Keyfob durability :-)
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Keyfob durability :-)
Just wanted to mention that I washed my GLK keyfob again, yesterday - for the second time. About two hours in the washing machine. I had left them in my pants pocket. At some point it fell out of the pants pocket while being washed and made a loud, recurring banging sound. This is a front-loader washing machine and not a top-loader so you could say it may have gotten treated a bit more roughly.
Anyway, after listening to the racket for a while and wondering what it was, I went to my little Faraday cage key box to make sure my keyfob was in there. Box was open and empty so I knew what was up at this point. Well, I let the washing machine finish its job and found my key inside. Of course it had filled with water. I drained it, removed the mechanical key, took off the cover and removed the battery. Then I put a towel on my bedroom radiator and placed the keyfob on the towel and left it there overnight. The radiator was set at its normal temp. of around 65 Fahrenheit. This morning I installed a new battery, went to the garage and checked all functions including starting the car. Everything still works.
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Just wanted to mention that I washed my GLK keyfob again, yesterday - for the second time. About two hours in the washing machine. I had left them in my pants pocket. At some point it fell out of the pants pocket while being washed and made a loud, recurring banging sound. This is a front-loader washing machine and not a top-loader so you could say it may have gotten treated a bit more roughly.
Anyway, after listening to the racket for a while and wondering what it was, I went to my little Faraday cage key box to make sure my keyfob was in there. Box was open and empty so I knew what was up at this point. Well, I let the washing machine finish its job and found my key inside. Of course it had filled with water. I drained it, removed the mechanical key, took off the cover and removed the battery. Then I put a towel on my bedroom radiator and placed the keyfob on the towel and left it there overnight. The radiator was set at its normal temp. of around 65 Fahrenheit. This morning I installed a new battery, went to the garage and checked all functions including starting the car. Everything still works.
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I wouldn't consider the OP quite out of the woods yet. Moisture can wick under the more sensitive, larger components (basically, the processor chips) and cause conductive crud to grow. It could take a while, or worse, cause an intermittent problem that acts up when there's humidity (or here in Arizona, that means "never"). ;-)
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I wouldn't consider the OP quite out of the woods yet. Moisture can wick under the more sensitive, larger components (basically, the processor chips) and cause conductive crud to grow. It could take a while, or worse, cause an intermittent problem that acts up when there's humidity (or here in Arizona, that means "never"). ;-)
I agree that crud could still grow but I did the same thing with this keyfob (or one of my two others) a couple years ago or three and no problems. I rotate use of my fobs every four months so they're all getting used/tested in a one year period.
...and as a bonus my keyfob is really clean.
Last edited by MBKLUE; Apr 2, 2025 at 01:51 PM.
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From: South Texas
2014 GLK350 base model (active) ; 2001 E320 base (retired); 2001 Wrangler soft-top
Anyway, great that you found the Fob 👍
I'm notorious for misplacing keys - my better half invested in 4 "keyring locators" about 4 years ago. Previously, I misplaced the fob (only one) for her E320. Cost me $320 USD for a replacement. And MB requires the vehicle be physically at the dealership to test the key and verify VIN.
And, if nothing else, your Fob is squeaky clean now 🙂
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Wow, a room radiator !? Must be in Canada or extreme northern US. High here today (south TX) is supposed to be 86° F.
Anyway, great that you found the Fob 👍
I'm notorious for misplacing keys - my better half invested in 4 "keyring locators" about 4 years ago. Previously, I misplaced the fob (only one) for her E320. Cost me $320 USD for a replacement. And MB requires the vehicle be physically at the dealership to test the key and verify VIN.
And, if nothing else, your Fob is squeaky clean now 🙂
Anyway, great that you found the Fob 👍
I'm notorious for misplacing keys - my better half invested in 4 "keyring locators" about 4 years ago. Previously, I misplaced the fob (only one) for her E320. Cost me $320 USD for a replacement. And MB requires the vehicle be physically at the dealership to test the key and verify VIN.
And, if nothing else, your Fob is squeaky clean now 🙂
Yeah, I bought a third keyfob at M-B about 10 years ago and I think I paid about $325.00 plus needing to bring the car in. I wasn't looking forward to that again and fingers crossed, won't have to if I keep the keyfob washing to a minimum.
I like radiators in a house. Really dislike the dry, noisy forced air duct heating. Not that thrilled with under floor heating either. With radiators you can lay wet things on them to dry off, like towels, gloves, a scarf, socks, keyfobs etc. They don't heat a room as evenly as under floor heating and I like that too. If you're cold you can sit right next to the radiator. Too warm and you can sit in another corner of the room where it's cooler or anywhere in between.
86 degrees F? A good 25 to 30 degrees too warm for me... depending on the humidity. Spent an August in Texas many years ago. No thanks! :-) Can't imagine living in a place without four seasons to include some snow in winter - although I've had to for work reasons, over the years.
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We're having a cold snap here - highs under 70°F today (hit nearly 100°F a week ago), in Arizona. Been here 25 years and never once had to shovel snow!
That said, I'm not a fan of radiators, at least not in a public building. My daughter lives in NYC and I'm always amazed at how everyone there regulates their apartment temperature - by cranking all the windows open. ;-)
That said, I'm not a fan of radiators, at least not in a public building. My daughter lives in NYC and I'm always amazed at how everyone there regulates their apartment temperature - by cranking all the windows open. ;-)
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I wouldn't consider the OP quite out of the woods yet. Moisture can wick under the more sensitive, larger components (basically, the processor chips) and cause conductive crud to grow. It could take a while, or worse, cause an intermittent problem that acts up when there's humidity (or here in Arizona, that means "never"). ;-)
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I agree that crud could still grow but I did the same thing with this keyfob (or one of my two others) a couple years ago or three and no problems. I rotate use of my fobs every four months so they're all getting used/tested in a one year period.
...and as a bonus my keyfob is really clean.
...and as a bonus my keyfob is really clean.
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We're having a cold snap here - highs under 70°F today (hit nearly 100°F a week ago), in Arizona. Been here 25 years and never once had to shovel snow!
That said, I'm not a fan of radiators, at least not in a public building. My daughter lives in NYC and I'm always amazed at how everyone there regulates their apartment temperature - by cranking all the windows open. ;-)
That said, I'm not a fan of radiators, at least not in a public building. My daughter lives in NYC and I'm always amazed at how everyone there regulates their apartment temperature - by cranking all the windows open. ;-)
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Shoveling snow is a great way to meet your neighbors and complain about the weather. It's also a great way to get some nice, cold, crisp, refreshing air into your lungs, as long as you don't die of a heart attack. Radiators in apartments are fine if they each have a decent quality thermostat on them. I've seen places with radiators that have no thermostats on them so your windows are the thermostats, as you mention. Ridiculous, antiquated and incredibly wasteful.
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2014 GLK350 base model (active) ; 2001 E320 base (retired); 2001 Wrangler soft-top
Think about this one ... we only had ONE Fob when I lost it. So, now ya gotta spend about $200 USD to tow the MB to the dealership, so the Fob ends up costing $525 USD ... $525 for a friggin vehicle "key" !! 🤬
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Problem is what damage the detergent might had did... Need to find a way to neutralize that.
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Here's a way that I dry things out - similar to using a radiator.
Remove batteries. Rinse the item (ideally with distilled water) and shake water out well.
Wrap the item in a towel or piece of cardboard. Place in Crock Pot set to low heat - leave the lid partly open, you don't want it too hot. Ensure that your item does not touch the surface of the pot.
Let it dry for a few hours until all signs of moisture are gone.
Works well due to being such dry heat. Lots faster than the rice method.
Remove batteries. Rinse the item (ideally with distilled water) and shake water out well.
Wrap the item in a towel or piece of cardboard. Place in Crock Pot set to low heat - leave the lid partly open, you don't want it too hot. Ensure that your item does not touch the surface of the pot.
Let it dry for a few hours until all signs of moisture are gone.
Works well due to being such dry heat. Lots faster than the rice method.
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Here's a way that I dry things out - similar to using a radiator.
Remove batteries. Rinse the item (ideally with distilled water) and shake water out well.
Wrap the item in a towel or piece of cardboard. Place in Crock Pot set to low heat - leave the lid partly open, you don't want it too hot. Ensure that your item does not touch the surface of the pot.
Let it dry for a few hours until all signs of moisture are gone.
Works well due to being such dry heat. Lots faster than the rice method.
Remove batteries. Rinse the item (ideally with distilled water) and shake water out well.
Wrap the item in a towel or piece of cardboard. Place in Crock Pot set to low heat - leave the lid partly open, you don't want it too hot. Ensure that your item does not touch the surface of the pot.
Let it dry for a few hours until all signs of moisture are gone.
Works well due to being such dry heat. Lots faster than the rice method.
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Yep, as I mentioned, they want your MB vehicle to be at the dealer physically, to pick up the new Fob.
Think about this one ... we only had ONE Fob when I lost it. So, now ya gotta spend about $200 USD to tow the MB to the dealership, so the Fob ends up costing $525 USD ... $525 for a friggin vehicle "key" !! 🤬
Think about this one ... we only had ONE Fob when I lost it. So, now ya gotta spend about $200 USD to tow the MB to the dealership, so the Fob ends up costing $525 USD ... $525 for a friggin vehicle "key" !! 🤬
:-( ouch
That's why I bought a third not long after buying my GLK - lose or break one of two and you're down to one and Murphy's Law
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Today, just for fun (and maybe a little bit of protection), I took the battery out of the keyfob and filled the keyfob with WD-40. It holds a surprising amount. Put the battery back in and the cover on. Some of the WD-40 will migrate out of the bottom of the keyfob for a while.
Probably would have been best to do that as soon as I took it out of the washer.
As expected, it still works fine. Tested all the keyfob functions - door lock/unlock, motorized rear hatch open/close, panic alarm, Keyless Go start and physical key start. Now my key smells like WD-40. Thought about washing the key again but I kind of like the smell.
Probably would have been best to do that as soon as I took it out of the washer.
As expected, it still works fine. Tested all the keyfob functions - door lock/unlock, motorized rear hatch open/close, panic alarm, Keyless Go start and physical key start. Now my key smells like WD-40. Thought about washing the key again but I kind of like the smell.
Last edited by MBKLUE; Apr 3, 2025 at 08:59 AM.
