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Immobilizers lost communication

Kirsten

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Jul 30, 2017
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6
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australia
1 day into a weekend away and according to RAC my immobilizers have lost communication due to a flat battery. Is there anything I can do? RAC suggests towing to nearest Toyota Dealer on Monday morning to reset. He tried charging both batteries but that didn't work. He also tested a new battery -that didn't work either.
Toyota Landcruiser Sahara.
 
Hi Kirsten and welcome. Have you tried putting a new battery in your remote? I've no experience of your cruiser so this is generic info but it's worth a shot. If it works it's a cheap fix. Otherwise, do you have a spare key? If at home could someone post it to you? Just thinking aloud.
Otherwise it maybe that you are in the hands of the local Toyota stealer.

Good luck sorting it and please come back and let us know how you get on.

Best wishes
Rich
 
Immobilisers don't usually require batteries in the key fob as alarm fobs do, it's just a transponder chip, enabled by the proximity coil, usually sited around the steering column area. My guess is it's an ECU problem unfortunately requiring a visit to a dealer. Hope you get it sorted quickly and cheaply!
 
That's my thoughts too TP but if the battery goes in a Smart car key you can't start the car (or so I'm told! Hope to never find out).
 
That's my thoughts too TP but if the battery goes in a Smart car key you can't start the car (or so I'm told! Hope to never find out).


That's my thoughts too TP but if the battery goes in a Smart car key you can't start the car (or so I'm told! Hope to never find out).

Thanks all for your thoughts/advice. It looks like a tow to the dealer tomorrow is unavoidable. I did bring both key fobs with me and they both have the same problem - they're not even locking and unlocking the doors. Zero communication.
Interestingly the RAC guy told me that keeping the key fob in close proximity to the car can flatten a battery as they're always communicating with the car (even when you're not pushing the buttons). He said he's often called to caravan parks where this has occurred. Smart cars?
When technology fails it fails in a big way .
I am new to this site so I hope everyone who responded can see this post.
Thanks again
 
We can see, Kirsten. I hope you stick around, we're a friendly bunch on here. If you plan on sticking around you might like to pop over to the 'introduce yourself' section and do just that. Photos are always welcome, and there's lots of info and helpful members on here.
Good luck at the stealership.
 
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My fob does that sometimes and i just hold both lock and unlock buttons down at the same time for 30 seconds to resync
 
My fob does that sometimes and i just hold both lock and unlock buttons down at the same time for 30 seconds to resync

That only works if you have one foot in a bucket of cold custard... :lol:

Sorry Kirsten, how frustrating. Unfortunately, thank goodness, my old 80 series doesn't have any gizmos like an imobilizer, but it does have an aftermarket alarm which doubles up with the central locking.

It died the other day as it happens, and as the batteries were fairly new, about 6 months, I managed to get it working again by pulling the batteries out of the fob and cleaning everything up in there.

It worked a treat. The old batteries must have lasted about 7 years if I remember correctly!

Welcome to the forum BTW, and as said, good luck with your trip to the dealer... :handgestures-finge:

Please let us know how you got on...
 
Thanks all for your thoughts/advice. It looks like a tow to the dealer tomorrow is unavoidable. I did bring both key fobs with me and they both have the same problem - they're not even locking and unlocking the doors. Zero communication.
Interestingly the RAC guy told me that keeping the key fob in close proximity to the car can flatten a battery as they're always communicating with the car (even when you're not pushing the buttons). He said he's often called to caravan parks where this has occurred. Smart cars?
When technology fails it fails in a big way .
I am new to this site so I hope everyone who responded can see this post.
Thanks again
I think your RAC man is wrong, if the fob and car had the capability to communicate without pressing a button in the first place they would try to do so whether near or far I would think.
 
Both buttons to resync is in the 90 series owners handbook , i'm certainley not clever enough to have worked that out on my own :|
 
So the drivers side battery was dead and so badly corroded that Toyota had difficulty getting it out. This wasn't the battery the RAC guy tried replacing though . He replaced the one on the passenger side. I assume the passenger side battery is the auxiliary.

In my eagerness to get on the road I didn't ask them if the imobilisers needed rejigging. I would doubt it though.
 
So the drivers side battery was dead and so badly corroded that Toyota had difficulty getting it out. This wasn't the battery the RAC guy tried replacing though . He replaced the one on the passenger side. I assume the passenger side battery is the auxiliary.

In my eagerness to get on the road I didn't ask them if the imobilisers needed rejigging. I would doubt it though.

Hoping this is sorted then Kirsten, do you have the truck back now?
 
Glad it's sorted Kirsten. Thanks for letting us know.
Lots of Cruisers are 24 volt start which uses both batteries together into the starter then they connect them across each other to run everything else and charge at the normal 12 volts when not doing the starting. With one battery dead, and it is sometimes the case (rare) that batteries suddenly fail for no reason, the vehicle would appear ok for all the ancillaries, lights, heater, dash etc. and simply fail to start the engine. If this is the case as it is on earlier Cruisers, this would look very much like the immobiliser had failed.

Shame the RAC guy didn't test both batteries properly, could have saved you some heartache. Sounds like he was troubleshooting by replacement, very common these days where folks aren't taught to find a fault, just to fix it.

Now, how about some photos of your lovely Cruiser? :)
 
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Hoping this is sorted then Kirsten, do you have the truck back now?

Yep all sorted. Was a couple of hours at Toyota ....During terential rain and the steering was locked so couldn't even push it into the workshop. I was well looked after - something about being 25 weeks pregnant might've worked in my favour??
 
Glad it's sorted Kirsten. Thanks for letting us know.
Lots of Cruisers are 24 volt start which uses both batteries together into the starter then they connect them across each other to run everything else and charge at the normal 12 volts when not doing the starting. With one battery dead, and it is sometimes the case (rare) that batteries suddenly fail for no reason, the vehicle would appear ok for all the ancillaries, lights, heater, dash etc. and simply fail to start the engine. If this is the case as it is on earlier Cruisers, this would look very much like the immobiliser had failed.

Shame the RAC guy didn't test both batteries properly, could have saved you some heartache. Sounds like he was troubleshooting by replacement, very common these days where folks aren't taught to find a fault, just to fix it.

Now, how about some photos of your lovely Cruiser? :)
IMG_1495.JPG
IMG_1495.JPG
 

A holiday happy snap.
This was actually my Dad's rig who passed away nearly 2 years ago. He was a keen camper and 4wd-er. Having left behind his wife and 6 adult kids (and their families) we all manage to get plenty of use out of this so it's not been sold yet. I wish this was my everyday car But alas I'm still getting around in my first car ...a 2001 corolla.
 
Sorry to hear about your Pop Kirsten, but what a great way to remember him by keeping his cruiser and all the family using it.

Thinking on this situation, if you don't already, it may be a good idea to keep one of the CTek chargers connected to the batteries while she's not being driven. CTeks really look after batteries on vehicles that aren't being driven a lot.
 
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Good thinking Rich,

or drive the cruiser every day (like I do, much against my wife's 'advice' :lol:).

Left standing is the very worst thing for a vehicle IMO.
 
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