Ask Lemmy

Mine may not be as long as some, but it was super frustrating... I lost my only car key for just shy of 1 year. This was a few years ago and was around the "end" of COVID. I have been working from home for the past 2 years, and since my car was the older one and wasn't very safe to drive I used my wife's car whenever I needed to go to the store or pick something up.

So my car sat in the front of our driveway and was ok as is. It wasn't a big deal, and at first thought ok well it will turn up soon after doing a quick search. Months later, it started to sink in that this wasn't turning up. Still no biggie, it wasn't needed and not a huge priority. Fast forward almost a year, and bam, our job is telling us we need to come back 3 days a week in 1 month... I quickly started to panick, and we both went nuts for the next few weeks, ripping the house apart, trying to find it.

I also found a cheap key fob online and decided to get it and have someone come on-site to cut the key to match the car. I felt like an idiot after that worked but realized it won't start the car because of the security in the fob that needs to sync for it to turn over the car using just the key. So, $150 later and no progress. I decided to call a locksmith, and they told me to call the car dealership because they need the codes to program one if none exist. Oh, this is also going to cost me another $200 or more... car dealership says absolutely not, I have to go there to get the codes because I need to prove it's me with paperwork since it could be someone trying to steal a car. Didn't have time for this...

So, about 2 weekends before I needed to return, I'm doing a deep clean on my wife's car since her and the kids were going to go somewhere for vacation soon. As I am doing this on the passenger side I stick my hand down the left side of the seat and boom, I hit the key fob I lost where it was stuck halfway down. We looked in her car multiple times, but due to it being stuck midway, we never really checked that and only the floor underneath...

Great! Now I know it's going to be bad trying to start the car after sitting for almost a year. Sure enough, the battery is dead and fully expected. Since it was a costco battery and got it only a few years ago, I was able to do a full return and grab another without having to pay since it needs to reach like 2 years minimum before it starts depreciation and I was a few months before that. Get the new battery in and boom! Starts right up. I get excited for a second... then I step on the brake and boom straight to the floor. At this point I'm now nervous. Luckily my father is a mechanic and he is able to spot the problem which was a pinhole opened up in the back line near the left tire. We order a new metal wire and he makes a brand new line by shaping it to match the existing one that connects across the back of the car. After a few hours success. Looks promising! Then I put it in reverse, and it goes nowhere... my father then finds the trans fluid is really low. We take a gamble and buy like 5 quarts to fill it. Seemed promising and holy crap it worked. The next day I try to go for a drive just to use it and same issue. Father comes back and realizes the fluid is basically gone again. While under the car he now realizes the entire tank it sits in was rotted out. He says this was probably the best problem to have since it was like $20 bucks to order an entire new one to replace it. Get that in the next day and fill it back up.

It has been working ever since, and I was able to make it back to work in time. That was a year and a half ago. Just for reference, the car was brand new when I brought it in Jan 2007 and has 247k on it. I am actually in the process of obtaining a replacement car finally in the next few weeks. For having the car for so long I will admit it was incredibly reliable and I put almost no money into it outside a few parts every few years like the starter or alternator which isn't bad for 18 years.