Group Actions
Engagement
  • Author Author: Gough Lui
  • Date Created: Date Created
  • Views 947 views
  • Likes 5 likes
  • Comments 7 comments
Related
Recommended

element14 to the Rescue: Toyota Camry (2000) Remote Repair

Gough Lui

I suppose all the car owners out there love the luxury of having a remote keyfob to lock and unlock their cars, but periodically, they need their batteries replaced. Imagine my surprise when my Dad said that "the battery doesn't seem to be replaceable" ... when every remote I had met to date had a socket for some odd-ball A21 12v cell or a lithium coin cell.

 

Thanks to element14 and their prompt order fulfillment, we were on our way with nothing more needed than a soldering iron, desoldering braid, solder, superglue and an AU$1.18 part. Beats buying a new remote for $88 ... one with an unknown lifetime, but it does give pause to think why they would engineer a product in this way, and whether this inbuilt obsolescence was the right thing to do in the first place.

 

Full work-log at http://goughlui.com/2016/05/31/repair-teardown-toyota-camry-2000-remote-key-fob/

 

- Gough

Parents

  • Good work.

    I guess since it doesn't have a chip and the sync process is in the manual they are replaceable.

     

    Many of the domestic Japanese cars are designed for 5yr life, as they then require lots of items replaced under local laws.

    Hence in NZ we have lots of "Japanese Imports" that have strange things compared to something for the Aust/NZ market.

     

    Given that the button cover is worn out (and most likely the actual button next), making it a non-replacable item is not as bad as first thought.

     

    Mark

  • in reply to mcb1

    They technically are replaceable in the sense they are not hard coded in particular ways, although some of the similar models require a "voodoo" style procedure to "pair" a new key with the car (e.g. here) which is an absolute PITA. That being said, this particular car was a domestic AU spec provided by a local dealer, but we do get some Japanese Imports around here too but since the import restrictions and registration requirements are somewhat onerous, they are not as numerous as might be imagined.

     

    That being said, most surface mount push buttons do last a good deal of time. I just picked a random cheap switch with the same sort of shape (MC32882 - MULTICOMP - SWITCH, TACTILE, SPST-NO, 50mA, SMD | element14 Australia) for about AU$0.40 and according to the datasheet, the operating life is a whopping 200,000 cycles. Assuming one uses it 10 times a day for the past 15 years ... that's only about 27% of the life consumed. Given it's used a lot less, I suspect the button mechanism still has quite a way to go yet image.

     

    - Gough

Comment
  • in reply to mcb1

    They technically are replaceable in the sense they are not hard coded in particular ways, although some of the similar models require a "voodoo" style procedure to "pair" a new key with the car (e.g. here) which is an absolute PITA. That being said, this particular car was a domestic AU spec provided by a local dealer, but we do get some Japanese Imports around here too but since the import restrictions and registration requirements are somewhat onerous, they are not as numerous as might be imagined.

     

    That being said, most surface mount push buttons do last a good deal of time. I just picked a random cheap switch with the same sort of shape (MC32882 - MULTICOMP - SWITCH, TACTILE, SPST-NO, 50mA, SMD | element14 Australia) for about AU$0.40 and according to the datasheet, the operating life is a whopping 200,000 cycles. Assuming one uses it 10 times a day for the past 15 years ... that's only about 27% of the life consumed. Given it's used a lot less, I suspect the button mechanism still has quite a way to go yet image.

     

    - Gough

Children
No Data