I left the electronic key in my jeans and washed it. Amazingly it appears to still work. My worries are that this will damage the electronics and it will stop working while Im in the middle of nowhere. Anyone else with this experience? I have heard recommendations that when you wash something electronic you can try to put it in the oven on a low temperature to dry get out the moisture out. I was thinking I could do this with my food dehydrator. Has anyone heard of this? thoughts?
I washed mine, as well as putting it through the dryer. Works fine. I opened it up to the battery and it looked fine. I wouldn't worry about it. The heat would probably hurt the battery and electronics more than just air drying.
I don't think I would stick it in the oven but you can stick it in a big cup/bowl of uncooked rice and it will draw the moisture out. This is what you're supposed to do if you drop your cell phone in water so it shouldn't be any different for the key fob.
The key fob has a waterproof gasket at the battery. Don't know its exact specs, so don't go scuba diving with it, but the washer don't seem to kill it.
=D I went swimming with mine. Totally died. disassembled it and had battery juice gushing out of it. I set it out for a day on top of the television and I put it a new battery and it works just fine.
Funny, I just washed mine night before last, works great. Took it apart however to check battery, seems to be just fine. Live in Arizona, always dry, probable benefitted from a little moisture.
Hello. I washed my 2008 key fob. It still works (meaning the doors lock and unlock and the car runs), but when I leave the car, the alarm sounds. The only way I could get it to stop was to put the key in the slot. When I used my second key fob (brand new), everything worked fine. Is the washed one ruined? I really don't want to have to pay for a new fob and reprogramming ($325, I was told by the dealership). What can I do? Thanks!
If this is done the smart key and buttons can't be programmed. You end up with a "dumb" fob that only works in the slot in the dashboard. That's OK if its what you want. Works fine for a spare/emergency key. See this thread or search "key programming" for more information. http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/74539-what-exactly-sks.html#post1037530
Sounds like the red button on the key fob is stuck. Try pressing it a few times (away from the car). It should feel & click the same as the lock/unlock buttons. The red light on the fob should flash when you press a button. If the rubber membrane that supports the button is damaged (and maybe leaking), then you might consider replacing the case. You'll need a donor case, such as the cheapest eBay key fob you can find.
