How to set up HomeLink with your Sienna to open your garage.
The instructions in the Sienna owner's manual are not accurate enough, and neither (surprisingly) are the instructions on the homelink.com site. After playing around with it for a few days, I can now get it working within 60 seconds on any vehicle I have tried.
HomeLink allows you to program the buttons in the vehicle next to the rearview mirror to open your garage door. It works quickly and easily if you have an old style single-code garage door opener. But if you have a newer garage door opener model built in the last 15 years or so, you very likely have revolving codes making it very difficult to duplicate the signal. Follow these steps to get it to work with your Toyota vehicle. These steps work for both American or Canadian Toyota owners :
1). Drive a block away from your garage and park your vehicle. If you don't do this, then you will be sending a steady stream of signals to your garage door to open/close it repeatedly. The range of the Chamberlain garage door opener I had installed is very impressive, I can open my garage door from halfway up the block. Vehicle engine does not need to be on, but you need to have power. If you can turn your radio on, you are all set.
2). Clear any old data by holding the 1st and 3rd HomeLink buttons down simultaneously in your vehicle for 20 seconds. Wait until the HomeLink light starts to flash (it takes the full 20 seconds).
3). Sit in the driver's seat, hold your garage remote in your right hand. With your left hand, reach up and select any of the 3 HomeLink buttons. Hold it in firmly and do not let go until the end of step 3. With your right hand, raise the garage remote up to the Homelink receiver and start madly clicking the button on the remote which opens the garage door. Make sure the remote actually touches the panel holding the 3 Homelink buttons on the right side. Keep clicking the garage door opener button madly until the HomeLink light starts to flash quickly. You can move your arm around while clicking madly, just keep the remote on the right side of the 3-button panel, lightly touching it. It will be very obvious when it accepts the signal. This takes 4-5 seconds. Release both buttons.
4). Verify the HomeLink button is happy by holding it in. It should blink very quickly for 2 seconds, then become solid.
5). Drive home and park in front of your garage. You can turn off the engine, but make sure your radio is playing (to ensure you have power). Leave the car door open. Open the garage door using your garage door remote (HomeLink will not work yet). Get a ladder and position it under the garage door opener. Find the LEARN button (usually on the back, with a Chamberlain you just have to unhook the back light panel and look for a purple button). Press that button. An orange light will start to flash on the opener.
6). Hurry back to your vehicle. You have 30 seconds to push and hold the chosen HomeLink button for 2 seconds. The HomeLink light will flash rapidly and then suddenly go solid. That's it!
7). Close your garage door using your newly programmed HomeLink button by holding in the chosen HomeLink button for 2 seconds. The HomeLink light will flash, and your garage door will start to move.
DD.
***** Secrets not in the Toyota instructions **********
- The garage door remote must touch the 3 button HomeLink panel. I could not get it to accept the signal even if I held it 1 cm away.
- Click madly in step 2. You need to do this because Canadian law requires the signal to last no more than 2 seconds. For US users, clicking madly also works but is not strictly necessary.
- The chosen HomeLink button must be put into "Revolving Code Mode" in order to complete the steps. This is what you have done by step 4. If you don't see 2 seconds of fast flashing followed by a solid light by step 4, you are not in Revolving Code mode.
Last edited by dare978devil; 02-25-2011 at 02:36 PM.
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