1994 Lexus Ls 400 Key Replacement

[Larry W]

I need replacement keys for my 94 LS 400. I checked Sewell's and a pair of keys are available for $278.00. I saw some used keys on ebay for under $50. All I need is the case after the friendly guy at Advanced Auto (while changing batteries) cracked the cases. Any constructive comments on doing this? Sounds like a good idea.

[LSPaul]

I need replacement keys for my 94 LS 400. I checked Sewell's and a pair of keys are available for $278.00. I saw some used keys on ebay for under $50. All I need is the case after the friendly guy at Advanced Auto (while changing batteries) cracked the cases. Any constructive comments on doing this? Sounds like a good idea.

I only received one key when I bought my LS early this year; it was also missing the back shell, battery and push button. I lived with it for a while, but eventually found a used key on eBay for $40-ish, which I used for parts to put mine back together.

A basic key (no electronics) was $75 from the Lexus dealer I dealt with, and yes, that $278 figure probably included a new chip to put in the remote receiver (located in the trunk, IIRC).

Oh, and I think I'd try to make the Advance folks pay for the parts, since they boogered it up in the first place.

Good luck!

Paul

[jcrome04]

They broke it.... They should pay....

unless you already told them it was fine... then the ball is in your court Sir.

If you just want the shell get one off eBay.

[bwalker]

The plastic of my key case broke where the screw fits to hold the battery compartment. The key works fine so all I need is the case -- I contacted a clever guy at MAKEXYZ -- he has a 3D printer . He scanned my good key and reproduced the shell. I had to drill the hole but it works fine now. Look for a guy named Steven Furick on MAKEXYZ -- he is in Alpharetta GA -- he has the shell scan in his computer.

[steveuk]

Now that's a very clever idea :)

[billydpowell]

how did he reproduce the plastic with a printer?

[bwalker]

He use a three-dimensional scanner to scan the part of the key shell where the screw hole is located. From the scanner he gets a Computer Aided Drawing (CAD). He feeds the CAD dimensions into the three-dimensional printer -- it looks like monofilament fishing line being fed into the printer instead of ink. It literally prints a three-dimensional object that was almost identical to the original key case shell. It is all black and does not have the nice gold Lexus "L". If I needed that, I would paid $300 to the dealer:)