I love anything that will make my 4Runner more rugged and one of the most talked about “modifications” I have is actually my key fob. It randomly gets all sorts of people’s attention and it gave me something low cost to upgrade and tinker with.
So can you upgrade your key fob? Definitely. If you are into EDC or everyday carry stuff at all, then you probably want to upgrade your key fob for those “pocket dump” pics. Is this a necessity? Heck no. But it looks cool and sometimes that’s all that matters.
I’m going to talk about the few I have tried over the years as well as cost comparisons and the easiest way to assemble these.
Table of Contents
Changing the Stock Key Fob
Obviously there is nothing wrong with the stock key fob on a Toyota, but we all know I love to change and tinker with things. The key fob for the 4Runner was a simple and fairly cheap way to upgrade the part of the vehicle you touch every day. Most of this post will talk about the standard key. If you have a smart key like in the Limited 4Runner or the new 2020 and up 4Runner, both these brands offer a new fob for the smart key. Just make sure you purchase the correct one.
AJT Key Fob
When the AJT key fob first came out I just had to have it. You are able to customize the color any way you want it. I personally got 2. One was all black, the other was a white body with black buttons and black screws. I love the “Stormtrooper” look. These fobs are a little more bulky than the factory one, but have that “EDC Pocket Dump” flair.
Meso Customs Fey Fob
I have since tried another version of the key fob that just came out a couple months ago. Meso Customs had been teasing the flip fob for a long time. Well it finally dropped and I jumped on one. The cost for the flip fob came in at $75 plus shipping. I think it was at my door for $85.
This came with a new blank key in the flip out. I chose to trim down my other key and slide it in there vs having a new key cut. One really cool option on the Meso Customs flip key fob is the option to put a bottle opener on it or just the key ring. When you put the fob together you just switch out the metal loop at the bottom to whichever one you choose to have. The bottle opener does not have a huge hole for the key ring, but it will work.
Some positives and negatives to the Meso Customs Key Fob are below.
Positives
- I think it looked and functioned great.
- The buttons were easy to push, (although after months of use I still had to look at the buttons before pushing them)
- The key flipped out great.
Negatives
- I had to look or try the buttons to see if I’m locking or unlocking the truck.
- The key kept flipping open in my pocket and eventually poked an hole in my jeans.
- With any other keys hooked to the Bottom of the flip fob they just didn’t sit well in my pocket. I ended up just carrying the fob around separate from the rest of my keys. With the flip fob facing the key the opposite way from a traditional key, when turning the truck on it always felt off to me.
- The thing that got me to stop carrying the flip fob in the end was the need to change the battery. I had forgotten to put the little pin that comes in the flipper part back in before I took it apart to replace the battery. This spun the spring and I could never get it back to right even after about an hour of trying. Now this is just a pretty paper weight on my desk. I really wanted so badly for this one to work for me, but it just wasn’t right.
Cost
When talking about cost the of upgrading the cheaper option is the AJT designs key fob. The price for the AJT one is anywhere from $29.99-$38.99 depending on the vehicle you drive. The 5th gen 4Runner one falls pretty much right in the middle of that at $34.99. What you get with the AJT Designs fob are just the case, buttons, and the screws. You can customize the color of the case, the buttons, and the screws all separately while ordering. You can also order extra buttons and screws if you need them or want to change the look down the line. Everything else will be taken out of your factory key fob.
The Meso Customs flip fob will run you $75 plus shipping. With this one you can only choose the case color. All flip fobs come with black buttons and black screws. They do send you a blank key to have cut already in the flip out portion of the fob. All the internals will be taken out of your factory key fob.
Assembly
Opening Up the Factory Key
- The first step when putting together either key fob that is taking apart your factory key fob. You will need 3 things out of the factory one for the AJT Designs one and 2 for the flip fob, unless you want to avoid going to have the blank key cut. Taking apart the factory key is as simple as opening it up like you are going to change the battery. You will pull out the brains of the buttons and set it aside.
- Next you will need to take the metal key portion out of the plastic case. if memory serves me correctly I think you need to do a little cutting to make this happen. Nothing a sharp knife or wire cutters can’t handle.
- This next step is that hardest. You need to get the little chip out of the factory fob. This will be difficult because it is glued in. If you damage the little chip you will need to get a whole new key as that chip will prevent your truck from starting with that key. I slowly cut the chip out with a razor blade. I took my time and somehow managed to not damage it in the process.
Moving Everything Over to the New Key Fob
This is pretty straight forward. The buttons go in the fob, then the brains go in. The brains only fit into the fobs one way so just make sure that the button side goes to the buttons. You will insert the chip into a little slot on either one.
If you chose the AJT Designs one then the key will slide in one way and you screw everything together.
If you went with the Meso Customs flip fob then you choose to shave down your key to put in the flipper or go get the blank cut. Once assembled go test it out in your Truck.
Potential Troubles
If the truck doesn’t start then you probably damaged the chip, or in my case just forgot to put it in the new fob. If you are choosing to change both your factory fobs out I would HIGHLY suggest making sure you get the first one right I.E. not damage the chip before you go tearing into the second one. If you need to replace your fob you can get them inexpensively on Amazon, and the chip will not be glued in. You will need to have it programmed though. Programming a new fob takes the tech stream software. You can get it on eBay or just take your key to a locksmith or the dealer. Be prepared to pay the dealer though, they don’t do anything cheap.
Final Thoughts
In the end I ended up sticking with the AJT key fob. I also ended up ordering a new white one to refresh the look. After a while the white gets a little dirty from the other keys rubbing on it.
The Meso Customs key fob was cool, but just didn’t work for me like I had thought it would. If you were in to carrying just the flip fob then you would more than likely be perfectly happy with the Meso Customs one.
As spring and summer come around I tend to carry a few more keys on my ring. I carry the iKamper key, and a key for my bike rack at least. The IKamper key can get a little awkward on the key ring anyways, then you add it to the end of the flip fob and it just became hard to pocket for me.