Last week, Dale was to preach the evening Good Friday worship service at Holy Cross. Because of this he wanted to get there earlier than I would. He got into his car and it wouldn't start. This was weird because there was nothing wrong with the battery. He was a bit panic-ed because his car was behind mine and the only way to use mine would be to back out using our neighbor's lawn.
So he first called our St. Louis daughter Elizabeth who was headed to Holy Cross with her family to see if they were close. And they had just gotten into Collinsville so would come by and pick us up. Well, as often happens, Dale's car finally started and he was able to get going.
But. This had to be looked into, this strange behavior by the car. Yesterday he was able to get the car started and took it into St. Louis to be examined. He went to St. Louis because that is where the warranty fixers were located. It took a few hours of the mechanics checking things and in the end they discovered the problem.
The battery in his key fob was dead. I mean seriously. This key fob not only opens the doors but it also starts the engine remotely. All you need to do is have the key somewhere on your person or in the cup holder, push a button on the dash and the car starts.
This is something we never ever think about. Changing a key fob battery. I'm kind of glad my key fob just opens the door locks.
But this is not an easy battery to get in and out. The mechanics showed Dale how it's done and he tried practicing last night and couldn't do it. So hopefully this new one will last quite a while. At least we have a spare should this happen again.
Now I'm worried that my key fob has a battery inside that will die and I'll be standing next to the locked car door with a cart full of groceries and no way to get them in. Mine only locks and unlocks the doors, but still. It does look like it may open and have a battery in it. It's never died as many years as we've have the car so, my paranoia is: When will this battery die and where will I be?