UhOh

[Old Wyseguy]

This is going to sound stupid, and I feel that way but here goes. I just dug my key fob out of the washing machine! Has anyone had any luck with it working after being subjected to this mistreatment? I know my wife has washed (and dried) her Prius fob and it continues to work!

 

[msnow]

Never had that happen but should I assume it's not working now?

 

[Alex D]

The first thing I would do is, take the battery out. Then let it dry in raw rice for a day or two (takes the moisture out). Then try and see if it still works.

 

[iwannam3]

I think rinsing it in distilled water to remove any minerals, soap, etc after removing the battery prior to drying is a good procedure to follow for electronics that get wet

 

[Mike K]

I'm going to qualify my post by saying that I restored water damaged cell phones for years.

With that said, rice does almost nothing. You'll have water in the housing and rice won't extract that. The best thing to do is remove the battery, hold the fob in your hand battery side out (finger side) and swing it like you're throwing a ball. You want any remaining water to fly out, or at least as much as possible.

If the cases on these snap open that's the best plan of attack and will allow you to remove every last drop.

From there you want to hit it with a hair dryer but not sustained. Hit it for 5 - 10 seconds from about 8 - 10 inches away, give it a break, rinse (not literally) and repeat.

The good news is you're dealing with fresh water and this is a low voltage device. So proper drying should restore it.

 

[davidc18]

Had one of mine go through the wash and it was okay. I did lose one and it was 150$ to have it replaced at the SC.

 

[Old Wyseguy]

Never had that happen but should I assume it's not working now?

While wet I am not about to try it. I have it drying now . . . (and no, not in the clothes dryer)

 

[ishop4more]

Probably not what you want to hear, but the price to replace a fob has come way down. I lost mine (not sure how because I was able to drive my car . . . it was missing when I got out) a couple of weeks ago and paid $131 to get a new one and have the car reprogramed. Took about an hour and 15 minutes (including its wash and vacuum) at the service center.

 

[3s-a-charm]

Probably not what you want to hear, but the price to replace a fob has come way down. I lost mine (not sure how because I was able to drive my car . . . it was missing when I got out) a couple of weeks ago and paid $131 to get a new one and have the car reprogramed. Took about an hour and 15 minutes (including its wash and vacuum) at the service center.

Another helpful tip I found out was that Tesla also offers a replacement "shell" should your shell become damaged for any reason (in my case it was the dog!). I ordered a new key but the tech asked if the key still works - I said yes and he recommended a quick shell replacement which only cost me something like $10-$15. Good if you're shell is scratched up and you want it to look like new again.

 

[Electric700]

While wet I am not about to try it. I have it drying now . . . (and no, not in the clothes dryer)

You could try taking the battery out and let it sit with the battery cover off next to a fan for 24 hours. I have heard that a bowl of instant rice might help dry out electronics, but never tried that.

 

[wilheldp]

If you have recently bought shoes, you should have a silica gel packet in the box. Putting the fob in a sealed container with one or more of those packets will do way more good than rice will. If there are mineral or soap deposits on the fob or circuit board, it may be a good idea to rinse everything off with either distilled water or isopropyl or denatured alcohol prior to drying.

 

[msnow]

I'm going to qualify my post by saying that I restored water damaged cell phones for years.

With that said, rice does almost nothing. You'll have water in the housing and rice won't extract that. The best thing to do is remove the battery, hold the fob in your hand battery side out (finger side) and swing it like you're throwing a ball. You want any remaining water to fly out, or at least as much as possible.

If the cases on these snap open that's the best plan of attack and will allow you to remove every last drop.

From there you want to hit it with a hair dryer but not sustained. Hit it for 5 - 10 seconds from about 8 - 10 inches away, give it a break, rinse (not literally) and repeat.

The good news is you're dealing with fresh water and this is a low voltage device. So proper drying should restore it.

This makes the most sense. I'd listen to this guy because it's not speculation.

 

[MassModel3]

You know, back in the day when I bought my Saturn, one of the selling points was that the key fob is designed (and tested) to withstand 50+ washes in a standard washing machine. I was somewhat shocked when I realized that there are no rubber gaskets on the Model S fobs.

Tangent: Back when I was a computer support tech, a guy brought in a laptop with multiple parallel burn marks on the bottom and some warped panels. Turns out he spilled water on the laptop and thought a good drying procedure would be to set his oven to the lowest temp then stick his laptop in there for a while. Let's just say don't try this with your key fob!

 

[ddimit]

Rice is worthless, take the battery out and use a hair dryer set on warm, aim it into the battery compartment with the battery removed. for 5-10 mins to evaporate out the water.

 

[Sandy]

I disagree with those who say that rice doesn't work. I did exactly what the OP did and washed my fob. I took the battery out, dried everything I could and also tried the fob (which I understand now is a no-no) and documented that it wasn't working. I then placed it without the battery into a small tupperware with uncooked rice in it (don't cook the rice) and covered it. I then went on a one week business trip and when I returned, the fob worked perfectly and the rice did its job -- it kept my grandkids from playing with it while it dried!

 

[msnow]

I disagree with those who say that rice doesn't work. I did exactly what the OP did and washed my fob. I took the battery out, dried everything I could and also tried the fob (which I understand now is a no-no) and documented that it wasn't working. I then placed it without the battery into a small tupperware with uncooked rice in it (don't cook the rice) and covered it. I then went on a one week business trip and when I returned, the fob worked perfectly and the rice did its job -- it kept my grandkids from playing with it while it dried!

Right but that doesn't prove rice is what did it. It could just as easily been the one week drying out period correct?

 

[Max*]

Yeah, the whole rice thing has been debunked over and over and over again. Most articles that claim that it works are from 2007-2009, anything more recent typically states that it's not the best approach.

Here's a decent study showing how poorly rice does (for anyone who doesn't want to click, it placed dead last in an open-air experiment) Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone « Smartphones

 

[sorka]

This is going to sound stupid, and I feel that way but here goes. I just dug my key fob out of the washing machine! Has anyone had any luck with it working after being subjected to this mistreatment? I know my wife has washed (and dried) her Prius fob and it continues to work!

My Prius fobs have been washed and dried over a dozen times each. Never had a problem with them after that. Hope I never have to find out with the Tesla fob. I will if my wife ever becomes a regular driver of the MS.

 

[sorka]

I'm going to qualify my post by saying that I restored water damaged cell phones for years.

With that said, rice does almost nothing. You'll have water in the housing and rice won't extract that. The best thing to do is remove the battery, hold the fob in your hand battery side out (finger side) and swing it like you're throwing a ball. You want any remaining water to fly out, or at least as much as possible.

If the cases on these snap open that's the best plan of attack and will allow you to remove every last drop.

From there you want to hit it with a hair dryer but not sustained. Hit it for 5 - 10 seconds from about 8 - 10 inches away, give it a break, rinse (not literally) and repeat.

The good news is you're dealing with fresh water and this is a low voltage device. So proper drying should restore it.

What about a redunk in distilled water(with the battery removed first of cours) first which is non conductive and leaves no residue? (whoops. guess I should have read the othe responses first).

 

[wilheldp]

I disagree with those who say that rice doesn't work. I did exactly what the OP did and washed my fob. I took the battery out, dried everything I could and also tried the fob (which I understand now is a no-no) and documented that it wasn't working. I then placed it without the battery into a small tupperware with uncooked rice in it (don't cook the rice) and covered it. I then went on a one week business trip and when I returned, the fob worked perfectly and the rice did its job -- it kept my grandkids from playing with it while it dried!

It would have been just as dry if you left it sitting on the counter for one week...or probably just a couple of days. Rice is not hygroscopic...if it was, rice would absorb moisture from the air and become soggy if not stored in an air-tight container. Desiccants (such as silica gel) are hygroscopic, and they either have a useable shelf life before they need to be discarded or they can be "recharged" by heating them in an oven. Storing wet electronics with a desiccant will accelerate drying. Storing wet electronics with rice will accelerate the placebo effect.