Question Toyota Corolla/Camry car Radio PZQ60-0004 reset security code instructions

If you find yourself in the situation where your Toyota car battery was disconnected or replaced and the car is fitted with a Toyota Fujitsu PZQ60-0004 AM-FM radio then you might end up with the car radio locked with a anti-theft security lock. You are now required to enter a 3 digit pin code to unlock the radio.

The 3 digit pin code is set by a user when they take ownership of the car. This might be the dealership or the pin code may have been changed by a buyer. Some forums state this could be the last 3 digits of the VIN number but this is not necessarily always the case. It can be any of 1000 different numbers combinations. The car radio can be also set without a code by the user and given the value of the radio and the lack of interest from thieves in this device this is recommended.

Once the radio is locked and if you lost the code you had 1 option, well until now you had two options.

Option 1 - take the radio to a Toyota dealer and pay anywhere from $120-$180 for them to do the courtesy of unlocking the radio. Yes they have to remove the radio and reset it which takes 15 minutes of labour but the quotes we got from two dealers; one in Sydney and another in Western Australia where between $120-$180. This is well above the value of the device and is a complete rip off, talk about after sale service!

Option 2 - follow the hack instructions below and unlock it for free. This hack was discovered by accident and been tested on two separate devices from two different Toyota Corolla models. First it was discovered while I was trying to do it on my car. The second time I shared the rough procedure with someone online and they tested it and confirmed it worked for them. This person has put together the below procedure to share with all who need it.

1. After entering the PIN code incorrectly 10 times the radio displays HELP mode. You need to enter the wrong code 10 times before going any further
2. Press & hold buttons 1, 4, & 6 and the power button to set radio to security 2 pin code mode. The radio will enter a new mode where it is requesting Code 1 and Code 2; two sets of three digits numbers possibly some factory master codes
3. Pin code 1 mode will display (press seek up button and 1)
4. Pin code 2 mode will display (press seek down button and 1)
5. Only enter the 2 pin codes if you have them if not move onto step 5
6. Disconnect and remove radio from vehicle so you can remove the face plate easily. The face plate is the display part and is connected to the rest of the radio via a ribbon cable
7. Disconnect the ribbon lead from the face plate circuit board and reconnect ribbon lead. The radio does not need to be powered on for this step. Reinstall the faceplate back onto the radio chassis
8. Install radio back into car and power up with accessories on
9. Radio will display HELP mode again so press & hold buttons 1, 4, & 6 and the power button to go back to security 2 pin code mode.
10. Disconnect radio power plug while in this mode and wait until all power has drained from the red key lock light and is no longer illuminated/flashing on the display. This is the security flashing led of the face of the radio display that flashes only when the radio has a security code set
11.  Reconnect radio to power plug and the red key lock light will not be illuminated or flashing and the radio is now unlocked and fully operational.

If you were successful in completing the above steps you will be greeted by a hissing white noise and the display showing 88.5 MHz. 

The above steps have been tested twice like I mentioned but we did not bother to lock and unlock our radios to work out exactly the order of events required. What I believe is happening is when you enter the Code 1 and Code 2 mode after going into the HELP status, the radio chip is in WRITE mode. Instead of READ mode when comparing the user input to the stored 3 digits in memory. By disconnecting the Ribbon cable and power supply the the display, where a chips resides, you are crashing the processor while it is in WRITE mode causing it to return into factory defaults.

If you tried this and it works please share with the rest.