Hi, y'all. I'm normally over in the 5G section, but I've got a friend that needs some help. (Please keep any flame posts to yourself as she's following the thread... just trying to solve the problem. Thanks!)

She accidentally washed her key fob for her 4G SR5. She realized the mistake and pulled it out during the soak cycle this morning. After she pulled it out, she opened it up to let it air dry. Once dry, she put in a new battery to try it. No luck.

She said her 4R is locked, and the key fob won't unlock it, lock it, etc. She's able to unlock it with her regular key, but it sets off the alarm right away. She tried hopping inside and unlocking it manually from inside the 4R (hoping to kill the alarm that way), but it didn't work.

She is able to start her 4R, but she hasn't tried driving it yet... I'm assuming she's worried that it's got some type of kill switch that would kill the engine when she's out and about.

Any ideas on how to fix the key fob... or is she out of luck and in need of a new one?

Thanks in advance for your help.

-Joel

You are fine. The RFID tag in it is passive (not charged) and sealed. You won't have an issue of driving, but the buttons to unlock the car might not work. Luckily you can always open the car the old fashioned way with the key in door.

You can try popping it apart and putting it in a bag of rice for a day or two, that should pull any residual moisture out of the board. After that I would hit it with some electrical contact cleaner, let it dry for a few minutes (once the smell is gone it's dry) and try it again.

If none of that works, she'll probably need to buy a new remote. You can usually get better prices online and just need to match the FCC ID on the back of the fob. I believe there are a few threads on here that talk about programming your own remotes.

Good luck

Thanks, @DC runner and @A10GAC . In case she didn't see this info tonight, I'll pass it along tomorrow at work.

Gotta love this forum!

-Joel

If its a factory KeyFob I would try the Rice trick. The Key is pretty solidly sealed and the RFID Chip won't be affected, she should be able to stick it into the driver's side door and unlock the vehicle disabling the immobilizer system and factory alarm unit until she can salvage the Keyfob or replace it.

But this assuming there isn't a second alarm system installed in the vehicle.

Im actually surprised it doesn't work now. I sat in a hottub for a few hours with mine and have gone swimming with it more than a few times and it never had any issues. Also, you can buy a new, non-oem on on ebay for $45 that you can get programmed and will work just fine.

I don't have an alarm system on my truck, just the immobilizer. Take that into account when reading this, since I am not operating from personal experience.

I was under the impression that the alarm would be turned off if the right key unlocked the door? Her alarm sounds 3rd party if it will still go off, regardless of whether the right key is used.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the input. In the end, there was no saving the key fob.

She ended up having to order one from an eBay store using the FCC code on the back of the fob. They sent her directions on how to program it to her 4R, and she got it working within 10 minutes.

Thanks again, y'all!

-Joel