Everything is expensive these days. That certainly is true of car repairs. Being the frugal person I am, I try to spend as little as possible on vehicle maintenance and repair while still taking good care of my car.
I drive a Dodge Charger that has spent more time in the shop than any other car I’ve ever owned. I love it, though. It’s a fancy car with lots of tech, and it sends me messages when something is amiss or needs my attention. It decided to send me a message last Friday.
I was in the parking lot of an auction house where I’d just purchased a toddler table and chairs so my grandchildren will have a place to sit and play when they visit. I pushed the button to start my car and received a dreaded error message. Thankfully, this one was specific, so there could be no mistake. It flashed a picture of a key fob with a battery life indicator showing my fob’s battery was nearly dead.
As I mentioned, my car has a lot of tech. It won’t run without the key fob. My car has a keyless ignition. There’s no ignition key because there’s no place to put a key. I press the Start button and it starts when it senses the fob. If my fob dies, I’m in a bad way.
I did a quick internet search on my phone and found the battery size. I altered my plans for the day and went to Walmart for a new battery before going home to replace the old one. It wasn’t even an expensive battery. I bought a two-pack for around $5.00.
Whoever manufactured my fob didn’t want me to replace the battery. There’s no notch, and it took a long time to pry to the thing open. I think they expected me to take it to the dealership and pay someone to change it or order a new one for me.
That’s not how I roll. I don’t like paying people to do things I’m capable of doing myself. I was determined to replace that battery. All it took was a bunch of determination and a butter knife to pry the fob apart and get to the battery.
Closing it was also a chore. It didn’t want to snap back together. Luckily I had a watch press tool that I use for closing my Fossil watches when I need to replace batteries. That press has paid for itself many times over. Just a couple quick presses, and my fob was good as new.
I gave my husband the second battery for his truck key fob. He bought the truck a month after I bought the car six years ago, so I figured it would start hollering pretty soon.
Life is expensive, but I always look for the best value. I work hard for my money. I certainly don’t want to waste any of it.
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