[CawaGR]

A few things to consider(I’ve made a few key fobs myself)
1)you must retain/the rubber “sleeve” that’s inside the OEM fob. This makes the internals waterproof.

2) be careful with how much metal is surrounding the antenna on the PCB. I tried an alloy fob and it severely cut down reception.

you’d be surprised how many people want to retain the spare key. Here’s a pic of how I did mine, slots in the back instead of the side.
If you want to go SUPER thin, check out the Lexus credit card key(albeit no buttons, but everything on the car is keyless anyway).
Design looks rad though!
View attachment 13572
View attachment 13573

Hey! Your fobs actually inspired me to have a go at designing one! That key placement is very clever.
I figured that the frame would degrade the signal some but I wanted to test it- was it totally unusable when you tried it?
Yeah, I measured up the rubber bit and it threw the design way off, especially since I tried to use clip structures which also eat up a lot of space inside. I’d probably want to take a different approach to my original design.
I actually use the card key on my ISF, but unfortunately I don’t think any of the PNs work for smart key compatible cars. I looked at the internal pics of that key card from the FCC filing and it’s beautiful- very clever design but impossible to produce without overmolding a very expensive PCB.
If I could find the Smart remote ICs somewhere I’d like to produce a much smaller PCB and that would allow for a lot more flexibility, but in my research they are just impossible to find (no idea where the bootleg key manufacturers get them).

Out of curiosity, did you have to make your own molds for each product?

 

[CawaGR]

So I ended up making a key that I think very few people will appreciate or would use. No buttons, no physical key. Just a little PCB and battery on display. I actually think it could stand to be a little bigger, as long as the thickness is the same, so I should be able to fit a physical key the same way it's stored in the key card. The bottom piece came out a little warped but I’m still quite happy with it.

 

[CawaGR]

Related, today I learned that you can no longer program new keys via Techstream on your own. New passcodes can only be generated by Toyota or specialty locksmiths...

 

[CawaGR]

Very few?

I'm one of the few... because I hate carrying things in my pocket, it's either in a sling backpack or my wife's purse. Wallet, phone, everything... if I can reduce the bulk of things in my pocket all the better.

So how do I get one? 😅

I'll probably make another revision of this. The fact that you can't program your own keys makes this endeavor a lot more expensive and probably means using the PCB out of one of our stock GR keys. And I'd really prefer to not modify that PCB (like removing the buttons). So I'll probably make it like 1.5mm thicker and add a key ring hole. I'll see if the material will allow for retaining button functionality without adding additional parts.

I can say that the part cost was about $50 and that can definitely come down with volume. However, I did spend quite some time polishing compound and rags to make the resin parts come out clear, so if I did end up selling these, it would very much be a diy kit.

 

[CawaGR]

Played around with the key some more and tried incorporating a locking pivoting key blade. A little bigger but still pretty thin- 57mm x 39mm x 8.7mm. This version also accommodates the stock PCB with buttons attached.

 

[CawaGR]

any way to have it keep the stock spare key mechanism so it doesn't require modifications? Besides that, the design looks great, i'd be interested in buying if you ever decided to sell them.

The idea is that the key blade would be a custom blank that you could get cut, so the original key blade doesn't get used.

 

[CawaGR]

Well, I managed to add some sprung buttons and pulled the trigger on all the parts for a prototype. We'll see how it comes out. Definitely still not water resistant, but the clip and key are titanium so that'll be fun:

 

[CawaGR]

Put together the second prototype today and it was a bit of a mixed bag- the print didn't come out quite right and some of the tolerances were too tight, making the buttons unusable. But the key mechanism is pretty satisfying to play with. Ordering a slightly revised print as I already have a bunch of the key clips and key blanks.

I didn't bother polishing this prototype as it wasn't going to look pretty. But it gives you an idea of what an unpolished clear print looks like.

 

[CawaGR]

New prototype came in. This one is a lot nicer, out of strong resin. The tolerances were much better and the ball detect works now. It is finicky to put together so I'm debating a few different solutions for the key blade. With that said, I am curious ow many people would want just a thin key with buttons but without the key blade, since I'm pretty sure I could make a run of those relatively soon. Please see the poll.

 

[CawaGR]

Time for preorders! Please fill out this form if you're interested in ordering one of these kits. I will use the responses to order the right number of keys. There isn't much of a bulk order savings for the printed parts, so I'm expecting to not have too many remaining once they're all spoken for.

