Lost fob, '24 Limited

Sorry folks if this discussion appears elsewhere, but I searched for a while and came up empty.

I can't believe it but I've already become separated from my primary fob! I know an OEM replacement fully programmed will cost me as much as $500 and obviously I don't want to spend that much as it will seriously delay my sound system upgrade! The fob might very well be lost away from my home. Of course everyone asks "How could that happen - you wouldn't be able to unlock the truck and/or start it without the fob!" But I have that CC-sized device in my wallet that's always with me so I could easily drive away without the fob and not know it. At this time of year I tend to leave the fob in my jacket pocket and just drive off. It wasn't until this past Fri. that I grabbed it out of my pocket and realized that was my secondary fob and the primary one isn't on the key rack.

The question for now - is there any way I can use the Toyota app, or another 3rd-party app, to find that fob if it's somewhere in my house or on my property? I assume any "digital information" I might need would be on the secondary fob.

Also, is there any place inside the cab where I might have lost that fob where it would be blocked such that the truck won't "see" it?

Thanks for any help...and again, I apologize if this topic has already been addressed elsewhere - if so, just point me to it...

Cheers...!

 

The question for now - is there any way I can use the Toyota app, or another 3rd-party app, to find that fob if it's somewhere in my house or on my property? I assume any "digital information" I might need would be on the secondary fob.

Pretty sure that is no.

Also, is there any place inside the cab where I might have lost that fob where it would be blocked such that the truck won't "see" it?

If you placed it in a faraday cage. If you went through the sequence on the fob to stop transmitting. Otherwise pretty sure that is a no.

If you have access to a metal detector that would be a viable option.

I would definitely consider a tile/airtag/chipolo tracking device to keep on the same keychain as your now only key fob. And do it now. Years ago, Toyota had something similar, Toyota Key Finder. I don't think that is supported anymore.

Good luck.

 

It sounds obvious,
But have you tried to have no fobs (or phone keys) anywhere near you and checked to see if the truck locks or unlocks by touch or starts by push button? To confirm whether it's hiding somewhere inside the cab?

Hopefully you didn't have too many jacket pockets to check.

Looks like you're definitely in the $300-500 that for a new fob, cut, and program.

 

Can you get by with just the card and one FOB? I know it's great to have the extra..........piece of mind and all. My only concern is if I lost it at one of my regular haunts, ie. gym, etc. Being afraid that someone who found it now has access to my vehicle.

 

Thanks for your reply! I'm a retired electrical engineer by education/experience so the idea of a Faraday cage came to mind immediately, and ironically I actually have one in this truck - I had the safe installed in my console for my EDC. Of course I checked in there early on. I didn't think I had put the fob in there but stranger things have happened.

This isn't the first time I lost a fob. The last time it happened several years ago I did not replace the fob because it was used only for access and remote start that I rarely used - it was the keys that went with the fobs that were programmed to activate the start and I had several spare keys. I now have 2 "keyless" vechicles and (should) have 2 fobs each. To be sure, I will now add to each set a tracking device...should have done that years ago...

 

Thanks for your reply! I haven't stopped looking and will continue that for a few weeks before. The truck is completely "dead" unless I have one of the other fobs with me, thus I'm almost 100% sure the lost one is not in the vehicle or close by in the garage. But I'm not done searching! I'm still looking "locally" as new ideas come to mind, and I am contacting lost and founds at the places I have visited in the past 2 weeks. Truth is I'm not sure how long the lost fob has been missing. I noticed that I was using the back-up fob last Friday. Yes, I'm planning on it costing me ~$500 when I give up looking and replace it, which I will do if it's not found. Actually, if I want to speed up finding it, I should just pony-up for the replacement...!

 

Sure, I can survive minus 1 fob - it just makes me feel "unwhole". Not that I'm made of money, but spending that $500 will get me over the emotional loss and the whole bad experience will be forgotten in time. If that truck was older, I might not replace one missing fob...but with a virtually brand new truck that's just not acceptable to me. Agreed, I don't like the fact that someone who finds that remote would have access to my truck, but I'll just have the missing fob de-programmed out of the system when the replacement is added. If it's ever found/returned to me it can be added back in again...

 

I wasn't aware that FOB's could be un-linked to the vehicle. So I guess they get the code from the current FOB, tell the truck to disregard the code, then relink a different code for the FOB and the new FOB. Interesting.