A lost car key can cause instant panic. But sometimes the problem is not the key. It is knowing how the key works.
A relative recently misplaced the key fob for her 1997 Buick. After searching everywhere, she finally gave up and found the spare key. The crisis was averted. Or so she thought.
A young friend offered to help her start the car. He took the spare key, tried it, and reported that it did not work.
The next day, she showed me the supposedly defective key. I inspected it but could not see anything wrong. It was not bent, damaged, or unusually worn. So, I walked out to the Buick, inserted the key into the door, and turned it. The door unlocked. Then I placed the key in the ignition, turned it, and the car started immediately. The key worked perfectly.
That was when I realized what had happened. The young man had never used a traditional car key. Instead of inserting it into the ignition and turning it, he had been pressing the key as though it were a modern push-button key fob!
The Technology Generation Gap
For drivers who grew up with conventional vehicles, the idea of turning a metal key in an ignition seems completely ordinary. For many younger drivers, however, a car “key” is something that stays in a pocket, purse, or cup holder.
Modern vehicles may unlock automatically when the driver approaches. The engine starts by pressing a dashboard button. In some cars, the driver may rarely look at the key fob at all. This makes a traditional ignition key unfamiliar technology, even though it is the older and mechanically simpler system.
Our experience with the Buick was a funny reminder of just how much car key technology have changed.
