My neighbor has locked her keys in her 4runner and we've spent an hour in the snow trying to get the thing unlocked.

I've seached for old threads, but cannot find anything about unlocking the vehicle. Can anyone send me a photo of the inner door or tell me how to get under the hood to access the window/door relays?

Thanks in advance!

Photo of inner door where? You're not going to be able to get the hood popped up without first gaining acces to the cabin. Me thinks you need to call out a locksmith and have him pop open the door for you. The alarm is going to go off, but if you can grab the fob fast enough & reset it before you go deaf!

Thanks, Ruffian.

Yes, whenever I lock myself out of one of my cars (which happens quite often 'cause 928's have a way of locking themselves) I use the factory parts diagram to help me know where and how to guide the unlocking tool. I don't know anything about 4runners, ao I was thinking a diagram of the inner door workings would be helpful.

I'll suggest to my neighbor that we keep a spare key here at my house

i got locked out of my car before and i didnt have my spare with me so i signed up for AAA and they got my door open within an hour of calling them. Well worth the $50 i spend for the annual membership.

I got used to my ford having the keypad on the door, used to intentionally lock the keys in all the time while riding the quad.

this is the one thing I really miss. I rather wuickly figured out a hiding place for a key box and stored a key (without the chip in it) so I could open the door if I accidentally locked my keys inside.

To pop the hood from outside you must locate the pull cord while outside the vehicle. You may be able to locate it by looking through the front grill. Once you loacte the pull cord, pull it in the opposite direction of the hood locking mechanism. This will prob take more time than calling a locksmitch but it can be done. We made a "grabber" of some sort down at the fire dept for popping hoods from the exterior during car fires. It looks like a bent coat hanger just made of heavier gauge wire. If body damage isnt a concern a Haligan bar works quite well also. Good luck!

simply write down the VIN# and go to the nearest dealership and have a spare key cut.

If you can't peek at the VIN# on the dash-then have owner pull their insurance card-mine is Allstate for example and the vin is on the "proof of insurance card"

Alternately find someone who does have AAA - as they may not have used up all their calls in their "year" and they can extend benefit to a friend-your neighbor being their new friend...

This is why some folks have taped a piece of paper over their VIN # on the dash-so thieves can't try the same thing.

Any way you go (dealership or locksmith), your neighbor will (hopefully) have to show proof of ownership. Obviously by having the key made, there is no potential for damage to the door or lock assembly, and she'll then have a spare key (which will also need to be programmed in to start the vehicle - I wouldn't try to start the vehicle with the key until it has been programmed in or bad things may happen. I've read it could cause your vehicle to become inoperable even if you use a programmed key afterwards).

I've never had to have a locksmith open my 4runner doors, but I'm not sure how it'll work considering when the alarm is set, and a door is unlocked without a key or remote, it automatically locks again. If she doesn't have the anti-theft system, then no worries.

EDIT:
I just remembered something... The cheapest route to take would actually be to get the Toyota dealer to cut one of those plastic wallet spares. Don't know how much they are, but it can't be too much.

I used to do that also on my Ford Explr and F150's , IMO an awesome feature .

Does anyone keep a key hidden outside , under the vehicle if this happens ?? I was recently thinking about doing this , but don't our keys have chips in them ?? What about the valet key ?? What does that do ???

I think if you were to keep a key hidden, it would be best to use one of the plastic wallet spares and attach it somewhere. "WHERE" is the big question. Obviously it can't be somewhere that just anybody can find it.

You could possibly hide one in the roof rack area, under one of the covers at the front or the back. Of course, you will then need to hide a small screw driver so you can pry the cover off when you need it! LOL!

On my last car, I installed a TapLock device, and whenever I was out jogging at the track, I'd simply lock the keys in the car, then when I got back, I would tap out a code to unlock the car. Of course to do this, you need to be sure no one else is around that might catch on to what you are doing.

http://www.taplock.com/

You can try HitchSafe.

Our (probably all 4th gen) keys do have the transponder chip in there for the engine immobilizer. The valet key has a slightly different cut, unlocks all doors except the glovebox. If you have to carry a spare key, carry the valet and keep the second master at home. Losing both master requires replacing the ECU, because at least one master is needed to duplicate the transponder codes.

So the Valet key would be the one to hide since there is no chip in it and you can unlock and drive the car as normal ?

Can the valet keys be replaced or duplicated cheap ?

Only the plastic wallet one doesn't need to be programmed in (it also won't start the car). It's meant to only get you in the vehicle if you get locked out.

Of course, if you use a valet or master style key as a hidden spare, you can opt to not have it programmed in, but you will not be able to use it as an ignition key (and if you forget and put it in your ignition, it may render your vehicle inoperable - even if you try with a "good" key afterwards).

If you insist on a regular key as a back-up, you could always paint it so you know not to use it in the ignition.

Just a thought...

*knocking on wood, I never locked myself out of any of my cars ever since they built FOBs. I use the FOB to unlock/lock the vehicle. I don't even remember locking the vehicle manually. Yes, i did leave the keys inside a couple times but the vehicle was still unlocked. That's just me.

I got a key cut that does not have the chip in it, and stored it in a keybox in a discreet location. I can't start the truck with it, but it will get me in. It was a 1.97 at home depot, much cheaper than the gas to go to the dealer for the plastic one