How hard is it to pick up an imported car from a port? This is a question I’ve only asked myself once in my life because the answer is it’s so easy I’ve picked up cars all by myself twice rather than hiring someone to do it. Yet, somehow, I just turned a simple road trip for a port pickup into something so disastrous that it could have been torn out of a National Lampoon script. In the span of just twelve hours, I lost the key to a $111,000 truck, got another truck stuck while saving the first truck, and endured the most harrowing ordeal I’ve ever experienced on the road.
What you’re about to read is a tale of woe and stupidity. Trust me, I don’t need to be told that what I did was dumb. Not only did I live through this, but I experienced nightmares about it afterwards. However, maybe you’ll be a bit entertained by the chaos and hopefully never make the mistake I did.
This drive was supposed to be my dream road trip of this summer. I was driving out to the port to pick up a cool little car. My wife was going to get some much-needed time away from the courtroom. Ford even loaned me one of its coolest trucks, the new 2025 F-350 Super Duty Platinum Plus in a dual rear wheel configuration with a 6.7-liter Power Stroke High Output diesel engine. I actually asked Ford for the biggest truck in the press fleet. In part because I wanted to try an F-450, and in part because of the visual of the biggest truck hauling one of the smallest cars.
(Full Disclosure: Ford loaned me a 2025 F-350 Super Duty Platinum Plus for a little over a week to haul home my new-to-me 1997 Honda Life. Ford took such great care of me during this whole ordeal, and I cannot find the proper words to thank those lovely people enough.)
Sadly, the new F-450 on the press fleet wasn’t ready to hit the road yet. That didn’t matter because the truck that I did get was phenomenal. This 2025 Ford F-350 Super Duty DRW is now my second favorite new truck, only behind another Ford product, the F-150 FP700. If you gave me the choice of a new Mercedes-Benz or this truck, I would choose the truck in a heartbeat. But that is a story for my road trip review.
Instead, this is how I nearly ruined everything in the 11th hour.
A Big Truck With Long Legs
The drive out to Baltimore to pick up my 1997 Honda Life was supposed to be simple enough. I did this drive in the past to pick up my 1989 Suzuki Every van, and this time I figured I was going to avoid the mistakes of last time. This time, I was going to leave home bright and early so I didn’t have to drive through darkness for the majority of the route like I did last time.
This was a great choice as I got to witness just how beautiful this nation is. If you think this country is not much to look at, just hit the road towards any random direction, drive at least a few hundred miles, and you will not be disappointed.
For me, the scenery started changing on the Ohio Turnpike as the flatlands of the Midwest began turning into rolling hills. Those hills then morphed into Appalachia as I drove through Pennsylvania. I was captivated by the East Coast, and fascinated that I missed all of this last time just by driving at the wrong time of day.
Sadly, I never really stopped to take it all in. See, the F-350 Super Duty has a 48-gallon fuel tank, and the truck was getting 17.2 mpg with the empty U-Haul Auto Transport on the back. The Port of Baltimore was 773 miles from home and according to the truck’s fuel range guess-o-meter, I was going to make it to Baltimore was 30 miles of range to spare.
Making it to Baltimore on nothing more than stops for food breaks sounded exciting to me, and it sort of became a game to drive the huge truck at a relaxed speed to see my fuel economy get better. I stopped only three times on my way to Baltimore. I stopped on the Indiana Toll Road for lunch and at one more place in rural Maryland for fuel. I figured I should get fuel while it was cheap because it wasn’t going to be cheap near the port.
It was the third stop that did me in. Sheryl and my birds weren’t able to join me because of a scheduling conflict. So, Sheryl watched me make regular trip reports. Her suggestion was that I should eat dinner at a place called Ledo Pizza, a Maryland chain known for its unique sauce and rectangular shapes.
Based on my time of arrival, my best shot at hitting a Ledo Pizza before they closed for the night was to stop at the one in Hagerstown, Maryland. Besides, some huge evening construction work on I-70 East sent me on a detour through the city, anyway.
I stopped by the Ledo Pizza in Hagerstown, ordered my pie, and proceeded to be amazed by my wife’s dinner suggestion. Sheryl wasn’t lying. Both the sauce and the cheese were something I hadn’t tasted before here in the Midwest, and the crust was perfectly thin and just the right amount of crunchy. I highly recommend a visit to a Ledo Pizza if you’re ever out there.
The Dumb Decision That Changed Everything
Anyway, I do not eat in press vehicles, so I planned on dropping the tailgate and eating there. Accompanying me with the box of pizza was the truck’s key fob. I started thinking, and I decided to put the key somewhere safe. I’m not sure why, but I had this fear of leaving the key in the truck, the truck locking itself, and I’d end up stranded some eleven hours away from home with a fancy truck that’s not mine.
Logically, the solution to this worry would have been to open a window, or put on my jean jacket and put the key in the jacket, or take the key to the tailgate where I was eating, or put the key in my purse. Honestly, there were probably a million different things I could have done better. Maybe it was the 11 hours of straight driving, or maybe it was a brief moment of profound stupidity. I’m not sure what went through my head, but I plopped the key down on the cowl just in front of the windshield.
How stupid was this? Had I just walked literally two more steps, I could have put the key into the center console, where it would have been safe. But I didn’t do that. Instead, I enjoyed my pizza, hopped into the truck, and beat it to the I-70 East entrance that was just a mile down the road.
What Was That Noise?
As I throttled out of the cloverleaf and onto the Interstate, I heard a thump. Now, the truck does make thumping noises on its own, specifically when the electric running boards reach their closed position seconds after you get into the truck. I thought to myself, “Did the running boards just close?” But this didn’t make sense, because it wouldn’t have made sense for them to be open, anyway.
I then feared that maybe I left my purse, jacket, or phone on the outside of the truck, but nope, all of those were present. I thought that it must have been a rock kicked from the tires or something, as I rocketed past a sign stating that Baltimore was only 77 miles away. I was only an hour from my goal.
Then, it hit me. The truck’s key wasn’t next to my phone in the center console, where it had always resided for the whole trip. Then, it hit me again. I left the key on the cowling! Holy crap! My brain immediately went into panic mode. First, I thought that I’d just take the first exit, double back to where I heard the thump, and then use the truck’s super bright LED headlights to find the key. Sure, I’d have to drive dangerously slow and hold up traffic in a lane, but the F-350’s headlights basically turn night into daylight. I figured I wouldn’t block traffic for that long.
Then, I realized that the nearest exit was pretty far out. I then began to fear that the further I drove away from the key, the more unlikely it would be that I’d ever find it again. I was also a bit weirded out that the truck itself didn’t give me a warning or anything about the missing key. Based on the lack of a warning from the truck, I began to think that, wait, maybe the key was still on the truck, or maybe it was on the tonneau cover, or something.
The Ford Bricks Itself
I quickly, but gently, pulled off onto the shoulder, then put it into park. The moment I moved the shifter into that position, the truck finally sounded the “No Key Detected” warning and then shut itself down. Unfortunately, my hunch that the key was somewhere in or on the truck was wrong.
But what was even worse at that moment was how the truck effectively bricked itself. It locked me out of all major functions. I could not turn on accessory mode. This meant that I had no control of the windows, either. It was a cool night, so I had the sunroof in the fully open position in addition to the rear sliding window and the driver window. But no matter what I did, the truck wouldn’t let me close them. The only function the truck let me have was the ability to adjust my seat, turn on the infotainment system, and hit the hazards. Basically, I could jam out to my music and listen to the GPS bark at me to stay on I-70 for another 73 miles, but that’s it. As far as the truck was concerned, I was screwed.
Panic really set in then. Ford gave me resources to call in case of an emergency, but I knew from the start that none of them were going to be able to help me. Ford Roadside Assistance would not have the power to magically conjure a key. My press contact could reasonably be expected to have a backup key, but they were a full seven-hour drive away in Detroit – and the likelihood of them answering the phone at 10 p.m. was low, anyway. Calling the police wasn’t going to help me, either. At the very best, the only help anyone could give me was driving me to a hotel. I’d have to abandon the truck on the highway.
