Low battery prevented truck from starting... Key battery. RANT

I was unable to start my work truck today (F-350 flatbed). The battery was low. Not the real battery. the "key battery". ? yeah the key has a fricking battery. WTF. A battery in a key.

I was given 2 of those annoying switchblade fob keys the size of a cellphone and I knew that they were not designed by a fish biologist because we fish biologists (and i think most real people) fall in the water at least 5 or 20 times a year so how could someone really carry a switchblade remote key contraption like that. I paid for 2 REAL keys (>$100 each) thinking that would be the end of it. But no. Those really expensive keys need to be replaced because of a "low battery".

The world is falling apart. Come on FORD. You and everyone else made the mistake of putting Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags in keys a few years ago and the right thing to do was remove them and go back to old fashioned brass keys without chips. Instead you make something that has a battery and can not get wet? Put those in your Lincolns. Not the F350s. Let city people add fancy city slicker battery keys and alarms to the truck after market. If i lived somewhere where such a security system was needed I would move away.

This is just a rant. It might be out of place but Taco world is the only place i can think of to vent.

 

OK so maybe some real people do not fall in the water a lot. But they likely have to swim someplace. Or they get hit with a thunder storm. You live a pretty domesticated existence if that does not happen 4 times in the life of the truck and the truck only stores the codes for 4 keys max. Total BS.

 

Yeah, ok. There are real non-domesticated people living in rural desert locations without surface water that are exempt from my blanket statement. Fine. But only them.

 

Yeah, a bunch of BS electronics is one big reason I have avoided newer cars..... I'd lose my shit if my key's dead battery left me stranded.

 

I’ve washed my Tacoma key fob multiple times and still works so not sure about ur qualm about getting them wet?

Also imagine the main reason for the tech was to make the car harder to steal.

 

Yeah. If i lived somewhere where that was a problem i would buy a car alarm or move. Why make all people suffer because some people live in a big city.

 

My 02 BMW key fob - not wireless - had to be in ignition for over 30 minutes to charge it. I drove less than 15 minutes to and from work, so it was not uncommon for that key to "die" and not turn the car over....

 

I have the OEM fob for my '03, but man oh man am I glad (as a surfer) that I can just slide a brass key into a keyhole to unlock my pickup. I don't have to hide a key on the pickup and pray no one was watching.

 

I also hate that on many (subaru and ford) the alarm goes off if you do not use the remote to unlock the door. I purchased the car and now i have to be scolded for using a key?

And subaru only puts a key hole on the driver door. Where traffic is. Not even on the rear gate? WTF?

Don't even get me started about these F*ck!ng push button electric parking breaks. That is just wrong in so many ways.

I also hated the slow dimming dome lights since they first came out. There is no reason for that. NONE. it is just artsy fluff.

 

100% agree.

 

I remember my dad's 92 land cruiser had that issue where the alarm went off if you opened with key and didn't put key in ignition within 30 seconds. So glad my pickup doesn't have that issue! (Because last thing I want to do is sit on my leather in my wetsuit to get the key in there)

 

My brother and I had old beaters in high school. All had warn out ignitions. We just used a toggle switch or pulled all the lock pins out. It was GREAT. Never lost my keys.

 

Here's a few more things for your rant list:

$400 to replace and get fancy key coded for your vehicle or you lose it. BTW, don't lose the little key code that came with you new truck. Or dealer will bend you over again. Now there's progress.

 

If you read the owners manual your ford has a spot to put your key when the batteries is low/dead, I believe there is a antenna directly under this spot.

Edit - Also you can pay the dealer to change the vehicle to remember unlimited keys.

 

If you do not have a base level vehicle and both keys you can retrieve the keyless entry code yourself. That information is also in the owners manual.

 

I will read it on saturday. THANKS

 

For a while those jeeps that are not jeeps in any way shape or form were real popular with my neighbors who apparently do not need a real jeep. They must just like the brand name jeep because their aint much else to like about those vehicles. Anyways, those fake jeeps came with "proximity alarms" and apparently you can not turn them off without going to a jeep dealer. I came to learn that a "proximity alarm" is an alarm to alert you and all your neighbors of falling leaves. All night. Every night. For 2 months of each year. An alarm to remind owners to put the fake jeep into a garage so it doesn't get dirty.


EDIT: that has nothing to do with keys.

 

Don't feel bad, Fords have been leaving people stranded long before there were batteries in the keys