TexasDave

Hello - new owner of a RX350. Purchased vehicle for my mother who is a senior citizen. Still very capable, but she is sometimes forgetful.

This will be her first time with a keyless start. I am afraid she will lose the key, as having to stick physical key into the ignition was her way of remembering where it was.

Any suggestions on how to help her to not lose her key or leave it in the car when she gets out? Thanks in advance to all who have encountered this problem and solved it.

UCSB

If she takes her purse with her when she is driving, then she can just leave the key in an interior pocket in the purse and never touch it. I also find that the key fits in the small key pocket on all jeans and many casual pants. I put the key in the little pocket and rarely touch it when I am out. The important thing to remember in this case is to always check for keys when doing the laundry.

JellyBean

I tied a long cord to the fob and hang it around my neck. It doesn't have to be visible.

shkr

First thing first, Caring for parents - you are doing an awesome job

She should not really have a problem as she can keep in her purse all the time and does not have to take it out. Also, the car will not lock and have an audible signal when she tries to lock the car from the door handle but the key is inside the car.

markrivers

+1 on this suggestion.

py0413

I chain the key fob with all other keys I have so I never forget them. (you have to lock the doors when you go out)

kitlz

Welcome TexasDave. Nice car for mom

I keep mine in a zippered side pocket in my pocketbook. I rarely have to remove it except for remote start or for service. Now remembering no key to insert into the ignition is another story. Takes some time getting used to.

TexasDave

Thanks for all the suggestions!

The pocket won't work because women's clothes are just different from men's. Most of her clothes don't have pockets!

The purse is a good idea ... except she often doesn't carry one.

In terms of beeping and doors not locking, I'm not sure that they will actually register with her. She's the type who will just park, get out of the car, and walk away - sometimes locking, sometimes not. Drives me nuts because I'm a little OCD - I lock twice and stare at my car to make sure it flashed.

I really like the lanyard idea - maybe I can make it into a nice necklace. At $385 a pop for a key attached to a $40,000 car, it's a pretty expensive accessory!

lalewla

hi dave and welcome.

kuddos to you for the purchase for mother and for your concern about her well being.

although i'm not quite a senior citizen yet, i have my senior moments and struggle finding my key when i need to lock my cars. i try to make every effort to put it in a front pocket of my purse but often i'm in a hurry and place it someplace that i can't remember.

you've gotten some really good suggestions here. i can only add, be patient , hopefully the placement of the key will become habit and she'll easily find it when she needs to.

good luck!

Viognier

It's a bit pricey even from Sewell ( be sure to lower your price with your Club Lexus discount) but have you considered the Lexus Smart Card key ? It works exactly like the key fob to "authorize" use of the keyless start and door un/locking.

Here is the link: http://lexus.sewellparts.com/accesso...2010/2557.html

It's the size of a credit card and she could carry it in her wallet (which i imagine she would always have along when driving or is out running errands).

Perhaps a consideration.

MX5NES350

Put the key on a ring that has a picture of you attached to it? Afterall, you got her the car and are the best, right?

If you are paranoid about her not choosing to lock you can point out she doesn't have to use the keyfob, she can just touch the front of the door handle (there is a slight indentation) and it will lock. Kind of cool and gives her the tactile feel of really locking the door.

Fiddledd

Kudos for caring for your mother! I did the same, until I lost her a few months ago. Anyway, I have a little Brighton keychain which has a 'clip' on it - I keep it clipped inside my purse. Except when I take it to go inside the Post Office to check my mailbox - I take the key fob and my heavy set of keys inside (not my entire purse). I'm telling you this to let you know how very smart my Lexie is. A couple weeks ago, my mailbox contained a piece of mail which had postage due. There was such a large amount of mail, I decided to carry it all out to my car, get the money I needed, then go back inside to retrieve the mail from the desk clerk. I was in a hurry, and tossed my set of keys inside, held on to the key fob, locked the door with the door switch, and slammed it shut. Only then did I realize that I had not tossed my keys inside - but I'd tossed the key fob inside and was standing there staring at my keys (minus car key) in my hand. Just as my stomach rolled over and I felt faint (was trying to get out of town for the holidays) with the realization of what I'd just done, I heard this little "chirp chirp chirp" from Lexie. Smartie that she is, she realized what I'd done, and unlocked the doors for me. LOVE LOVE LOVE this car! :-)

InRBigness

Let me ask a question? if there was a physical key, how would she deal with that? I would imagine it would be on a key ring with some other keys that she has. If this is the case, then clip the remote onto that set of keys (probably the house key on there somewhere) and all is good.

I have the smart card key and it is awsome. The only issue that i have found is that I leave the house, lock the **** and then find I dont have a house key. I have had to put a key in the garage and put a coded door lock on the man door as a work around for my blonde moments. I am too young to have senior moments.

TexasDave

She will put the remote onto her keychain. However, I know that she will not be as mindful of that entire keychain if it's not hanging in front of her. If she were in the habit of always locking her car, it wouldn't be an issue, because the RX would beep at her. However, she's one of those people who sometimes locks and sometimes doesn't. Having the key hang in the ignition right in front of her was her most obvious reminder to take the keys..

Thanks for all the helpful responses! I'm going to suggest all of them and see what sticks. Mom should be happy, because the RX is a beautiful vehicle.

alanadler

Put the keys in the fold out cup holder to the left of the steering wheel. They are easy to see so she won't forget them, plus that cup holder never gets used anyway.