Chicago's weather seasonally beats up on your vehicle key fob for an entire year: bone-chilling morning starts, weeks of salted roads, lake effect storms, and hot and humid summer months with conditions swinging to the other end. Nothing obvious happens on any individual day, but by the time one season ends, you'll know the toll it takes. See our car key replacement service.
The battery that powers your key fob is a coin cell battery and low temperatures really slow down its chemical reactions, reducing its efficiency, that is why a fully charged battery in summer might be near empty in the frigid Chicago winter, see more details on fob battery drain issues in our fob troubleshooting guide.
Road salts are carried along with slushy water splashing all over your car door. This eventually seeps into your car door lock cylinder where it begins corroding pins and key blades inside. Freezing inside the cylinder is another common problem. Trying to start your car with a frozen lock results in broken key blades.
Do not force the key when it refuses to move on a cold winter morning, warming the metal key helps unlock a frozen lock. Applying some de-icing spray to the key will help unlock the door. Trying to force your door open in such conditions can easily break a key blade, and that is covered here.
Chicago weather swings to the other end with humid and hot days during July and August and even when parking your car in the shade, the temperatures inside your car can climb above 130°F, such heat is damaging to internal key components. See our guide to hot weather effects on key fobs.
In order to reduce the risk of issues:
Keep the key fob indoors rather than leaving it in a car during extreme weather.
Replacing weak batteries before you key fob dies on you in the middle of a parking lot.
Apply some lubrication to the door locks before the first freeze hits in Chicago.
Store spare keys at home in cool and dry location away from humidity.
A dead fob often isn't dead. Try these battery, damage, and sync checks before paying for a replacement.
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