After a sweaty clean-up on the smart I threw my shorts in the washing machine along with another load that had been waiting to be washed. At the end of the wash cycle I started to transfer the clothes into the dryer and found to my horror that I had left my smart's key in the pocket of my shorts and had run it through the entire wash cycle. Aaaaaargh
I've read enough on the various forums to know that losing or damaging your key can turn out to be a really expensive proposition, so I wasn't looking forward to the probability of a dead key.
My intent was to open up the key housing before trying it and dry out the all of the water and check the battery. Opening the key housing is really easy, just needing a wide-bladed screwdriver or coin in the fob attachment loop. The battery will pop right out, no tools required. The battery is a CR2016 3 volt lithium cell and should be available from any Radio Shack or equivalent battery supplier. The needed battery type and installation polarity is marked right in the key case.
Much to my surprise, I found no water in the housing...not a drop
There is a circular rubber seal that runs around the perimeter of the case and separately, the button bumps are all part of one large piece of flexible silicone. When the housing is assembled the button pad and the case seal are pushed against each other and an excellent seal is made. I checked the battery while it was out and found it reading slightly above 3 volts, this after 16 months of smart ownership (smart normally replaces your batteries at the 20,000 mile service). In any case, after re-assembly, everything worked just fine and I breathed a large sigh of relief that my stupidity hadn't proved costly. Thought you might like to know that the smart key is actually quite secure relative to moisture
This experiment was conducted by a professionally stupid owner...Don't try this at home
smart - aka Smurf
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