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dw861 [soylentnews.org] writes:

As reported by the CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lost-key-toyota-van-1.4244915 [www.cbc.ca]

A Surrey, British Columbia family lost their Japanese imported right-hand drive vehicle's one-of-a-kind-chipped key in June while on a trip to Victoria BC. That was when they discovered they would not be able to get a new key anywhere in North America. The saga began when John Higgens set his keys down on a set of stairs on Wharf street to take a family photo. When he came back to the spot after getting ice cream, he realized the keys were missing, nowhere to be found.

The lost key has a chip matched to the Toyota van's internal electronics and any replacement would have to be programmed with a code at the original dealership — which happened to be in Japan.

The imported 15-year-old hybrid Toyota van was not intended for the North American market and Toyota Canada told the Higgens shipping the van back to Japan was their only option.

Finally, the dealer who initially sold them the van — whom the owners claimed had previously promised an extra key — suggested a mechanic who could help.

The mechanic took the entire dash apart, which the owner described as "kind of terrifying," but necessary.

That was because a computer hacker had to write new code for the engine control unit so it would accept a new key that was shipped in from New Zealand.

Fortunately, it worked.

Original Submission