Expert: INSTALLSUPPORT - 11/16/2007

Question
QUESTION: I brought my car to a local electronics shop to have a remote start installed.  I left ALL of my keys ON ONE KEY RING.  They drove the car using the key ring (all three transponder keys together) into their shop.  They called me to tell me that they don't know what is wrong with my car but after they pulled it into the shop that it will no longer start.  They tried a valet key reset and then disconnected and reconnected battery power.  The auto locks still work, all power, etc. however, NONE of the keys will start the car- it never turns over.  They had a tech come to "reprogram" the keys with the key code that I was given when I purchased the vehicle and the key still will not start the vehicle.  Could driving with the keys all together unprogrammed them?  If so, what do I do from here?

ANSWER: No, having all the transponder keys together would
not affect it. More likely that the keys are programmed,
but when they did they're work, they may have
inadvertently wiped the programming IN the car.

My suggestion is to ask them to have the vehicle towed to
the local Toyota dealership to have it evaluated
for this suggested cause and reset/re program the
keys to the truck. If they want you to pay for
it, then you might want to point out that THEY
caused the issue, and it's they're responsibilty
to correct the problem, not yours.
& of course, the better business bureau  
is always a phone call away....

Good luck.

ALARMTEK
CARPROTECTOR.com



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: THanks for the quick response.  They told me that they haven't done anything to the car yet.  They had "just pulled it in" and were going to move it to start their work.  If it was in fact the keys, would the keys still work to unlock the doors and give power to the vehicle (just not turn it over)?  Or would it just be dead when they were inserted?  If it is the computer programming in the car, is it something that is fixed relatively easy or is this going to be another few days (I have already been without a car for two days).  FYI.. I had spoken with them today and they did agree to tow it to the local Toyota dealer at their cost tomorrow morning if they could not fix by the end of the day today.

Answer
All good questions, but honestly, I would
only be speculating here. I imagine that the
folks at the Toyota dealer will be able to
quickly determing the trouble though, so I
would think it will be a fairly quick
process & repair.

Let me know what they discover.
Good luck with it.

A.