I lost my only smart key of 2004 Prius. I heard before that in this case, the whole security assembly inside car needs to be replaced, which will cost $1-2K plus new smart keys. My question is, can it be replaced with junked Prius? My car is parked in a restaurant parking lot. It will be towed if I don't move it tomorrow. If it can be replaced by a junked Prius parts, I will tow it to my mechanics garage. If not, I will tow it to a Toyota Dealer. Please let me know ASAP. I will check this thread first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks! Allen
I am pretty sure it will have to be towed to a Toyota Dealer. Should not matter whether it is a junked car or not.
not sure - you would have to get the key from the junked car too and the door handle lock where the key goes in. not sure when they are programming the key, where that equipment is located or even replaceable. it might still be cheaper to just have Toyota do the whole thing. Sometimes the dealers have coupons that you could try and see if they would take it.
You can try calling autobeyours. They are the king of rebuilding junk Prius cars. They will know your options.. 812-752-5050
Also call a locksmith or two. Yes they REALLY do know about those electronic keys and how to deal with them. Often at a cost way, WAY below what the dealers charge.
This is not intended to sound insensitive to the OP's problem, and won't help him at this point. But for all those who will subsequently read this thread, I would say that if you have only one key, absolutely go now and get a spare, one way or another. PC user Ovni has made that a cheap option.
Totally agree! I actually have two keys. It just happened the other one does not work at this point somehow. Anyway, I found that without key, I can not put gear in neutral. It is tricky to tow the car. Ideally it should be towed with front wheels on dolly, but in a hurry I can't find a tow company with that. The tow guy put two hard plastic plates under the wheel, and was able to reduce the sliding force on front axes when load it onto flatbed. About AutoBeYours: Their quote was higher than my dealer's. However, they sell the keys and immobilizer hardware pre-programmed as package, mainly to Prius re-builders, while I only need keys and reprogramming. Although they have many sets available, they are not willing to beat my dealer's keys-only quote. That's a little surprise to me. Not long ago, I was looking for a mirror assembly. Steve said he does not have one, but he can get it for $85 plus shipping. Later I went on eBay, found one for $50. Their rebuilt Prius is priced roughly at regular Prius. I was seriously considering buy one from them, and am confident of the good rebuild job they do. But the price simply does not make sense to me. I'm not trying to bad mouth Steve. I understand he is running a business and needs to make money. But I did change my expectation since then. Be sure to shop around and make your best judgement. As always, thank you for all the great help! It's truly a wonderful community. Allen
