Keys, Broken Keys, and Backup Keys

[CharmCityCrab]

Alright, so here's the situation:

My main 2017 Corolla LE key got slammed in an apartment door (Accidentally, of course) and bent. I tried to see if I could still open the front door of the car manually with it, but I couldn't.

A bit later, I came out with the "backup key" (Not used since I bought the car in late 2016), which also could not open the door manually (i.e. key in lock), despite being undamaged, but which could manually turn on the ignition.

My immediate conclusion was, of course, that trying to get the door to work with the broken first key broke the door lock mechanism on the door itself, and that this was the reason why the second apparently identical key couldn't open it despite being undamaged itself (I was able to get in to test the ignition because the remote wireless entry thing still worked on both keys).

However, a friend mentioned that some Toyotas have what are called "valet keys" that may look similar or identical to the master key, but actually be able to do some things and not others. If this were a valet key, it could mean that my front door lock is not broken and all I really need is a master key replacement.

Both keys look identical to me, built in black fobs at the top, with buttons for door lock and unlock, a button for opening the trunk remotely, and a panic button. When I bought the thing, I thought I was told it was a backup and there is a little laminated thing attached that says backup and includes lots of numbers (I assume these are to order or program a replacement key with).

So, how screwed am I?

Is the backup actually not supposed to be able to open the front door manually with key slid in the lock because it's a valet key or something like that, meaning I just need to have the dealership order a new master key? Or is this in every way identical to the original, meaning the door is screwed up now, too, and I'm going to need them to fix the door and order a new second key on top of it?

These are the only two keys that were handed to me when I bought the vehicle new.

 

[CharmCityCrab]

Also, if anyone has any idea what this kind of stuff costs these days to fix, that'd be awesome.

The dealership is closed today, so I can't call till tomorrow to get official word on anything and/or arrange to take it in.

In the meantime, my mind is running wild with scenarios where replacement keys cost hundreds of dollars and fixing broken door lock mechanisms cost thousands of dollars. That I got approved for financing on this car in the first place was more than a minor miracle- I do not have much money or a strong income. So, I'll be worried about the cost of repairs until I know. Even if the news is bad, at least then I can start figuring out how to handle this financially. I'd sleep better if I had some idea of what I was in for.

I wish I was handy and could work on fixing this myself, but the fact is I tend to break stuff and make it a lot worse when I try to fix it. You can see how I basically may have broken a car door trying to just do a simple test on a broken key today. So, as much as I hate to say it, it's probably going in to a shop, and with a car I have 6+ years of payments on, it's probably going in to the dealership. I know I can't do the job myself, and the local general mechanics with their own shops have done poor jobs on used cars I've had in the past, which I can't afford to let happen to something that needs to be working for me for many years to come, even if it saves a few bucks now.

On a side note, I do have their most comprehensive warranty and comprehensive auto insurance. Anyone think there is a snowball chance in hell either of those would cover this? Is it worth even trying to talk to the Toyota warranty people or making an insurance claim? I mean with the obvious caveat that I would be being honest and telling the same story I told you guys in the the first post, which is the truth. It doesn't *seem* like a warranty type part failure, and it wasn't the result of the things I typically think of as covered by insurance (auto accidents, vandalism, hurricanes, tree branches falling, etc.), but I don't know a ton about car warranties or insurance, to be be perfectly honest. Is there a chance?

 

[Chris Denton]

I get the feeling that only the lock is messed up.
I only got two keys when I bought mine in 2014, both are masters. And honestly, I don’t think Corolla’s even offer a valet key.
The lock is probably reasonably priced, but would possibly need to be ordered to make the numbers match.
The labor is what will be expensive.

I would suggest a google search on the door lock to start.
Corolla’s are very easy to work on even for the beginners.
There are tons of videos on fixing Corolla’s on YouTube. That’s how I’ve learned to work on mine. But I also have years of experience working on cars.

As for the insurance, I couldn’t tell you. I’m sure it would be covered but it would count as a claim and you would have to pay your deductible first. Probably not worth the hassle.

You have an excellent resource here on the forum. I’m sure anyone here would help you out if you decide that you want to fix this yourself.

On the bright side, your remotes still work and the key still starts the car!

 

[CharmCityCrab]

I get the feeling that only the lock is messed up.
I only got two keys when I bought mine in 2014, both are masters. And honestly, I don’t think Corolla’s even offer a valet key.
The lock is probably reasonably priced, but would possibly need to be ordered to make the numbers match.
The labor is what will be expensive.

I would suggest a google search on the door lock to start.
Corolla’s are very easy to work on even for the beginners.
There are tons of videos on fixing Corolla’s on YouTube. That’s how I’ve learned to work on mine. But I also have years of experience working on cars.

As for the insurance, I couldn’t tell you. I’m sure it would be covered but it would count as a claim and you would have to pay your deductible first. Probably not worth the hassle.

You have an excellent resource here on the forum. I’m sure anyone here would help you out if you decide that you want to fix this yourself.

On the bright side, your remotes still work and the key still starts the car!

