What Happens If The Smart Key Goes In The Wash

Low voltage electronics are relatively water-friendly.

 

If it works now, best leave it alone...

If you insist, slide the latch at the top and remove the metal key, slide it again and remove the back panel (slides up). Take your size 00 phillips screwdriver and remove the four screws. Use some canned air to blow out the inside when you take the battery out, or let it sit open in the sun for a few hours.

The hardest part is finding a size 00 phillips screwdriver.

 

What Bill said. It is vitally important to open that thing up and get it dry. You made it most of the way out of the woods when the thing survived still functioning, but you still face the risk of greatly accelerated corrosion of delicate parts (particularly connections). I've used my wife's hairdryer (from a respectful distance) for such jobs. The warmth does wonders for speeding up the evaporation of unwanted water. Gee, I wish I had luck like you. . .

 

I accidently got in the pool with my smartkey in my pocket, and feared the worst. However, upon opening it I was surprised to see that the O-ring had kept every bit of water out of the electronics. What a relief! B)

 

The keys are made really well, one of mine has also survived a washer and dryer cycle with no bacd effects.

Contrary to what bill says, the screw driver isn't really all that hard to find. Just find one of those cheep glasses repair kits at the supermarket and the screw driver in there will probably fit. Or you can spend a bit more on a computer repair kit (i've got a couple of those around, all with screw drivers small enough for this).

 

<_< There's a good illustration with instructions on pp 36-37 of your 2004 Owner's Manual. You will need a very small Phillips screwdriver.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TimBikes @ Oct 21 2006, 02:54 AM) [snapback]336032[/snapback]</div>

The FOBS are amazingly tough. Almost 10 years ago I had a FOB to an Oldsmoble in my bathing suit pocket and went into the ocean for about an hour. Uh oh, salt water and electronics. It stopped working and it was almost a full week before I was home and went to order a new FOB. The tech at the dealer said a new one was $140 so lets open this one first and see if we can get it working.

When he opened it it was filled with green goo and looked totally gone. He took out the board and submerged it in a small container of WD40 for about a minute and then used a soft brush and went to work on the components. He repeated this three times and then let it dry. He put in a new battery and it worked perfectly for the next four years and was still going strong when I traded the car.

 

Mine survived being in the pool once this summer, but now I notice that the battery is slightly weaker--the key doesn't have the same incredible range it once did. Is it possible to replace the battery, and if so, how much does it cost?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Subversive @ Oct 21 2006, 01:09 PM) [snapback]336112[/snapback]</div>

Three bucks or so at Radio Shack.

 

Dont feel bad I did that the other day too .. i just havent had to corrage to go see if it still works. Does anyone know how much they are to replace ??? i am bound to loose one in the next 10+ years that i will have the car

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TimBikes @ Oct 10 2006, 01:23 AM) [snapback]330484[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Subversive @ Oct 21 2006, 10:09 AM) [snapback]336112[/snapback]</div>

What do you mean by "incredible range?" I have to be within +/-20 feet of my car for the fob to work (unlock all the doors when pushing the button twice)... My old Highlander fob worked from a couple hundred feet away. Should the Prius fob have the same distance?? thanks for anything you can tell me.

 

Tumble dry low, iron if necessary.

 

My smart key made it through the washer AND dryer along with my wallet. The latter didn't fare as well. Key works fine.