How to Program a Transponder Key: 4th Gen Toyota 4Runner

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If you ever need an extra key for your 4th generation Toyota 4Runner and don’t want to to pay an arm-and-a-leg for the local dealership to do it, you can purchase a blank transponder key, get it cut at a locksmith, and program it yourself. Programming doesn’t require you to have any equipment or tools, so the only cost to you would be the purchase of a new key and to get it cut by a locksmith.

Transponder Key Blank

For the 4th generation Toyota 4Runner, the transponder keys use a 4D chip, specifically a 4D-67 key. This type of transponder key can be obviously purchased from Toyota, but it can be quite expensive. You may choose to purchase an aftermarket key, which in my experience works perfectly as an extra key for your 4Runner. After you purchase the blank transponder key, you can take it into a locksmith to get it cut to match your master Toyota key.

KeylessOption Blank 4D-67 Uncut Transponder Key
USARemote Blank 4D-67 Uncut Transponder Keys (Set of 2)

You may also search on Ebay for a 4D-67 chipped key for a lower price, but quality can be questionable. The ones listed above are fairly popular ones on Amazon.

You may also find a 2-in-1 type of aftermarket remote/key combo that combines your keyless entry remote and key fob into one. Again, look for one that uses a 4D-67 chip to ensure it will program to your 4th gen Toyota 4Runner.

Getting a Blank Transponder Key Cut

I called about 5-6 different locksmiths in my area letting them know that I had a key blank that I’d like them to cut. I explained to them all that I could program the transponder myself, so I would simply just need a key cut. Some of them told me they don’t do that (likely because they wanted to sell me their own key in addition to the labor of the key cutting.) Others were willing to do it, but for one reason or another wouldn’t return my calls or couldn’t make themselves available. I found one place nearby that was willing to do it without any difficulty; they simply took me in, duplicated the key, and sent me on my way.

Basically, you’ll need to call around to find a locksmith willing to cut a blank transponder key. Since you’re providing a key to them, they’ll need a key to copy from (I used my original 4Runner master key). You’ll want to make sure you use the black master key and not the grey one. The grey key is a valet key, so it still can run the vehicle, but it won’t unlock your glove compartment. Cost of getting a key cut is very cheap; mine cost $10 to duplicate.

Instructions for Programming Transponder Key:

While in car, ensure that:

• No key is in the ignition.
• All doors closed and unlocked.

With the original master key:

• Insert, and then remove into/from ignition 4 times.
• Insert master key into ignition and leave it there.
• Open and close driver door 6 times.
• Remove original master key from ignition.

The red immobilizer light will now stay on. This will stay on for a limited amount of time, so make sure to go to the next step quickly (inserting the newly cut transponder key) before the light turns off and you’ll have to start from the beginning again.

With newly cut transponder key:

• Insert into ignition and leave there.

The car will begin to program the new transponder key. You can tell this is happening when the red immobilizer light (located above the climate control LCD screen) slowly flashes. When the flashing stops, you may then remove the new key.

When you insert the new transponder key into the ignition, keep an eye on the flashing sequence of the immobilizer. If it performs single flashes, then that means it is programming. If you see a double flash followed by a single flash sequence pattern, that means that there was an error with programming the key. I tried with a key that had a 4C chip versus the 4D chip that is needed on the 4th generation Toyota 4Runner, and it would not program. It gave the double flash-single flash sequence showing that it would not be able to be programmed.

With original master key again:

• Re-insert into ignition.
• Turn key to ON position.
• Turn back to OFF position, and remove.

The programming of your newly cut transponder key is now complete. Test out the new key and ensure that it starts up the car successfully.

Maximum Number of Transponder Keys

If you are not able to program a new transponder key and you know that you have a 4D-67 transponder key, it might be due to your 4th Gen 4Runner being already programmed to 5 different key fobs (the maximum allowed per vehicle.) So what you will need to do is erase all the keys (master key is not affected) and re-program any new keys again.

Instructions for De-Programming Transponder Keys:

De-programming or erasing all your transponder keys except for your master key involves an extra insert/remove of the original master key and an extra open/close of the door during the programming process. However, I’ve shown all steps below for clarity for de-programming all transponder keys.

While in car, ensure that:

• No key is in the ignition.
• All doors closed and unlocked.

With the original master key:

• Insert, and then remove into/from ignition 5 times.
• Insert master key into ignition and leave it there.
• Open and close driver door 7 times.
• Remove original master key from ignition.

You don’t see much of a confirmation except a quick blink of the red immobilizer light. The way to confirm if your previously programmed transponder keys have been de-programmed would be to insert said key into the ignition and trying to start the car. If the car does not start with a previously programmed key, then you know the de-programming was successful.