I’m having a real headache with the remote start on my key fob for my recently purchased used 2022 Tundra TRD Sport. About three weeks into ownership, and this feature is still a complete mystery to me. When I bought the truck, I even had the dealership do a factory reset, hoping to start fresh with all the settings. Thinking maybe an app was the answer, I downloaded “the app,” created an account, and linked it to my truck. It’s the basic version, not the paid subscription with mobile remote start, which I understood shouldn’t be necessary for the key fob to work.
According to the internet and, to be honest, a pretty unhelpful car salesman, the key fob remote start should be straightforward. The process I was told is: press the lock button, release it, and then you should see the brake lights flash once as the truck beeps and attempts to lock again. Wait for about a second, then repeat: press lock, release, brake lights flash, beep, and another second. Finally, press and hold the lock button for at least five seconds. At this point, the brake lights should flash multiple times, and the engine should start.
During the purchase, the salesman’s attempt to demonstrate this was a failure, and he brushed it off by saying “just get the app, and it’ll work.” It didn’t make much sense to me, but he wasn’t offering any better solutions. Honestly, that salesman wasn’t very helpful with any of my questions. Seeking better assistance, I asked for help from other dealership staff, but it quickly became clear that nobody was interested in helping me figure this out. Staying there would have just wasted more of my time and patience.
Since then, I’ve tried this key fob remote start sequence countless times on my own with absolutely no luck. I’ve even held the lock button down for as long as ten seconds, thinking maybe that was the trick – still nothing. I’ve played around with the timing between button presses, making the pauses longer and shorter – still no remote start. Frustrated, I uninstalled the app, reset the truck back to factory settings again, reinstalled the app, and reconnected it to my truck – and guess what? Still nothing! I’ve searched Google, watched YouTube videos, and even asked ChatGPT, but I’m still drawing a blank.
Has anyone else experienced similar issues with their Tundra Remote Start Key Fob, or does anyone have any insights on what might be going wrong? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
