cellio: (don't panic)
Monica ([personal profile] cellio) wrote2013-12-12 08:59 pm
Entry tags:

oh, right...

When I returned to my car tonight with groceries (on the way home from work), my car didn't respond to the key fob. No light -- presumably a dead fob battery, with no warning signs beforehand. (I've never had this happen before.) As I was calling Dani to ask him to bring the spare from home, it suddenly dawned on me that I didn't need to. Oh yes, that's what that projecting metal piece is for -- it's not just an ignition key! Right...

I spent way longer owning cars with plain old keys than owning ones with fobs, but I guess the memories of How Things Used To Be fade quickly. Except when talking to young'uns about how we did things in "our day", of course. :-)

I wonder if replacing the battery in one of these fobs is relatively painless. (It appears I can't do it myself, or, at least, there's no obvious way to open the case.) I know that if you lose one of these a replacement costs something like $150 (!), but I hope repair is cheaper. If it's not, I won't bother -- if the second one also dies while I still own the car I'll just use it the old-fashioned way.

What do Prius owners do, I wonder?

[identity profile] zare-k.livejournal.com 2013-12-13 10:40 am (UTC)(link)
You probably just need a screwdriver (not sure what model key fob you have). I've taken apart my VW switchblade key to replace the battery before-- I had to look up how to disassemble it but it's not actually difficult to do.