Hey Eddie,
Well my friend... you're
"partically" right.
As I stated before, I work for the nation's largest key blank manufacturer and it's our
"JOB" to stay on top of these things and to
"KNOW" how we can help the independent locksmith stay competative in today's market. Especially, in the world of auto
"Transponder Keys"! That said, please allow me to enlighten you...
"IF" iriepunk's 4-Runner had been either an '01 or '02 he
"could" (as you stated) have had the ECU
"reprogrammed". The actual term for this is having the ECU
"reflashed". Yes, the ECU DOES have to be pulled from the vehicle and sent to someone with a
"reflashing" machine... such as a high-end locksmith. What this
"reflashing machine" does, is to actually burn a new memory onto the ECU with a set of new keys.
HOWEVER... in 2003 that changed... when Toyota found out this could be done! They in turn, changed the programming of the ECU so it
CANNOT be done now! Mainly as a further security measure. As you might suspect... of course... the dealer
"wants" to sell a
"new" ECU (tanslated: $$$$$$$) thus, this is also a
"part" of the reason for the change in '03, which unfortunately WILL affect iriepunk's '04 4-Runner!
Bottom line... getting this problem solved without replacing the ECU (unless at least one
"master" key can be found)... well...
"it jus' ain't gonna happen"... PERIOD!
Dave