I Drowned My Key Fob
Fourth of July 2024 I managed to do what to do what so many others have done. I took my key fob for a swim — literally. Took off the sunglasses, took off the shirt, took off the shoes and jumped in for about 10 minutes — forgetting my keys were in the swimsuit pocket!
The fob survived and I will detail what I did to save it and how its construction likely helped. So while I describe here may not work with yours, it will definitely be worth a try.
Important! Don’t push any buttons until the key fob is dried!!
The fob is from a Polestar, which is a duplicate of the latest Volvo fob. Once I realized the fob had been possibly compromised, I immediately moved to take it apart. You should do the same as quickly as possible. The video that takes you through the process for this fob is linked at the end of the video. And we likely have one for whatever make and model you have.
A Cover and an O-ring
This particular fob features the cover that had to be removed to get at the battery, as you see. Behind the cover is a rubber O-ring that likely saved this fob. Regardless, I wiped down all the pieces and set them on a windowsill that had full sun and left them for an hour. Waiting was the hardest part. Do the same, drop the pieces in rice, use a hair drier or anything you can think of to dry yours out. Wait long enough for the fob to be completely dry!
Don’t touch any electronics with your fingers. Skin oils will lead to corrosion eventually negating the drying work.
Afterwards, I reassembled the fob — and I now had a photographer. Once assembled, we stepped out to the car. The video below shows the car responding to the fob and me announcing it was time to celebrate!
Hopefully this helps rescue your fob.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
Disabling a Key Fob Could Prevent Car Theft
Disabling a Fob
We came across a video some time ago from Now You Know – linked here – where a Toyota guy highlighted a Toyota key fob feature: Disabling a Key Fob. Press and hold the lock button, and while doing so, press the unlock button twice. This disables the proximity access feature of the fob.
We then verified it on a Toyota as well and it works! See the video below.
Now, not to worry, a simple press of the unlock button not only gets you in the car, it also restores the proximity feature.
But we’re not Toyota guys, so we set out to test as many cars as we could get our hands on. But before we get there, why is this even important?
The proximity feature of a fob only works within about 18 inches of a lock. But the fact is, clever thieves can tap into the signal from a live fob even though its seemingly not in use. Likely as not you’ve had the experience of using an unlock or lock button from 50 ft or even more. I can lock/unlock my car from a good 70 ft.
This is the signal that can be tapped from a live fob, essentially duplicated on a computer and your car is gone. The video is from CNN is right here.
And it can be done while you’re at home and the car is in you’re driveway! This is the value of the disabled fob feature.
What of Other Manufacturers
So who else? We tried a Nissan, but no dice. Actually, it turns that two Nissan models we tested do not lock or unlock with a touch of the door handle, so disabling is unnecessary. We tried a Dodge, which again did not work.
We then tested a Lexus, which is a Toyota product, it did work. It did not work on an Audi, a Volvo, a Polestar, an Acura, a Volkswagen or a BMW.
So, this is a call to all manufacturers to implement the feature, and to you the owner of any Toyota and Lexus models to use the feature. And if you have a model from a manufacturer that we didn’t test, try it and let us know in the comments if it worked – or not.
We did a video on the subject, linked below.
——————————————————————-
Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY