08 out number of allowed fobs, now what

Do you have any fobs or mechanical keys at all anymore? You don't make it clear if you still have a functional FOB or if you're totally locked out and unable to use the car?

If that's the case, an electronic locksmith who is a large enough company to use the Toyota Techstream Software that charges locksmiths a monthly fee would be an ideal way to go. They can clear and reseed a batch of keys, as well as make mechanical keys but it won't be cheap, but way cheaper than the dealer...

And Letting us know where you live is going to make it easier to help you, "down by the river" doesn't help much.

Some dealerships have been known to tell people they have to spend $5K on replacing the entire immobilizer system, which is insane!

There's a bunch of cheaper options if you still have a fob that works, but that's not clear in your message.

 

The physical key is not mated to the car so you could just replace the driver's door cylinder. A new cylinder from the dealer is about $100 and comes with 2 keys.
I don't know what the labor would be to replace the cylinder, the prices seem to vary wildly depending upon region.

 

Glad to hear you still have a working FOB... You can buy a new FOB in the $100 range and do the "Chicken Dance" to program it to your car. Or you can do it via Toyota Techstream. You can also buy a used one with silver, not black logo for cheap and there's a company that used to be on Ebay that will wipe it clean so you can program it to your car. That company used to be on Ebay, but no longer are.

 

You could buy a Toyota key at home depot and have it copied using working physical key. This will allow you to lock / unlock the door with a spare key for about 5$. Additionally it is fairly easy to get a black logo FOB and program it using your working FOB. It will start the car by inserting FOB the slot. This will allow you to have a working spare key, that locks and unlock the car and start it as well for cheap.

 

They can reset the thing to allow a new batch of keys to be stored. Here's the thing: the only way to do it is with the secure version of Techstream software, and nobody has that except Toyota dealers and pro locksmiths- and not just any locksmith so ask ahead.

 

Techstream can delete all keys except the current one. Then you can add back whatever you have plus new keyfobs. I don't think these functions require secure access. Adding a used keyfob does require secure authority, or at least a seed that you can purchase online. The keyslot function works with both silver and black logo keyfobs. Button/proximity usage requires a proper match between keyfob and car equipment.

Note that there are mini-vci units that don't work with keyfobs. They're supposed to, but it's a case of which pirate you trust.

 

The Repair Manual (more info) says, “A total of 5 keys can be registered.”

As long as you have at least one working key, you don’t need to reset anything; that’s done only when all the keys have been lost. Instead, as @RobH points out, you (or someone with a Toyota Techstream diagnostic system) can use the “erasure” function to delete all the keys but one, and then register (add) the other keys that you still have, plus a new one, if you wish.

That’s correct. Adding and erasing keys, as long as you have one key that works, requires only a working Techstream system, available to anyone. It’s the Smart Code Reset function, used to avoid having to replace the transponder key ECU when there are no working keys, that is protected. The reset function is also misused to allow a key that has previously been used with another vehicle to be registered; normally, only keys that are brand new, or that have been used with the same vehicle, can be added.

That was the idea, and still the official policy, but the protection has been defeated: third parties now offer calculator programs and the service of computing the required pass-code numbers.

 

It's strange how if someone pulls out a gun and says give me all your money they go to jail for that because we have laws to protect us from criminals... But if a LLC-based car stealership does the equivalent crime, there's no laws to protect us from them? We need to have serious consequences in the form of revoking corporate charters and they can no longer operate their business if they rip people off like this.