Life expectancy of, and/or longest lasting key fob battery???

We see all kinds of things about high miles, low miles, battery life, engine life and other measures of vehicle endurance.

It dawned on me this AM that both of the key fobs from one of my vehicles are still using the original batteries.

It's an '04 Highlander that we took delivery of 1/27/04. They are simple devices, only lock/ single or all unlock/panic button features.

I'm thinking 12yrs 7months is a fairly good battery life, and who knows how much more?

But some burning questions come to mind too......

Is there a write up on how to change them? Is there a performance battery I should consider upgrading them to? One with lighter weight? Where do you buy yours? Does anybody really know what time it is? Do we have vendors we can order from? Is there a group buy coming up soon? Does consumer reports factor this data into their reliability scoring?

Should I change them preemptively? Nah, I can use the key if they die.

Bonus. I'll send you pictures of the fobs if you're first to name the musical group referenced in the text above.

 

I had to replace one for SWMBO a while back that lasted 3-4 years, as I recall. She uses them constantly, so battery life is short. I replace those for my truck after about 6-7 years just because I don't want to take a chance that it will be dead when I unintentionally lock the key inside. FWIW, my ocd is upset when someone calls those "batteries." One of my profs in an early engineering or chemistry course insisted they are "cells." A battery is an assembly of cells, like the battery in the engine compartment.

 

Not a huge Chicago fan, but I get the reference.

I'll second that fob button cells seem to last an incredibly long time. I don't think I've ever had to replace them on any vehicle I've owned. For lightest weight you could try to source a Zinc-carbon cell. For highest performance you could engineer your own Thorium molten salt reactor.

In all seriousness, most button cells these days are using lithium chemistry, which should hypothetically outlast the older NiMH style cells. As for the writeup (on the off chance you aren't being facetious), see the below link.

http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Toyota-Tacoma-Key-Fob-Battery-Replacement-Guide/

 

Congrats on picking up the music reference. If I ever get a cell, battery or whatever for my camera, I'll take those pics for your prize.