I'm the type of guy who is always loosing his car keys. As a result, I used to keep a spare key on a magnet under the bumper. My old vehicle finally gave up the ghost and I had to get a new one. Wow! Talk about culture shock. The new one doesn't have a car key or even a bumper to hang a spare on. Everything is electronic. You just push a button to start the engine. The salesman assured me it was impossible to lock myself out and put an app on my phone to use for such an emergency.
Well leave it to me to prove him wrong. A few months ago, I lost my electronic fob while riding my bike. When I got back to the vehicle, I tried to use the app to unlock it, only to find there was no cell service in my rural area. two hours later, AAA showed up and used some electronic thingy to open it. Ok, now I'm in the vehicle but there is no way to start it without the electronic fob! All AAA could do was tow the vehicle back to the dealership. I should add that due to the worldwide chip shortage, the dealer was not able to give me the usual spare e-fob at the time I bought the vehicle.
By then, the e-fob backorder had ended and the dealer gave me two new ones. To prevent this from happening again, I figured I'd be smart and ordered a third e-fob to the tune of $160 (my last spare car key cost me $2). I hid the spare in a waterproof case under the spare tire. It seemed like a good idea until I discovered I could no longer lock the vehicle?? Apparently, the vehicle thought the hidden e-fob was inside and, as a safety measure, prevented the door locks from working.
Ok, back to square one. I recently read of something called a "Faraday" case which blocks the signal from these e-fobs. I ordered one and will see if it works. I don't know why hiding a spare key has to be so complicated.
Wait, the story isn't over! My wife bought a new car last month with the same new electronic keyless system. By then, I figured I was an expert with these newfangled devices. Wrong! I keep my spares in a key drawer in the garage and just put my wife's spare e-fob in with the rest. Last week, she left her fob on her dresser by accident but her car started anyway. The fob in the key drawer was close enough to fool the car into thinking it was inside the vehicle. She drove away and a little blue light on the dash came on warning that the fob was out of range. It was so inconspicuous with all the other dash lights, she didn't notice. She drove to the mall, turned off the engine and then discovered she forgot her fob when she went to lock the vehicle.
Of course without the fob, the engine wouldn't re-start. To make it worse, the car thought someone was trying to steal it and the horn started blowing. You guessed it, no cell service so the app wouldn't work. Luckily, she was able to use the phone at the Dollar General to get me at home and I drove down with the spare e-fob.
I see some new vehicles now have a backup push button system that allows you to enter a code to unlock and start. If I live long enough, my next car will be so equipped. Of course by then, my memory will be shot and I won't remember the darn code.
Buying a new car certainly isn't as simple as it used to be. You'd think the car makers would keep us older rural folk in mind when they design these new vehicles. It won't be long before the younger generations won't know what a car key is!
), it'll blow the horn.........Mike
