Do people not understand how to use the dead-battery mode of their fob?

I don't think people know that their fob has metal key and the car has a metal lock generally behind the door handle that you can slide in and open normally.

This does not start the car. Starting is a fairly important step.

Keyless start cars (e.g. Volkswagen) have a way to start with a dead fob.

If you hold the dead fob against the little key symbol on the steering column it'll power the fob by induction and you'll be able to start the car.

You're right, older fobs that just do keyless entry may not be able to start the car though.

It will, as most car key fobs also have a RFID in them that the car can read close range (e.g inserted)

It may not start the car, but will it at least let you put the car in neutral?

The poster a couple levels up said people where paying full towing price to have cars moved 5m. If you can put the car in neutral you should be able to push it that far yourself.

Not all cars are automatic. You might need to get hold of a hand instead.

Huh ? It's even simpler to put a manual car in neutral without the key. You could even push start it.

The main problem would be having a locked driving wheel (common in France), which may make pushing it 5 meters away impractical/impossible without lifting the front wheels.

I will do my best never to make a joke on HN again.

Not all cars. Audi certainly doesn’t.

They certainly do. The 3-4 different Audis I have driven all have key cylinders in the door handles and a physical key in the keyfob. And you can start the engine when the keyfob is out of battery because they have a passive RFID built in the fob that the car can communicate with when the keyfob is inserted in the slot in the dashboard.

Few car owners read the manual, and most people don’t know how to troubleshoot.

Probably doesn't help much when the manual is in the glove box of a locked car.

Ideally one would read it beforehand and memorize the important emergency stuff, like what to do when your key fob doesn’t work.

Ideally. But it is a funny image.

And there is something to be said for not being that guy who says "should have read the manual!" when another human being, however flawed, gets stuck in a situation they don't know their way out of.

Absolutely. I’m mostly pointing out that people don’t do this.

It seems like it would be worthwhile for the industry to come up with a standard symbol for “hold your key fob here to make it work when the battery is dead” and print it on the appropriate spot on the car.

That's what smart phones and Google are for. Saved me once.

I once had to be towed because the key stopped working. This was a Smart Roadster (still the greatest car I ever had, nonewithstanding). A battery change didn’t work and the mechanics sent me 100km to get the spare key.

So there are definitely circumstances where the phi’s always artifact alone just isn’t enough to start the car, only to get in.

Don't know how universal it is, but my keyless car has separate failsafe for entry and start. To get into the car, you can slide the physical key out. To start the car, you use the fob to push the start button which I understand to use a passive circuit similar to credit card tap.

At both of the cars that used a fob the salesperson demoed it before we left.