What to Do If Your Car Key Falls into Water?

[Dale]

Our current car keys generally come in two types: one is a purely mechanical key, usually a spare key, which contains an anti-theft chip and is waterproof. Therefore, this type of key is not afraid of falling into water. The other is a remote control key, which can remotely control the opening and closing of car doors based on different vehicle configurations, featuring keyless entry and one-button engine start functions. If the key gets damaged by water, we can only use its mechanical key to enter the car, but the anti-theft chip inside the remote key is also waterproof, so we can still start the engine in emergencies. If we need to replace it with a new key, we must order it from the manufacturer using the vehicle's chassis number and then match it online. This process usually takes about a month. Some people in urgent need might go to specialized key-matching repair shops, but this poses risks for Volkswagen's anti-theft system, as many of these shops use methods similar to hackers to crack and match keys. There's a possibility that when matching the vehicle's anti-theft components through official channels later, the entire vehicle's anti-theft system might be locked because Volkswagen's anti-theft server could detect unauthorized intrusion into the vehicle's anti-theft system. In such cases, replacing the entire vehicle's anti-theft components would be necessary, resulting in significant losses. If a remote key falls into water, the first step is to remove the key battery and shake out the water inside. Then, we need to use compressed air to dry the interior. Of course, most of us don't have compressed air handy. In such cases, we can use a hairdryer with cold air to blow out the water for about 1 minute, followed by warm air. The hairdryer should not be too close to the key, mainly to use the warm air to evaporate the moisture inside. After that, we should wrap the key in a pile of desiccants from similar food items to absorb the remaining moisture, if desiccants are not available. Then, place the key in a bowl of rice, although many say rice has poor moisture absorption. But this is one of the better emergency methods we can think of. Wait until the next day to reinstall the battery and test it. Although this method is not 100% effective, it has saved many people's keys. So after reading this method, it's worth remembering—you might need it someday.