The problem started shortly after I purchased my runner and slowly worsened. One day I went out to my vehicle to get something and it was locked. Since the door chime drives me insane I always set my key on that shelf under the radio and keep the remote in my pocket (at least I did when it worked). I was sure I hadn't accidentally locked the doors but what other explanation could there have been, I thought. Since I had no spare key I had to drive nearly 50 miles one way to the nearest Toyota dealer to have a key made from my VIN. On the way back I ran out of gas b/c the Aztec I was drivng had a broken gauge and I had to hitch hike, but that's another story.

Some weeks later I parked in my driveway, got out, took a few steps and heard the doors lock. I thought I must have hit the lock button when I put the remote in my pocket. All the while these strange events are happening my remote became increasingly finicky. I couldn't unlock the doors from the distance I should have been able to and it usually required several clicks to unlock the rear hatch. I replaced the battery but it didn't help.

Then one day something happened that proved I wasn't going crazy. I parked in my driveway and w/ the igition off I sat and looked through my mail. All of the sudden I hear a click and my doors lock. I looked at the remote in my hand and tried to think if I hit any buttons. I unlocked the doors and continued w/ my mail when the doors locked again. I dropped the remote to see if it would do it again and after a few seconds it did.

A similar situation happened weeks later and I decided I'd try unlocking the doors and then moving the remote several feet away to see if it would continue to lock the doors. It didn't. By that time my remote was practically useless. I had to be standing at the door for it to unlock the driver's side and trying to unlock any other doors was futile. It was much faster to unlock them by hand.

Eventually it got to the point where I had to hit the unlock button several times just to unlock the driver's door. I replaced the battery again and it quit working altogether. That when I started carrying my key. I recently lost my key and now I'm carrying around my spare. I'll be screwed again if I ever lock that in.

Anyone else have this problem? Is there a fix or should I spring for another remote?

 

And if there is no easy fix, is there a way I can tell what FCC ID I need by, say, the VIN number? My remote must have been upset that I forgot its birthday and sprouted legs and walked off.

 

go to the stealership and ask them for one for your yota. You might have to pretend to buy it and forget your wallet at home/hint/hint/ because they have gotten wise to eBay and might not tell you the fcc id on it, just write it down and eBay it when you get home.

As for the doors locking on their own, we used to have a car that did that, it was called an active alarm. Always locked a few minnutes after last door was shut. I hated it and never figured out how to set it. But it did save me $$ with my insurace co. because it was retard proof.

 

LOL! I love the line you put for your location (runnerSR5 grabs side in fit of laughter). Whales vagina. He, he.

Anyway, unless that's something all dealers can do, pretending to buy one would mean an 85 mile drive to the nearest Toyota stealership. I've been looking online and so far the FCC code for all remotes for the '01 4runners has been HYQ1512Y. If I can't find my remote soon I may just take a chance and order one for $10. The last time I looked at remotes they were going for $30-$40 so that's why I was wondering about a fix for mine.

 

Did you change the battery in the remote?
Did it get dropped in a puddle?

 

I have an 02 w/o the alarm and it came w/ no remote, dealer would not give me one for free. I grabbed two from another dealer I work part time at, one was the HQ1512Y and the other was HYQ12BAN. I went through the programming steps and the HQ1512Y did not work, but the HYQ12BAN works just fine. So if you have keyless but no alarm you probably need the HYQ12BAN like me.

And now that I answered your question perhaps you will answer mine, I actually asked you in another post and lost track of it. Did you add the e-locker to your 01 or were they offered in AK for an extra year?

 

I changed the battery twice. Didn't drop in a puddle or go through the wash or anything like that.

 

I'm not really sure if I have an alarm or not. I've never had it go off. I probably don't have it, but is there some way I can tell?

I bought the 4runner used. According to the VIN, it was originally purchased in Indiana. It had the locker when I bought it and I'm 99.98% sure it was factory installed. I'm sure you have read just like I have that Toyota stopped offering the e-locker for '01 models. Not sure what to make of it. Either what I've read is incorrect or they still offered an e-locker for at least part of the year.

 

The alarm is probably set for passive arming. Which is good if you forget, but bad if you left your keys in the vehicle.
We are talking about a factory key fob, correct?

 

Yes, factory.