Woman buys Toyota Camry Solara that didn't have key and pays just $12 instead of $300 due to her clever hack

A woman who bought a Toyota Camry Solara without a key just worked out a very clever hack.

Reign is a social media personality who tackled the DIY job by herself.

The TikToker posted a video that has since gone viral on the internet.

Her viral video provided a $12 fix to an issue that could have cost her $300.

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TikToker finds $12 fix for Toyota Camry Solara key fob

Today’s story centres around a genius DIY hack for a Toyota Camry Solara.

TikTok user Reign, AKA luhtizz, posted the video after purchasing said Toyota Camry Solara.

The problem she faced, however, is that it didn’t have a working key.

As you might know, a broken key fob for your car can cost anywhere from $150 to $600.

For one thing, modern key fobs do a whole lot more than simply locking and unlocking your car.

Many contain immobilizer chips, rolling codes, and proximity sensors.

This leads into potentially expensive labor fees; even if the part itself is not overly expensive.

Said labor fees can lead to car key fobs for cars such as the Toyota Camry Solara being much more expensive.

So, how did Reign find a way around this potentially expensive fix?

A lot of the solution comes down to the age of the Toyota itself.

The generation of vehicles from the early-to-mid 2000s still allowed owners to program their own key fobs.

In particular, cars such as this Toyota Camry Solara used a simple key-cycle method.

Key-cycle method works for older cars

It sounds like a very bad dance sequence, but it actually works for the right cars.

Inserting the key in and out of the ignition multiple times is the first step.

Then, you open and close the driver’s door multiple times in quick succession.

Following this sequence, leaving the key in the ignition is the next step.

Finally, pressing a button on the new fob often completes the pairing with the car.

And that is most likely exactly what the TikToker did.

@luhtizz Not me being a mechanic 😙 #womeninstem ♬ original sound – Austin®

Reign purchased a $12 car fob from Amazon and used that new fob to perform the sequence.

Before you rush out to your expensive, modern car to perform this process, be very careful.

This process only works on older cars due to the simpler software and technology involved.

Newer key fobs often possess more complex and sophisticated software – especially security software.

They’ll also often require sophisticated tools and expertise to fix them.

However, if you happen to own a slightly older car, then this could be a potentially good fix for you.