I made the subsequent bad decision to try to find the key. There were four major problems with that idea. One was that I had made it about a mile past the point when I heard the thump, so that’s just a huge search area to cover. The second issue was that it was pitch black with cloud cover. Then there was the fact that I was on a very busy Interstate corridor with semi-trucks blasting by every few seconds. Finally, the only light I had on me was my phone’s flashlight, which meant I would only have a narrow field of diffuse light.
Few Options, And I Chose The Worst One
I made the risky decision to search for the key. The key came off the truck when I was in the left lane, so I figured it would probably be on the left side, either in or near the median. I felt a little better about walking the median thanks to the guardrail that was there, but it was still outrageously dangerous. Had any one of those drivers not been paying attention, been distracted, or drunk, they would have wiped me off the planet, and no one would have known until morning. Twice, semis came pretty darned close to hitting the guardrail with me on the other side.
My search was desperate. I went perhaps five feet at a time, checking every place I could. Plants in the median caught my dress. Other flora scratched my ankles. My feet sometimes struggled as the median’s wet terrain sank under my steps. But I had to find that key.
I found a lot of things that weren’t the key. I discovered a complete animal skeleton, minus a head, and large enough to be mistaken for a small person. The bones suddenly appearing in the light of my phone was such a shock that I bolted, fight-or-flight style. I came across perhaps a half-dozen more dead animals, their fur and skin still intact. I also found a broken iPhone, two Android phone cases, a garage door opener, toys, empty cigarette cartons, and countless empty liquor bottles. There were also innumerable chunks of rubber shed from semi-truck tires. I was frequently excited by the sight of something black and fob-shaped on the ground, only to have excitement replaced by crushing disappointment when it was just another hunk of tread from one of 18 wheels.
After what felt like forever’s worth of time, I made it to and past the area where I heard the thump and did not find the key. I considered taking another walk through the median, but a construction worker saw me and flagged down the state trooper who was protecting the highway works site.
I explained everything that had happened to the state trooper, and he felt so bad for me that he didn’t even talk about how illegal it was for me to be walking the median. He just wanted to get me somewhere safe and cleaned out the front seat of his cruiser for me to ride in. He confirmed my fear, too. There was nothing he could do but take me to a hotel. So, he did that.
As we pulled up to the hotel, I asked him if he could go back to the truck and turn off the hazards so the battery wouldn’t drain. He recommended that I get an Uber to take me back to the truck, remove my valuables from the truck, and then have the Uber take me back to the hotel.
Not Giving Up Yet
Getting Uber to drop me off on an Interstate was quite difficult. The app doesn’t permit drop-offs on highways, so the app ended up choosing a random address that was technically next to the F-350. When the Uber got there, I explained the situation. I then got into a debate with the nice man behind the wheel about dropping me off into a dangerous situation and how he wasn’t able to do that. Eventually, I got through by telling him that if he got me to the Ford, he would be helping me salvage what was left of one of the worst nights of my life.
He reluctantly agreed to take me to the truck and got me there, but sped off the second I closed the door behind me. I had offered to pay him more to get me back to the hotel, but he wasn’t having it.
Once I got to the truck, I decided to try something different. I called up Ford Roadside Assistance, and a kind man tried to keep me calm even though I was freaking out and fraying at my ends. First, he walked me through an attempt to pair the truck to the FordPass app on my phone. If successful, the app might have been able to give me temporary emergency control of the truck’s ignition. At the very least, I might be able to close the windows and the sunroof.
This was unsuccessful because a previous journalist had already paired their phone to the truck. The only way to add a new phone to the truck would be to delete the previous phone, which you can do only if you have the fob on you. Next, the Ford Roadside Assistance rep attempted to call two Ford dealership service departments in Hawai’i, which were known to have some staff still around at the time he called. Unfortunately, neither dealership answered the phone.
Left without any real option, Ford Roadside then tried to get me a tow truck. I waited for perhaps an hour as the Ford Roadside guy called around. There wasn’t any wait music or anything, so most of the time I had no idea if he was even still there anymore. Hopelessness slowly crept in as I sat on the side of the highway, unable to change the situation that I had caused.
