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I swam with smart key fob

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by tgant, Nov 7, 2011.

  1. tgant

    tgant New Member

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    After swimming with my smart key (NOT smart!) I have to use it manually. My question is whether I can buy a regular,non-smart key fob (cheaper) Will this regular keyfob work to open doors remotely?
     
  2. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Did you swim in
    a) Fresh
    b) Salt
    c) Chlorinated
    water?

    If fresh then just open it up and let it dry out in front of a heater. After a sufficient time drying it will probably start working again.

    If salt or chlorinated then open it up and rinse it gently in luke-warm water (do this a *soon* as possible after the original immersion). Then repeat the dry out step as above. Many times they will eventually come back to life.
     
  3. Simtronic

    Simtronic Active Member

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    I agree with all said but don't forget to check or replace the battery, (3 volt button cell) after you are happy it is all dry of course.:)
     
  4. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Yeah good point. Best to remove the battery before drying so as not to heat it. Obviously also let it dry in gentle heat, don't cook it.
     
  5. spoonerisms

    spoonerisms Junior Member

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    I accidentally swam in chlorinated water once, and once it went through the washing machine. Both times it worked just fine. I guess I'm lucky?! After those two incidents I assumed it was water proof and now I've swam in chlorine w/it many times... it still works great!
     
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    You are.

    However each time you immerse the fob in water you are taking a risk that the case will leak and the fob will fail, and a replacement will cost you $300.
     
  7. sashaloobkoff

    sashaloobkoff Junior Member

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    I swam with mine and it predictibly stopped working (after painstakingly trying to dry it off). then a year later I needed to replace the battery in my spare and said, 'what the heck' and tried replacing the battery in the old (swam with one). to my delight it worked perfectly.

    so before you give up on yours, definately try replacing the battery.