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(RE) Programming the Fob Remote

Recently I found that the remote (Fob) for my Tacoma just stopped working. Easy enough! I've had the vehicle for a few years. The battery must be dead.

The remote was easy enough to open. A dime or a quarter twisted in the provided grove allows the remote to snap open. Inside, the CR2032 battery is easily removed and replaced. I have always found Walgreen's to be the ideal place to find in-stock batteries of all sorts at reasonable prices.

What I did NOT know was that this little gem does not remember its relationship to my truck if it looses its pep. Had I not done some research, I may have well thought that my remote was damaged in recent rain or dropped one too many times. Fortunately, my time and patience paid off this time.

After replacing the battery, the remote still did not work. I found a site on line that encouraged me to look for a black box under the driver's seat but no such box was found. With some additional digging, I located a useful link on a http://www.programyourremote.com. More specifically to my 2007 Tacoma, the link is: http://www.programyourremote.com/classified/DisplayAd.asp?id=1584.

The instructions I found on this link to reprogram a relationship between the remote and the truck were a little hard to believe. I was, at first, certain someone was laughing somewhere at the thought that people would actually do the things they listed. But then I realized that the designers needed to figure out a method that would not accidentally be deployed, not take a great deal of time and be confusing enough that the dealer could declare your remote dead in a effort to sell you a new one.

I must tell you, despite my initial doubts, that it works. My wife helped me. Armed with a flashlight and the printed instructions she read step by step. Meanwhile, I rolled down the driver's window and proceeded with each step as she read them off. It took three tries to get the sequence down, but as they say, the third time was a charm.

Programming the Toyota 2007 Tacoma Fob Remote

1. Start with the key out of the ignition and the driver's door open. All other doors should be closed, but the driver's door should be unlocked.

2. Perform steps A and B below within 5 seconds.
A. Insert the key into the ignition and pull key out without turning it at all.
B. Repeat the step above

3. Perform steps A, B and C below within 40 seconds.
    A. Close and open the driver's door.
    B. Repeat the step above.
    C. Insert the key into the ignition and pull key out without turning it at all.

4. Perform steps A through F below within 40 seconds.
    A. Close and open the drivers door.
    B. Repeat the step above.
    C. Insert the key into ignition and do not remove it.
    D. Close the driver's door.
    E. Turn the ignition to the ON position (NOT Start), then back to the OFF position.
    F. Remove the key.

5. If the above steps were done properly, the power door locks should lock then unlock automatically as an indication that you have entered the programming mode successfully. If this does not occur, then repeat all the steps above.

6. Perform steps A and B within 40 seconds for each remote.
A. Press the lock and the unlock buttons located on the remote simultaneously

for 1.5 seconds.
B. Let go then immediately press the lock button by itself and hold for 2 seconds.

7. Within 3 seconds, the door locks should lock and then unlock just once to indicate that the remote was programmed successfully. Otherwise repeat step 6 again.

once indicating successful programming. Repeat steps A and B in step 6 for each new remote.

8. Open driver's door to end the programming session and test the remotes.

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