Master key MIA, trunk lock valet key hack.

Your local locksmith can inexpensively make a trunk key based on a ignition key and vice versa. Basically the difference is removing/leaving in place, one notch of the key.

 

Also, since you have a Gen 1, you can even buy chip keys on eBay (around $17 last time I bought one), have them cut at your local locksmith or hardware for a couple bucks, and program them to the car yourself so they'll start it, just using a certain sequence of key twists and door slams (affectionately known as the chicken dance). You don't even need access to Techstream, as some later model owners do.

... however, to do that, you need to start with a key that was programmed as master. If the key you have was cut as a valet key, it was probably also programmed as a sub, and won't work for that purpose. That makes things more complicated.

-Chap

 

I had intended to buy some keys off ebay and duplicate the master. Time got the best of me and the hints along the way did not sink in. My wife lost the first key and fob, and a year later lost the second key and fob. Now I have only the valet key, and the trunk is locked. I need to get into the trunk and charge the aux battery as it has gone low while the car sat. Can't drive it, as it is out of inspection and needs brake light bulbs. I thought about the dealer route, but my friend said it cost a couple of hundred. Even going to the dealer for getting a non-chip master key cut scares me.
Question: Does the Gen1 with the one-piece back seat have a safety release in the trunk? I don't recall seeing a lever.

 

Let me guess, somebody also did the quarter-turn-left of the trunk key cylinder, so the pull handle by the driver's seat won't open it?

Yes, there is a release inside the trunk, IIRC.

-Chap

 

The trunk key is just a slightly different cut than the door key. Your local key locksmith store should know how to cut it.
You can access the trunk via the back seat by removing the rear seat back.

 

I just went through the same issue. My local Toyota dealer sold me a metal key that would open doors and trunk based on the car's VIN number for less than $10.
I then brought that key and the valet key I got with the car to Ace hardware and they were able to make another chip key (that starts the car) but with the bottom cut of the metal key, around $80. So now I have a chip key that also opens the trunk.
Also was able to purchase a FOB on amazon and program using valet key.

 

A tall person would never see the emergency release handle in the trunk, even with the lid open and it being 6 inches from your nose. I had to squat down and look up to see it there inside the escutcheon. Yes, the trunk was valet-locked, so I decided to take out the back seat. 9 bolts later, the panel revealed the handle there on the door at the trunk lid. I stuck a wooden shovel handle back there and tripped it. Took the cylinder out and removed its rod, left the trunk release cable hooked up. As long as the secondary rotator is in the down position, the cable will work. I will use it like this until I find/get master keys.
Beth524, if your dealer sold you a cut plain-metal key for $10, he basically just had you pay for the ridiculously upcharged retail blank. I don't think our dealers down here would be so nice. But given your experience, I will inquire with my dealer to see if I could be so lucky.
My wife lost both master keys and key fobs, and I neglected to buy the blank transponder keys to prevent my situation should it ever happen. I am inclined for someone to clean house, before I go to the dealer. It is not my hide and seek game, but they have been gone for years, so I might as well give up and go down there where I bought the car. Maybe they will take pity on me and my 15 year old car.

 

The dealer here is the farthest thing from nice, I would never go there for service, but it was super easy to get that key. You really don't need a master key, as Ace hardware or the local locksmith can copy the Valet key. The dealer tried to tell me it would cost hundreds to get a new fob. It cost $25 on Amazon, and the Valet key was fine for programming it. Good luck!