to start the vehicle again we had to do the same process, holding the small red button down etc. I've tried holding the button down while doing the on-off key turn three times, per some of the above-mentioned advice, but this didn't affect the red light.

I've read through various threads and haven't found anything regarding when the light is solid red. I'm also hesitant to try disconnecting the battery, as it appears this could cause an alarm to go off when reconnected?

Thank you in advance for any advice on this!