Essentially you're taking the guts out of your spare key and putting them into an empty fob. There's 2 ways I am going to show you how to go about it. The first is getting your blank cut and the other is taking your spare key, cutting it down to fit, then replacing the blank. The reason for the second option is because home depot messed up the blank when they cut it. More on that later.
You can get the blank key fob by searching on ebay for "Rav4 flip key fob". I paid $20ish shipped.
before
after
on the blank fob there are 2 small phillips head screws
inside of the key fob. when opening, be careful because the key is wound up on a spring.
with a flat head screwdriver pop up the donor fob
guts taken apart
the transponder "chip" is the little rectangle piece on the lower right hand side of the fob
heat up the donor fob with a heat gun until the plastic becomes "movable" and with a pair of small needle nose, pull it out.
take a toothpick and dip it in some super glue. then place a drop or 2 in the new fob.
place transponder in glue. set that aside to dry.
Story about the blank. I took it to home depot to get cut. After explaining to them "yes I know a chip is required and its already transferred. All I need is it "cut". We agreed that if something with wrong it would be on me not them since I am bringing them the blank key and they were not charging me. Well their machine screwed up.
the og key is on the left and the one they cut is on the right. for whatever reason the machine took way more off towards the tip then it was supposed to.
This is actually the 2nd time I'm doing this. The first time I didnt get pics and it came out a little loose.
theres a 1/16'' pin that you have to take out. i used a drill bit and hammer. in the first pic its the hole on the left
once you get a little bit out, you can grab it with a pair of pliers and take it the rest of the way out. its a little tough but it'll come out.
the blank and the donor
what i used to do the trimming
donor and blank for comparison
a little tip. when trimming use the high speed to cut it down to the basic shape. then use the low speed to grind it down to the exact shape and size. this is what takes the longest but take your time and get it right the first time.
then comes the slit. line up the spare and mark it off. make it just big enough to where the pin fits inside the slit.
place the trimmed key in the slot. line up the pin and lightly with a hammer tap it into place. once its about 2/3 of the way, use a pair of pliers to force it the rest of the way.
take your buttons from the donor and place them in the flip fob
theres a rubber piece that goes between the buttons and module that needs trimmed down to fit.
before
after
i did a test fit and the buttons felt a little loose. so i folded up some small pieces of paper and placed them inside the fob for a firm fit
the spring has a small piece that comes out and the fob has a notch in it where the spring goes. place the spring in said notch like so
the button and key have notches as well. place button in key
place button on spring like so except place it in the "2 o'clock" position then wined 2 1/2 rotations counter clockwise and hold.
now comes the tricky part. putting the 2 halfs together. its a lot easier with 4 hands but not impossible with 2 hands. screw in the back 2 screws and enjoy.
overall review:
Feels great. The key springs right up. In the car it doesnt have a cheap feel or feels like its going to brake.