2006 Toyota RAV4 all keys lost... from hell

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There is a lot of misconceptions when it comes to vehicle locksmithing. It is far more complicated in comparison to residential locksmithing. The security systems change from manufacturer to manufacturer, vehicle to vehicle, and new tools are constantly being marketed making the equipment cost rise year after year. On top of that any sort of electrical issue or aftermarket accessory wired into a car can make even the most straight forward task such as programming a key on American/Japanese vehicles turn into an absolute nightmare. This is one such tail...

Customer tows this 2006 RAV4 into the shop. The steering wheel is locked and the key is missing its remote. It is one of those keys where the buttons are incorporated into the head of the key and hold the immobilizer chip. The immobilizer being the vehicles security system that was installed by the manufacturer in this generation of vehicle starting in 2001. Everyone knows that every car has a steering wheel lock built into it for "anti-theft" reasons even if there are a couple of uses for the feature and conventionally it is tied 100 percent of the time to the ignition lock cylinder.