My key fob hit the ground with some force and broke apart Some parts were lost The little computer board is fine Can I buy a new case and just put the old board in and it will work? Thanks
Yeah probably, post pics. I guess it depends which parts you lost. Can you test it with just the naked board?
The naked board is functional I tested it Possting a pic is difficult The only parts missing are the lock and unlock rubber buttons that activate the electronic board and the plastic part that hold the spare key in the case
Is the little black trapezoid-looking RFID chip still in it? That's what allows you to start the car by holding the fob against the power button, if the circuit board or battery conks out. If that's been lost, you'll want to know before you need it. Assuming that's still there, then yes, you can put your parts into a new case and be good to go. (Remember the little black chip again! It's been left behind in old cases more than once.)
It goes in the very bottom of the remote case or top depending upon how you look at it there's a little trapezoidal shaped hole that this thing goes into usually a drop won't dislodge it so if you have the pieces of the case it should still be stuck in I believe the piece that holds the board right under the board you'll see the little looks like a coffin shaped hole and there's a chip in there We hope it's still there If not it's right on the ground right near where all the stuff is but usually it's still in the case You've got to take a little awl and flick it out.usually then the cases the factory case looks just like the factory case will cost like $6.80 and it comes with the rubber buttons in place and the three pieces to the case including the battery cover a new blank key which you just put your original key in and if you have a silver SKS back you can use it with the new cover so the only thing that looks brand new is the faceplate with the rubber buttons but it's all new You just used your silver back so you don't have a plain back or maybe you want a plaine back.
If you search here through fob information just Google FOB you should find plenty of pictures of your fob taken apart laid on a table face down with the inner showing inside of one of these remotes all you're going to see is the battery door with four little screws a green circuit board that looks like every other circuit board on the planet and a little trapezoidal or coffin shaped transponder chip once you see it you'll know what to be looking for then you can look at the pieces of your remote if you manage to save them most people throw them in the trash along with the chip and now they're well in the pickle so I imagine you won't have the pieces anyway just as a thing but if you do you've done well maybe that transponder chip the coffin shaped trapezoidal shaped thing is still in the plastic maybe it isn't it would have looked like a pebble on the floor at the time this happened you would have just walked away so if you can't go back there this is been some time ago or any and all of that and you won't have this chip If you have another remote that went to this vehicle you could probably get another one set up doing the dance and what have you. If not you'll be dealing with the locksmith and be out around $300 unless he's a really good friend The Toyota dealer will be 500 plus the Toyota dealer will not be willing to work with anything but a brand new fob that they order You can query the dealer about how much that cost generally it's not worth what the car is unless you have a real nice one
??? If the car worked, as it did before it was broken, it must be fine. You can get replacement plastic cases on ebay or at parts stores for less than $10.
The passive, RFID way of working (where you hold the fob against the power button in case the smart-key stuff isn't working) might not be something people often think to test, being used to the smart-key way of working. If the car were a gen 2, I could suggest just turning off the "KEY" switch under the dash; then if you can start the car (with the fob in the gen 2 fob slot) you know the RFID chip is there. But gen 3 doesn't have a "KEY" switch. There's no easy way to turn the smart-key system off in gen 3. (There is a goofy chicken dance that can do it, but what a pain.) An easier test might be to just leave the fob's circuit board on the kitchen counter. and try to start the gen 3 by holding the broken case against the power button. If it works, you know the chip is in there. If it doesn't work, the chip may have fallen out. Because it's usual never to test the fob this way until you need to because the fob battery or smart-key board conks out, it's worth taking time now to make sure that does work, so you avoid an unpleasant surprise sometime later when you need it.