Eventually, the voice crackled back onto my phone speaker, and I could tell that the man on the phone was disappointed. Ford Roadside said that because I was in a dually truck, he couldn’t find a single tow company with the equipment to save me that night. He said the best he could do was have a tow truck dispatched out there by 8 a.m. the next morning.
Unfortunately, it was around this time that I felt a raindrop hit my head. Panic joined back in with the hopelessness as I cried out to the Ford Roadside rep that it was beginning to rain and, as we had established earlier in the call, the truck was bricked. The only advice the fella was able to give me was to fashion some sort of makeshift tarp out of the vehicle’s floor mats.
As it happened, I did bring wood boards to help load the car onto the U-Haul trailer and I also had a blanket, too. I used the boards to create a structure over the sunroof opening. Then I draped the blanket over the opening, securing it by slamming fabric into the truck’s doors. Then, I layered all of the truck’s floor mats on top. It was janky, it wasn’t weatherproof, but it was better than nothing, I guess. Then, on the advice of Ford Roadside, I closed up the truck and got out of there.
Rock Bottom
As if my night wasn’t hard enough, I couldn’t convince Uber to pick me up off the side of the highway. So, I went back into the median. I then proceeded to do my stupid search all over again, but this time with a little rain making things extra miserable. Once I reached the construction site, another Maryland state trooper found me, got me off the highway, and into the relative safety of their cruiser.
This officer saw I was at the end of my rope and tried to distract me by talking about cars. Through him, I found out that Maryland often buys the slowest cop cars out there, with some cruisers topping out at only 130 mph. The ride to the hotel turned into an impromptu ride-along as we came across a lady driving a Lexus GX on a bare wheel. Our “chase” went no faster than 28 mph, and, conveniently, she pulled off the road in front of the hotel.
By now it was 2 a.m., or about four hours after I lost the key. I was exhausted, I was depressed, and I was beaten. I thought of myself as an idiot and as a failure. All I had to do was put the key in the truck. Now, I caused one of my worst nightmares. I continued beating myself up as I struggled to fall asleep that night.
I’m not sure if there’s a moral or a lesson for me to give to you here. I mean, I learned a lesson and I learned it the hard way. I’m not sure I will ever forget that night or the asinine behavior I displayed in just a few hours. But if I can find some sort of piece of advice, it’s probably that you should never let that key fob out of your sight. Maybe put a tracker on it if you have to. But absolutely don’t put it on top of your vehicle. Also, walking the median could result in the loss of your life, so don’t do that, either.
Somehow, I wasn’t done causing myself misery yet, but that’s going to be a story for next week.
Top graphic images: Mercedes Streeter; depositphotos.com
I have barely begun the article, and this gave me pause.
“endured the most harrowing ordeal I’ve ever experienced on the road.”
This is from the woman who drove a Ford Festiva WITH NO DOORS through Chicago winter!!
Strap in, folks.
The Festiva was a ton of fun to drive! 😀
As someone who has done something similar with a loaner Camry key (left it on the roof on NYE of all days) this really hit home. Glad that you are unharmed despite the lessons learned, and thank you for sharing!
I’m glad you are safe. Be careful out there. No press pickup (nor any other vehicle) is worth your life.
I’ve also been stranged at night on the side of I-70 in Baltimore, which is one of only two times I’ve been stranded at night on the highway in 30 years of driving. It was the part where I-70 literally ends in a cul-de-sac and my folks’ new 2007 Passat decided to just do Normal VW Things and completely give up on driving for no reason. Thankfully mom was at home and brough the other car to get us.
(The other was I-85 near Montgomery, Alabama, with my fellow 17yo friend, after consuming a few too much of some illegal stuff and dealing with a flat tire when the State Troopers showed up to help. That’s always my lesson to people that think they’re “fine to drive.” That may be accurate for some people, but when things go sideways just a little bit, you can find yourself on the wrong end of things. We got out of it because our youthful idiocy helped cover any “influence” the officers might have perceived.)
I feel like a lot of these sorts of situations could be prevented by making it mandatory for women’s clothes to come with usable pockets.
Signed, someone whose wife often misplaces stuff because there’s no way to store it on her person.
