A Surrey family was on vacation in Victoria when they found themselves locked out of their new Toyota minivan.

Maria and John Higgins took their family to B.C.'s capital in their new Estima, a hybrid imported from Japan.

"It was a wonderful family vacation and then in one second it turned into a nightmare," Maria told CTV News on Wednesday.

The "nightmare" began on a sunset stroll Friday along Wharf Street, somewhere between The Keg and The Local.

John was holding the van's key in his hand, but he put it down to help his son Riley tie his shoes. Within minutes, they realized the key was missing.

"We went back and they weren’t there," Higgins said.

"We just went round and round in circles," his wife added.

Like many modern vehicles, the Toyota key has a special transponder chip inside, John explained, which means even if they broke into their own car, the ignition would be disabled without it.

And when they bought their van less than a month ago at Velocity Cars in Burnaby, they were only given a single key.

Since they couldn’t find the key, they decided to leave the van parked in Victoria, and hope for good news when they called Toyota on Monday.

But back on the mainland, things got worse.

Because the van was imported used from Japan, the Higgins said, they were told that there was no way to replace that key anywhere in North America.

"Yesterday I got a call from a dealer in Bellingham who services imported Toyotas," John said. "And he said, the only way Toyota will cut you a new key is if your van is physically in a Toyota dealer in Japan."

And when they called Velocity Cars, which specializes in Japanese imports, they were told the same thing.

"If he had given me this key, and said 'Guard this key with your life. It’s the only way to get into your car,' maybe we would have looked at things a little differently," Higgins said.

Velocity Cars General Manager Serge Mozgovoy told CTV that they’re doing everything they can to help the family find a solution.

The Higgins say every time they come up with possible fix, their hopes are dashed.

"I've got three mechanics calling people in Japan," John said.

"John's been up all night watching YouTube," Maria added.

But videos he's found online have both convinced that they may need a hacker to help them get into their van.

"We have to find some guru who knows how to reset this stuff without frying the whole thing," Maria said. "Somebody on this planet must understand this stuff. I don’t know where that person is."

The Higgins are offering a $500 reward for safe return of their key. Otherwise, they say, the vehicle may have to be sold for parts, and they’ll be out thousands of dollars.

They ask its finder to contact them at 604-616-8384.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's David Molko