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Washed my car . . . and my fob

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by RoadNoise, Jun 24, 2016.

  1. RoadNoise

    RoadNoise Active Member

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    After carefully washing my new baby, I emptied the pockets of my dirty clothes (or so I thought) and threw them into the washing machine. Load gets washed, dried (electric) and put away.

    Later that night I needed to run an errand, but when I depressed the brake peddle, I get the warning "no fob detected". What? Wait. Oh no I didn't! Yes I did.

    Found the fob exactly were I put it, and boy was it clean. But would it still work?

    Answer is . . . yes! Ran to the car and she lights up like a Christmas tree. Later took the fob apart for signs of trapped moisture but there was none. Dry as a bone.

    Just last week I jumped in a pool with a cell phone in my pocket. According to a thousand YouTube videos, I could salvage the unit by simply getting it good and dry. They were right. Phone works perfectly.

    Moral of the story is don't be like me, but if you do, the fob (and the phone) will survive. Not so sure about me though.
     
    #1 RoadNoise, Jun 24, 2016
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe they've increased the 'waterproofedness' of the gen 4 fob.:cool:
     
    #2 bisco, Jun 24, 2016
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  3. wrprice

    wrprice Active Member

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    Gen2's fob was pretty resilient. It had a gasket around the battery door (with screws) and the front face of buttons seemed pretty well sealed, too. I think the Gen3 fob looked more susceptible to liquid ingress, but maybe there were some hidden seals behind the buttons I didn't know about.

    The first thing I thought when I picked up a Gen4 fob was, "This looks a lot more like my old Gen2 fob, except now it's trapezoidal."
     
    #3 wrprice, Jun 24, 2016
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  4. ETP

    ETP 2021 Prime(Limit),24 Venza Limit,B52-D,G,F,H

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    I usually take the battery out and let it air dry for 4 days. Or even R&R the battery. Same with a cell phone (remove the battery immediately).
     
    #4 ETP, Jun 26, 2016
  5. RoadNoise

    RoadNoise Active Member

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    Yes, I will do that!
     
    #5 RoadNoise, Jun 26, 2016
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  6. MrMischief

    MrMischief Active Member

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    Welcome to the club. My wife washed my keyfob on day two of ownership. I found it before it made it to the dryer and our washer is a front loader so it doesn't use as much water. Pulled it apart found some water inside but all of the electronics were protected by a thin gasket. I dried it as best I could let it sit for maybe 30 min put it back together with the same battery and had no issue
     
    #6 MrMischief, Jun 26, 2016
  7. Dragon Rider

    Dragon Rider Active Member

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    Where did you buy the Fob for the Gen 4 . I try Ebay or Amazon no luck .

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #7 Dragon Rider, Jul 17, 2016
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