Help Needed to Clean My Key After Washer Incident

I’ve been searching everywhere for help. My key got washed and now it doesn’t work. A new battery lets me start the car, but none of the buttons work. I need to take the key apart to clean it. Can anyone guide me on how to do that?

5 Likes

It can come apart a bit. This is a junkyard key, and I wanted to swap the rubber because mine was worn out, but I couldn’t get it open. Good luck!

You can open the battery compartment and spray a good cleaner inside to soak it. I used Caig Deoxit since I work with electronics and have it on hand.

This fixed my battery dying issue because I think there was a short circuit on the contacts.

6 Likes

The funny thing is, I did the same thing years ago :sweat_smile: I called a company to make new keys, but they said I needed to have my car out front since I was in a gated area. I told them my car wouldn’t start, but then I decided to test it—and it actually worked! It took a few days before it stopped working again, though. Not saying yours will work again, but here’s some hope :hugs:
you’re welcome

6 Likes

Ain’t gonna lie about it, but here is some old trick that used to work like magic. Try putting it in some rice. If that doesn’t work, the board might be damaged, unfortunately.

5 Likes

Thankfully, I can still start the car, though none of the buttons are working.

4 Likes

I just bought a 2016 Focus S, and it came with one fob key (like yours) and one regular key.

I ordered 2 fobs with blanks from eBay. It looks like you need one working fob to program another fob, and you need 2 working keys to program the immobilizer, which is like a SIM card in the key. This is needed for the car to start. The dealer cut the blanks for me for free, but I’ve heard it usually costs around $10.

Unfortunately, your OEM fob might be broken. I don’t think the start function depends on the battery.

I believe the dealer can program a fob or immobilizer even if you have one or no working keys, but that will likely cost some money. They might also be hesitant to use parts from eBay or Amazon.

4 Likes

You can find replacement fobs on Amazon or eBay for less than $20, but a locksmith will charge you $100-150 to program it.

I’m not sure about this specific model, but some need at least one working fob to program a new one. If you don’t have a working fob, you might have to pay $350-500 at the dealership.
tbh, usually won’t program an aftermarket fob.

4 Likes

If it wasn’t completely dry and you tried using the buttons or starting the car, you might have damaged the insides.

Next time, make suure to let it dry out completely and put it in a bag of rice to absorb the moisture.

1 Like

Those keys don’t really come apart. I wanted to change the buttons on mine since they were worn out. I had to break it to get it apart. Basically I broke it open and took out the circuit board and put it in new housing with new buttons. Then had to get the new physical key cut.

2 Likes

It just needs to be reprogrammed lol.

1 Like

Like I said, it does let me start the car, although none of the buttons are completely working. I was hoping to clean the circuit board. :thinking: