by cirrus, July 17, 2015
After locking myself out of my 2011 Rolla LE.... then having to walk 6 miles to get cell range I decided I need a backup without making $200 key. I don't want it to start the car....just unlock the doors. So I went to one key cutter and he said...."I can make you what you want....but on a lot of cars if you unlook the doors without the real key....the ECU locks everything out and even the real key wont work and the dealer has to reset everything.
Never thought of that.....and truth to it??
TIA
I really don't think it would be a problem.
I'll have to ask my dealer....I was just there and forgot to ask them.
OTOH...all these theft protection options are pissing me off. Who the hell would risk anything stealing this car?? Reminds me of the time leaving it in the train station parking lot in a nasty area of a big city and my family asking...."aren't you afraid of someone stealing it?"
Yea....in a garage filled with Audis....several Porches....BMW's.....yea....I can see a thief...."heeeeeeeey.....look....a 2011 Corolla....this one is mine boys!". I could have left it unlocked and it would have been fine.
You'd be surprised. Sure those exotic / expensive cars are targets for joy riders / certain type of thief. But the most common / mudane cars are usually the favorite targets of serial car thieves. Most don't have sophisticated alarm systems and parts from the chop shop generally won't draw much attention, can be used on a number of other cars. For the longest time - older Chevy and Ford trucks, Jeeps, Camrys, Corollas, Civics, and Accords were among the most stolen vehicles out there. These were popular and thus pretty common, so they blend easily into the crowd. If the thief stolen, say a Porsche Carrera GT, that would definitely draw people's attention. Same thief with a Corolla - basically be invisible - could drive all the way to the chop shop.
As for the key - should be fine. The immobilizer function is only if you want to start the car. If the car is equipped with an alarm, it will be pretty unhappy if you unlocked the door physically without using the remote. But you can disarm it once you opened the door to get your remote that was previously locked inside.
Yea I can see them stealing airbags. But I'm willing to risk someone stealing it (they wont be getting anywhere fast in it that's for sure...LOL) to be able to make duplicate keys without the issues you have now. OTOH I just need to get my head out my butt and remember it will lock the doors at any time.
That's another deal I wish I could change. Me unlocking the doors about 20ft away....then it relocking them just as I get to the car.
LOL! That's for sure.
Yeah, that automatic relock can be a little annoying - both of our 2009 do that. Seems like I almost always walk up to the car only to hear it lock back up.
I think you can change the timeout and associated interior lighting length with a Techstream tool, but I have not verified this. Mine is coming up with all sorts of bogus information, missing fields, etc. - though not sure if this is do the knock-off MFC-VIM controller cable ($25 vs $1500) or if this is just a Toyota ECM "feature".
Dealership sound be able to hook the ECM to the tool and see if you can either turn it off or adjust the timeout length, if it is possible on that model.
Leith Toyota made me a non-chip door key to unlock the door or trunk. Did it free from the key code.
Never screwed up the immobilizer when I tested it.
My 2013 Customization Guide said the relock could be turned off by the dealer. Leith tried but could not get that to work. They could only change the time before re-lock.
If your dealer gets it turned off, let us know and I'll ask Leith to contact Toyota support for help. I hate that feature too.