Keyless Remote Stopped Working

[buch75]

A while back the 1 Keyless Remote I have for my 2002 4Runner stopped working (long ago misplaced the 2nd remote).

The Stealership charges $150 to diagnosis the problem. But they were pushy about the whole system probably needing to be replaced. quoted me a rough figure of $1000.

over the span of several weeks, the remote was working off and on, and finally quit working altogether.

anyone experienced the same issue and was it really just the keyless remote, vs the trucks on board system? (if i still had the 2nd remote I'd be able to determine the problem)

thanks

 

[fourwd1]

You can get a new remote online for less than $100.
Just make sure you get the correct replacement remote and programming instructions.

 

[cali_axela]

This may seem obvious, but did you try replacing the battery? They're about $1.50, and that worked for my remote when it stopped working. It's a pretty simple and rugged item, not much to break, but the batteries don't last forever.

 

[fourwd1]

This may seem obvious, but did you try replacing the battery?

LOL, yeah, I assumed the OP did that, but then the obvious frequently escapes me

 

[TheDurk]

I found that the spring that holds the battery in lost tension on both my remotes around the nine-year mark. I just bent them a little to improve contact pressure and they are now both 11-years old and working fine.

 

[buch75]

wish it was just the battery. i not only replaced the battery with a brand new one, i went thru 2 new batteries making sure it wasnt the problem.

over the span of several weeks the remote became less and less effective, till finally one day it just didnt work. i scrutinized the remote, looking at the metal connectors, making sure everything was touching/connecting properly.

 

[cali_axela]

Odd... well, you can get a new remote online for ~$60 and program it yourself, to see if the remote itself is the problem or not. Still cheaper than having the dealer even look at it.

 

[DexTech]

I always see advertisements from car stereo shops to install a whole new remote entry system with two remotes for $99. Never have tried one so I can't give you a review. But $99 vs $1,000 I'd take my chances with the stereo shop.

 

[silverghost]

My wife bought one from e-bay and had to bring it to a locksmith to program it. It has worked great. All told it was about $120.00. With two small kids it was worth it.