tenchu

I have a 90 LS400 and the plastic cover on my key finally broke (21 years old and 261k) so I figured for temporary use i'd just take the cover off and put the metal key on my ring. Well when I took the cover off a battery fell out. Keep in mind, I have no buttons on my key, and as far as I know, my car doesn't have keyless entry.

What is this for?

Also, is there anywhere I can buy a new cover? I really don't want to spend $XXX.xx dollars at Lexus for a new key, since this one still "works" it just needs new plastics.

Thanks

emarknot

are you 100% sure you dont have a button?

its on the corner of the plastic...maybe its stuck in the down position.

and if you have keyless entry, you should have a switch on the lower left side of the dash that says "remote on/off"

tenchu

Holy hell, you mean to tell me i've had keyless entry this whole time?

emarknot

are you being serious?

tenchu

Unfortunately, dead serious, I never knew that button was there. Though, not sure if it works, battery may be dead, I went out to try it as soon as I read that. Ran to auto zone to get a battery and they don't have one so I'll have to try somewhere else.

Any clue where I can get a new cover?

emarknot

dealer.

or try sewell lexus that everyone here prefers......someone may be able to point you in a better direction.

sorry i cant be much more help than that



i dont have the keyless key, its just a regular hard key. but i do have keyless entry.
im just to cheap to buy the remote key. from what i understand, its about $50.

tenchu

Mine doesn't seem to work anyways so :P

New battery (Walgreens had one) still no good

tenchu

Took it apart, little chip is broken off the circuit board, that explains a lot

But if its only $50 for a key, I may just have to order one

Thanks!

Edit: $60 for a non-remote, $320 for a remote key (plus programming) no wonder you went that route!

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

tenchu

Indeed, possibly the biggest fail of my life. I've actually played with the button before, and the switch on the dash. At least I know now I didn't really miss out on anything, since the remote doesn't work, LOL!

FrankReynoldsCPA

Yeah, i think they all came with keyless entry. When i got my car it only had a non-remote key, and the plastic was broken to the point you couldn't put it on a ring, so it would have been rediculously easy to lose. I was quoted upwards of $300 from Lexus of Henderson, NV. This is what I did. I went to a local locksmith in St. George, UT. Had them cut me 2 sub keys(the non-remote key) for $30 a piece. I was going to just go without remote entry, but my car developed a problem where if you unlock it with a key, the alarm goes off, every time. Lexus wanted upwards of $500 to replace the door lock cylinder. I bought the Viper 2HV11(or something like that) remote keyless entry system from Best Buy for $130 + tax. The installation was free. Now I have a remote system with better range than the factory(my mom has a 91 with keyless entry, works only within a couple feet), that can also set off the alarm or open the trunk. This is 2 keys and 2 remotes for a total of $190, and a better remote than the factory.

tenchu

Yeah I think thats the route i'll end up going. I've been looking at investing in an alarm anyways, as i've got a pretty expensive stereo in the car. Did you just order the $60 dealer keys and pay a locksmith to cut them, or did your locksmith actually have keys?

FrankReynoldsCPA

The locksmith had the keys. $60 dollars got me 2 keys + cutting.
Obviously not all locksmiths are going to have the keys, I drove 80 miles to find one(I live in the middle of nowhere, had to drive to the city). Odds are though if you're in a decent city, you'll find one.

FrankReynoldsCPA

In case you're wondering, this is how different the keys look.
Before:

and After:

tenchu

Thanks