New smart key problem

[qbee42]

I expect the new ECU will do the trick.

Tom

[blueberry]

Originally Posted by qbee42

I expect the new ECU will do the trick.

Tom

I wish it were so...several things they tried did not fix it. Now they are awaiting a "Toyota guy" on Tuesday to brainstorm it. Heavy sigh! I suppose if they do not remedy the situation after a day or so next week it may be time to try a different dealer?
I would hope after a week in the dealership somebody could figure it out!

[Betelgeuse]

Yeah. My dealer HATES my SKS by this point. Just the mere act of replacing a key took them ~4 hours (I wrote a post on this somewhere). I think that some dealers are better than others at diagnosing and fixing these types of problems.

Something that wasn't clear from your post is whether they actually replaced the SKS ECU or if they just ordered a new one in case it was broken.

All of your issues strongly point to some big failure in the SKS ECU. If they haven't replaced it yet, they should have. Another dealer might be in order; unless you have experience with the service department, it's impossible to know if its a really hard problem or if the service department doesn't know what they're doing. You could try another dealer to get another data point. . .

[blueberry]

Originally Posted by Betelgeuse

Yeah. My dealer HATES my SKS by this point. Just the mere act of replacing a key took them ~4 hours (I wrote a post on this somewhere). I think that some dealers are better than others at diagnosing and fixing these types of problems.

Something that wasn't clear from your post is whether they actually replaced the SKS ECU or if they just ordered a new one in case it was broken.

All of your issues strongly point to some big failure in the SKS ECU. If they haven't replaced it yet, they should have. Another dealer might be in order; unless you have experience with the service department, it's impossible to know if its a really hard problem or if the service department doesn't know what they're doing. You could try another dealer to get another data point. . .

So this is not a new problem, that gives me hope they will fix it next week! I am not sure what they did...the service guy said the "smart key computer" as I recall, and a couple other things. I will go down Tuesday and find out for sure. I'm hoping to find some other things for them to look at in my research here. Surely there is a checklist they should be following on this, not just guesswork...

[galaxee]

stellar diagnostic ability is not, shall we say, common. the good diagnostic types are worth their weight in gold- once you find them!

[blueberry]

Okay, current update is...the dealer still is unable to get the car to read the smart keys. I stopped and retrieved a list of what was replaced so far. Here we go.
1. TO89745-47010 Battery, Trans (Descriptions from paperwork)
2. TO89994-47061 Transmitter, E
3. TO89741-47110 Receiver, Door
4. TO89990-47023 Computer Assy,

The service manager referred to #4 as the "main computer". I asked about the "SKS ecu" and the "Transponder ecu" and that was met with an unknowing look. The Toyota rep should be contacted tomorrow morning I hope.
Any suggestions for additional questions to them??? All input greatly appreciated!
Penny

[Betelgeuse]

I have no idea about the part numbers (someone more knowledgeable than I will hopefully respond), but I would hope that #4 would be the SKS ECU. Have you talked to the mechanic yet? Service writers can be clueless, but if you have a good mechanic, it doesn't matter too much. If the mechanic didn't know what the SKS ECU was, I'd be very concerned.

As far as I'm concerned, it's completely unacceptable that it's not fixed by now; I hope they've at least provided you with a loaner/rental car. My next question to them might be "When can I take this car to a competent dealer?" Of course, I'm (mostly) kidding, but I would definitely lean on them to get it fixed. They owe you either a fixed car or a reasonable explanation as to why they haven't fixed the car yet.

BTW, who is this dealer? Others may have had experiences with good/bad dealers in your area and will be able to tell you either, "Oh, yeah. That's a well-known incompetent dealer," or "Oh. They're a good dealer. It must be a really tough problem."

[Patrick Wong]

#2 is a fob and #1 is probably the fob battery.
#3 is one of the smart key receivers.
#4 is the smart key ECU.

What quantity of #3 was replaced: just one, or some larger number?

[blueberry]

Hello all, thanks for the replies. To Patrick, only 1 of the #3 door receivers shows to be replaced, and I don't know which one. Also, they said no codes were in the computer. I have not heard from my service rep yet this morning, they are waiting to talk to the Toyota Rep and then let me know.

The dealer is Bill Wright Toyota in Bakersfield, CA. I bought the car down in Indio at I10 Toyota, but too far to go for service. I live here in Bakersfield and chose Bill Wright for being the established dealer. We also have a new dealer, North Bakersfield Toyota, so there is an alternative.

The dealer at I10 also installed XM radio and Lojack for me, could that have loosened a connection somewhere? They asked, I said I didn't think so, the installation was Aug. 25th. The XM radio did have a hiccup come to think of it returning from Colorado last month. Quit working, then after I was home and restarted car was fine. ??? I should tell them that, hadn't thought of it.

[Patrick Wong]

The smart ECU is located behind the combination meter assembly (this contains the speedometer, odometer and various warning lights) in the dashboard. Hence to replace it, it is necessary to remove the black plastic dashboard cover pieces. It is certainly possible that installation of the satellite receiver may have disturbed the existing wiring harness, who knows.