Cannot Unlock Car

[Mattie941 1]

Hi guys,

Looking for some advise, I've had a browse through the forum but cannot find anyone with the same problem as me.

I parked the car with the handbrake off, leaving it in gear because I'd moved parking spaces with the handbrake on because I'm an idiot (I didn't want to leave the handbrake on while it was hot). I locked the car and left it. I was able to get into it 2 days ago to grab something out of the boot. However, today the car will not unlock and the alarm is sounding. I've tried the fob and the key. I've tried wiggling the key around and turning. I've tried holding down buttons on the fob.

It also means I cannot get under the bonnet to connect a battery charger as I've seen this could be a common cause for something like this.

Any other suggestions guys? I'm currently completely locked out and out of ideas.

[Lauren 2259]

Spray the lock with plus gas, if it's stiff. Let it soak then turn carefully anti-clockwise with the key to open it.

[Mattie941 1]

Okay, so a pair of pliers and some patience and I managed to get into the car. However she's completely dead. No sign of any battery life which is strange because there has been no sign of a dying battery over the past couple of weeks. 

[Lauren 2259]

It depends how long it is since you used it. If your battery is over three years old and of the old black top/white body 45Ah I would replace it. If the car is  under three years old, do it under warranty. Otherwise replace for a 65Ah. Lack of use is most of the problem really. 

[VAD17 479]

Same here, 2nd winter in a row. Standard battery is not very good.
Last time Toyota fiddled with alarm system (cost them more than new battery), will see how they try to weasel out this time.
Key is very poorly made, took me about 15 mins to unlock last time, I have a padded glove for this (should have made a proper key last time - lesson learned)

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[NJay 10]

I've tried the warranty route. They have been told by Toyota to not replace if it's reading more than 12v which is rubbish as I am sure anything under 12.4v means the cells are breaking down?

[bassett 48]

Write to toyota customer services and see if you get a better response than the local garage. 

[Philip 14]

On 12/24/2019 at 12:17 PM, Lauren said:

If the car is  under three years old, do it under warranty.

If the car is a GT86 (rather than a BRZ) then the warranty period is 5 years.

[Lauren 2259]

8 hours ago, Philip said:

If the car is a GT86 (rather than a BRZ) then the warranty period is 5 years.

But you can't expect a battery to be covered for more than three years realistically. 

[james_ly 7]

Worth trying your spare key/changing the battery in the fob?

[Philip 14]

3 hours ago, Lauren said:

But you can't expect a battery to be covered for more than three years realistically. 

Unless there's a specific exclusion in the warranty (and I haven't seen one), then I would absolutely expect it to be covered. There are many aftermarket car batteries (Bosch, RAC, etc) which offer a 5 year warranty.

[Mattie941 1]

I use the car pretty much daily but the length of use varies from 10 mins to 2 hrs. I easily do 12k miles a year. 

It's almost definitely the battery because the car is completely dead. Unfortunately I'm 100 miles from home so can't get the spare fob to check that but the current fob lights up when I press the buttons so I don't think it is the problem. 

The car is 2012 MY but I bought the car at the end of October and it came with a 3 month warranty from Autoguard so I'll see if they'll cover it. 

If Autoguard don't cover it I'll get this 65Ah battery fitted because I've seen a lot of people complaining about the standard battery.  

I won't have time until Monday, so I plan to trickle charge the battery overnight on Sunday and hopefully that'll be enough to start it Monday morning. If not, I'll try and jump it off my girlfriend's car and take it to have the battery replaced. 

I'll let you know how I get on. 

[Church 209]

Well, w/o spare fob (which if all this time laid unused may also have not exactly fresh battery, AFAIK these drain some current all the time to transmit for smart-key access, no? So imho better to keep battery outside spare fob, or even better, keep in glovebox spare battery for main used fob to not search when old close to end) you can drive in some shop along driving route that sells spare batteries (CR1632) and change it to test (use mechanical key to insert in recess and turn to split fob open). Shouldn't cost much.

[Mike 458]

8 hours ago, Lauren said:

But you can't expect a battery to be covered for more than three years realistically. 

Got mine changed under warranty after 4 years when it failed 

[Mattie941 1]

So for completion, the car started fine after trickle charging it overnight. I took it to a garage and the mechanic could not find anything wrong with the battery or alternator and I haven't had any problems since. 

Basically, something drained the battery and I'm not sure what. I've read something about the boot latch draining the battery if it is not closed properly, but other than that I don't know what could have caused that. 

PS. before anyone says it, exterior and interior lights were the first thing I checked

[VAD17 479]

So, got the battery replaced today by Toyota under warranty. 

Spent some time looking at Supra, will take it for a test drive