Thanks! I do definitely agree that having one key that starts the car and two remotes that work is something. In fact, part of me is wondering if the manual lock could have been broken going back to repairs in the late winter or early spring on the door (Which might leave me with a repair warranty to try to cash in, but it'd probably be on me to prove they screwed up the lock somehow when they were replacing a side panel and a mirror [Got hit while my car was parked and I wasn't in it]). I keep thinking I must have tested out the manual lock when I got the car back and/or opened it manually since then, but to be honest I can't remember because that's how much I use the fob now (Though it could have been a bad repair that worked for a while and then broke). So, in theory, I guess I could try to keep going how I had been going, but knowing I have only one key now and it's half functional on my only car worries me- if so much as the battery dies on that key or anything goes wrong with anything, I'd have to have the car towed and have it sit until a new key could be made or arrived (I hear it's not as simple with these things as the old metal ones you could have done in an hour at a Wal-Mart or something). And I think things get worse before they get better financially, so I want to make sure I have a backup everything, because I may not have the money or the credit to replace the next key that breaks right away, so it's good to keep two functional ones at all times if possible while I can, so the next one doesn't leave me without use of my car for a while (Part of why I got the nice warranty and comprehensive insurance- but that doesn't account for time if one only has one functional key that then breaks and needs to be ordered away for).

Actually, I was half tempted to try the broken key in the ignition, but fortunately stopped myself just in time. *If* it somehow broke the door lock, I don't want it to break the thing that turns on my car. That's kind of what I mean by me trying to fix things spiraling out of control. Try to fix one thing, two things break, try to fix them, four things break, etc..

Heck, I remember decades ago my father and a friend of his who did a lot of work on cars pulling a car door with a broken lock on it apart and after like a week reassembling it, but only being able to get it to the point where it would open with, and I am not kidding about this- if you yanked a chain while simultaneously pushing with your shoulder from the inside. I don't remember how we opened it from the outside. And those people each individually knew a lot more about fixing cars than I did or do. That's part of my resistance to fixing it myself- I don't want my car with 10,000 miles on it and all those years of payments to go turning into something that has, you know a chain to open the door and stuff missing and jury-rigged left and right. It's too soon in it's lifespan for that. Give it 100,000-150,000 miles and I might just start trying to spitball it until it makes it to the end. Now I feel like I still want OEM parts and everything working like new- I still owe more than it's worth, and the longer everything works like it just rolled off the factory floor, the further it has to go before it gets to the scrapheap (In my mind, anyway). First car I've ever bought new- I hate for it to feel like those used junkers I've been driving around my whole life too quickly.

I guess it sounds like whether or not I put a claim in probably depends on whether or not the costs of repairs would exceed the deductible or not. If they would, I probably have to try. If they wouldn't, there's no point, and in fact maybe the negative consequence of higher insurance rates.

Anyone have experience with getting stuff evaluated by dealerships? If I run it by and say take a look at this lock and these keys or whatever, am I on the hook for anything monetarily or is the evaluation free and then they give me a quote and I agree to it or take the car elsewhere after that? Is this the sort of thing they could do in a few hours or are we talking days (Assuming they have the part- if they don't, I assume I could just ask them to send me on my way and drop it off again when they are ready)? That's another thing- if I lose the car for days, that's an incentive to go through insurance or try to get it covered by something because I'd need a rental to cover me.

I realize the backup key might need to be ordered by a dealership, but of course one can drive away and pick that up when it arrives. The lock mechanism within the door, on the other hand, really needs to be fixed on site, I'd imagine. In my head, I'm thinking they'd probably need to disassemble the door to even know what's wrong for sure- but I could easily be mistaken there.

 

[CharmCityCrab]

Actually, the more I think about it: How does a bent key break a *lock*? If it doesn't break off in the lock, which it didn't, the tumblers should all stay in place, like if you insert the wrong key and it doesn't go in all the way.

So, my thinking is, I have two issues:

- Broken lock, which should be repaired by the dealership under the warranty I'm paying for. I paid (Or, really, am paying for) for a pretty lengthy comprehensive warranty. Should cover a lock, especially one that breaks this early, as we're sort of coming to the conclusion that it was broken of unknown causes prior to the key thing.

- Replacement key, which I probably have to pay for out of pocket when and if warranty service is performed on the lock (To make sure they don't need to do anything that would require a different key first).

I think that's the way I should look at it and present it. I think as the other poster said, the lock had likely been broken for a while and I only noticed when testing the old key.

So, that should leave me with Toyota covered repairs for the lock on their end, and the cost of a new key on my end.

 

[Chris Denton]

Actually, the more I think about it: How does a bent key break a *lock*? If it doesn't break off in the lock, which it didn't, the tumblers should all stay in place, like if you insert the wrong key and it doesn't go in all the way.

So, my thinking is, I have two issues:

- Broken lock, which should be repaired by the dealership under the warranty I'm paying for. I paid (Or, really, am paying for) for a pretty lengthy comprehensive warranty. Should cover a lock, especially one that breaks this early, as we're sort of coming to the conclusion that it was broken of unknown causes prior to the key thing.

- Replacement key, which I probably have to pay for out of pocket when and if warranty service is performed on the lock (To make sure they don't need to do anything that would require a different key first).

I think that's the way I should look at it and present it. I think as the other poster said, the lock had likely been broken for a while and I only noticed when testing the old key.

So, that should leave me with Toyota covered repairs for the lock on their end, and the cost of a new key on my end.

I would tell the dealership that the lock doesn’t work and to fix it under warranty. Then get the second key later. Btw, Lowe’s and Home Depot can now make the keys. You already have the fobs, so it would just be a matter of cutting the metal.