Slim GR Key Kit Preorder Sheet

This preorder form is for the Slim Toyota Corolla GR key fob kit without a physical key. I just need to know the quantity of kits to put together. The kit will include the following: 2-Part Slim Key Fob Body (Strong Resin, Black) Key Clip (Titanium, Unfinished) Fastening hardware (Stainless...

forms.gle

The form will close on Nov 10. Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

[CawaGR]

Sorry for lack of updates- I've ordered 20 sets of prints- should be enough for all. I'll post an update once the kits are ready. Should ship by Christmas.

 

[CawaGR]

Time to get excited! The big run of 3D prints finally came in today and most of the parts look great! I currently expect to yield 20-22 kits, but we'll see what I end up with at the end.

To those who filled out the survey, I will DM you for a final order quantity and email and will send you a PayPal invoice later tonight.

Once all preorders are accounted for I'll make a post in the Vendor section for the remaining keys.

I plan to ship all invoiced orders by this Friday.

 

[CawaGR]

Some details on what's in the kit and some instructions.

Here's what's included in the kit:

• Top Piece
• Bottom Piece
• Buttons
• Titanium Clip
• 2x M2 x 6mm Screws
• 2x M2 x 8mm Screws

What's required:

• Factory GRC Key PCB
• CR2430 Battery
  
  

The stock PCB doesn't require modification but the small protruding tips one of the battery terminals (marked in red below) on it should be cut off with flush cutters.

Assembly Instructions:

1. Carefully place buttons into the top piece as pictured. Try not to apply too much pressure to the thin parts connecting the buttons as they are relatively fragile. The buttons should fit somewhat snugly.
   
   
   
2. Place the PCB, buttons side down, onto the buttons. The PCB should be flush with the top piece as pictured. The PCB should fit without any persuasion.
   
3. Place the battery, positive side down, into the cavity in the bottom piece as shown below. The battery should fit snugly. Note that this is NOT the same battery as the one used in the stock key fob.
   
   
   
4. Place the top piece on the bottom piece, making sure that the positive contact is going around the battery without catching on it. There will be a little bit of springiness from the negative battery contact, but the pieces should come together easily. Use the longer 8mm screws on the clip side of the key fob. Do not overtighten the screws- they should be flush with the top piece. Don't forget the clip!
   
   
   

I think the GR logo and the buttons can probably be filled with acrylic paint, but I haven't experimented with that yet.

 

[CawaGR]

Will there be future batches or is this the only run? I don't even own a GRC yet but I'll definitely want one of these when I do.

I'm probably not going to do another run, just because I sold my GRC and won't have the PCB anymore (I do a fit check on each one). There are still 5 or so key fobs that haven't been spoken for yet.

However if you're inclined to make one of these later, I will make the CAD files public. The laser cut titanium bits are from SendCutSend, screws and inserts are from McMaster, and I experimented with several SLA print shops (that was the bulk of the cost for me). If you have your own SLA printer then you can definitely make this yourself.

 

[CawaGR]

I gave op my info on 12/21, never heard back. He also sold the car, may just be gone for good.

Hey, I sent you an invoice around the same time. Let me know and I'll resend it.

 

[CawaGR]

i loved the design and convenience of @CawaGR’s minifob, but the case recently cracked after light use over the last month. I can’t imagine it’ll hold up for much longer, so I’ll be switching back to the OE fob soon. The minifob lacked sufficient rigidity to hold up to the repeated flexing of use.

I mention this to put y’all at ease about missing out on the minifob — I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone using it for daily driving. Super appreciative of @CawaGR’s ingenuity, nonetheless (even if he sold his GRC).

Ah, really sorry to hear that. Can you please send me a pic of where it gave out? If it's around the buttons i may have a replacement piece picking around.

 

[CawaGR]

I have 3 kits left. Here's a link to the OnShape project- you can copy it and modify it if you want to make your own. I used tough resin for the prints.

 

[CawaGR]

All fobs are now sold! I'm currently not planning on making more but I hope that others build upon this project!

 

[CawaGR]

Can you explain further? You personally tried it in techstream and it failed?

I'm not trying to throw shade at you I'm just hoping to clarify.

I can speak to this as I did a ton of research on these a while back. Unfortunately none of these key cards will work with the GRC.

There are a number of variation of this style of key- looking up the FCC filing of the GRC key will show that the frequencies used on the key cards don't match. It's unfortunate since it looks like there are other newer Toyota models that use compatible frequencies, but the GRC is not one of them.