Someone just stole my 4runner

stuckinthemud said:
I recovered my 4runner in Ojia today! About a 45 min drive from home. The only thing missing was a couple of cheap knives and my keys. All my tools and everything else was still there. I had to tear apart my ignition assembly, but I got it started and drove it home. Thank for all the well wishes, I'm a t4f owner again/still.
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Congrats on getting it back!

I had my 4Runner stolen 12/23/2016 and got it back exactly 2 weeks later. Sounds like you were luckier than I was; mine was lived in the entire time by a couple of homeless tweakers that did some very bizarre stuff to it. One day they happened to be parked in a motel parking lot across the street from a small police station fortunately. They swapped the plates from a different color 4runner and when the cop ran the plate he knew something was weird and ran the VIN.
 
that is great news my friend. I never have messed with my ignition, I will have to try and remove one in the junkyard sometime.
 
that's good news. on a positive, the ignition switches can wear out, there are threads on that, so....new switch, no issue for another 20 years.
you can get a switch rekeyed so that it matches the door. if doing that, id start with new keys. you can go to yota with your vin and they can order the key new with the correct cuts...so ive been told,
might be easier than having doors rekeyed to new switch
 
3bears said:
that's good news. on a positive, the ignition switches can wear out, there are threads on that, so....new switch, no issue for another 20 years.
you can get a switch rekeyed so that it matches the door. if doing that, id start with new keys. you can go to yota with your vin and they can order the key new with the correct cuts...so ive been told,
might be easier than having doors rekeyed to new switch
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If you order the correct key you can take it to them and they can cut one in about 30 minutes. Just need to provide proof of ownership. (ID and title)
 
You may want to find a locksmith before you start if you have a working key you could buy a lock and have it rekeyed instead of having all the other locks done. I had a ignition lock in my honda go bad and this was the best way to go.:surfer:
 
Unfortunately I only had one set of keys. I am a master of procrastination. I've had the truck for almost 4 years and never had a spare made. This time I will have 3 sets. I ordered two new remotes. I already had a new Toyota ignition lock and keys that I had not installed yet(the old key would get stuck sometimes). I'm also considering ordering a set of door locks and keys for amazon. They are cheap and I never use them anyway, I always use the remote.
Can someone confirm that if I reset the remote control box under the drivers seat, it will delete the old door lock remote?
I am curios if I can lock the doors from the outside with the remote with the engine running. when I get it all back together I will give it a try.
 
APhelps said:
If you order the correct key you can take it to them and they can cut one in about 30 minutes. Just need to provide proof of ownership. (ID and title)
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this is correct... however, wttw: i did this and the new key was going to cost us $42. upon attempting to use the new key, it quickly became obvious that the previous owner had re-keyed it all and so the dealership charged us their cost for the key, which at that point was both useless to them and us.
 
I drilled out the old cylinder to remove it so a dealer key would be no good for that. Plus, I don't think the ignition cylinder was the original since I had a separate key for the doors and the ignition.
If I did get a dealer key made it would be for the 3 exterior locks. But then there's the fact that the thief has the key to the doors. Re-keying all 3 exterior locks to match my new ignition key might be the route I will have to go. Whats that going to cost? I'll have to call around and find out.
I will continue to work on my vehicles in my driveway, but I will install some kind of kill switch to prevent this from happening again.
 
OP so happy you got it back man !!! Awesome news ! You could just get a replacement ignition cylinder. Although the key won’t work for the doors however. Also I’d insta fuel kill switch. I have and every time I park it in the driveway I use the switch. If you want to be very annoying to the thief's. You could wire 2 switches in line but hidden from each other.
 
I use to have an old ford with no keys, just twist the ignition. However I did have 4 toggle switches on the dash that had to be in the right positions for it to start.
 
When you do the programming there is a way to delete old remotes I'm sure you can you will find it when doing the reprogramming:yo: If you do a aftermarket alarm system it maybe a better way to go.
 
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I live next to little Tijuana(Oxnard Ca.). And it's in my driveway(Port Huneme).
I received my new remotes today and I deleted the old one, and programmed to new remotes.
Monday I will get my ignition assembly. That should only take an hour or less to install. Then I will call around and find the best way to re-key the door locks to match my new ignition key.
 
Okay guys, here's the follow up. I installed the new ignition switch, a kill switch and two crappy door locks from Amazon(I was too cheap to pay a locksmith $65 each to re-key the 3 exterior locks). The door locks fit very loose in the door, they work but feel very cheap. They did serve there purpose though.
While I had the original door locks out, I took them apart and re-keyed them to fit my new ignition keys. I had to remove the two split wafers, modify one wafer with a file and shuffle the rest of them around. So now they only have 6 wafers instead of 8. Still secure enough for me and for the first time I have everything on 1 key.
 
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