I am in one of those unfortunate moments where I worry that a mistake will turn my 2009 Sienna into a 4000 pound brick if I mess up.
This car has transponder keys, with chips that must be within a few inches of the ignition switch or the car will not start.
The car battery has nearly failed. My question is, does the stored transponder code evaporate when you disconnect the car battery?
I read the owner’s manual, and it only says to make sure you have a radio code if your car has anti-theft radio. So, one would assume that means there is not a problem with changing the battery by traditional brute force means.
However, I have not always found Toyota manuals to be bullet-proof.
Any thoughts or knowledge or experience?
If I cannot be 100% sure, I may try to kludge up wires to the battery cables from my 12 volt charger when I find a 24F battery to buy. The Toyota dealer is several tow hours away.
There is a man a half hour away who has a device which lets him add new keys. I do not know if that will let him save a car that is turned into a brick (a term among electronic technicians.)
I will be Googling a lot before I do anything, but today is also irrigation water day, so time is limited, and thought I’d put the question in the place which will most probably produce answers, or resources. Thanks for any help.
There are times when doing nothing but thinking is the best idea and this seems to be one of them.