One of my coworkers had her car stolen from work because she had gotten in the habit of leaving her keys in her purse, and the purse in an unsecured room some distance away from her actual work station. She didn’t know it was gone until the cops called to confirm or deny the thief’s story that he had her permission to use her car.
That room, and a lot more things in the shop, are now secured, which makes everyone’s job a little bit harder and less productive.
I have some women’s clothes that have pockets, but as you’ve pointed out the key word is usable. Someone needs to tell clothing designers that women like to carry more than a tissue and a credit card. I’ve given up and purchased a supply of cargo shorts and pants from the men’s department for travel. Nothing beats the freedom of being able to scamper to a rest stop or walk around the airport without having to keep up with a purse. I’ve even found some shorts that have sizable pockets inside the pockets! It’s great, until you forget to empty all the pockets before laundering.
I finally bought a couple of small crossbody phone purses. There’s enough room for a phone, a key, maybe a lipstick or chapstick, and a little bit of cash. Great for taking on walks, travel, etc. I sometimes carry one while gardening or doing chores when I stream music or podcasts to a Bluetooth speaker.
As a husband and father of two daughters, if anyone ever tries to throw doubt on the idea of an insidious patriarchy, all you have to do is walk them through the pocket situation in women’s’ and girls’ clothing. It’s criminal!
As I mentioned elsewhere in the comments for this article, I’ve made some of my own clothes for this very reason. A few years ago, a grade school girl made a comment to a clothing manufacturer who then redesigned some jeans. Pocket parity! There’s a safety aspect to it.
And I’ve added pockets to skirts, too.
Reminds me a bit of my trip home from the Chicago airport about 11 years ago when I was in college. My (now) ex and I had spent two and a half weeks in Peru, and after an agonizingly long layover in Mexico City were anxious to get home, about five hours away from Chicago.
A friend and her brother picked us up from the airport. She had a late 90s Camry with 200k on it, but her dad insisted they take her brothers 2004(?) Passat, since it was newer and had fewer miles. The Passat threw a “STOP ENGINE NOW” warning light right outside Chicago. I took the wheel and limped it to an AutoZone, where a scan revealed that the timing had likely jumped.
The AutoZone people were great, letting us hang out in the store and use their restrooms for what turned out to be an eight hour ordeal. The problem was that none of us had enough money to rent a car, we were all 21 which made it worse. Our parents had the money, but being in a different state, the rental agencies wouldn’t allow them to pay for the car. We even took a taxi to one to see if we could work something out, but no luck. After calling yet another rental place, we got a break. At first, they said they couldn’t help us. I explained our situation, they talked to their manager, and wrangled a way for us to rent a Nissan Versa Note with the small amount of money we had. Perfect!
But then, we had to get the stricken Passat home. Two of us had AAA with 200 mile towing limits, but unfortunately they wouldn’t let us combine those for one tow. It makes sense, but that meant we would have to stop somewhere, call AAA again, wait for them again, and carry on. The first tow truck took over an hour to arrive.
At the end of the 200 mile tow, our driver apologized profusely for not being able to help out more. He dropped the car off at a gas station in the middle of fucking nowhere, in Indiana. We called for another tow, and ended up waiting over three hours. The folks running the gas station were just as accommodating as the people at AutoZone, and let us hang around the premises.
But by the time we’d waited three hours, I’d had enough. I hadn’t slept in nearly 48 hours and was keeping myself going by consuming excessive amounts of coffee and chain smoking. I told my friend she could tell her dad to fuck off for all I cared, he could come get the damn VW himself. The gas station employee showed us where we could push the car so it would be on their security cameras, and promised they’d let everyone know to keep an eye on it.
So finally, we left for home. No further incidents, ironically my ex actually had (and still has) a 2005 Passat himself, which eventually made it to over 200k miles without a single breakdown.
At least you got out of Hagerhole before losing the key. Having to walk those streets at midnight, or be stuck there in a vehicle that couldn’t be locked up, would have been much much worse.
While this story does in fact sound stressful and miserable, and I sympathize, I’m just mad that the great Mercedes Streeter was in my neck of the woods and I didn’t even know! I work near Hagerstown! I’m super familiar with I-70! I even like Ledo Pizza! Can’t believe I missed my chance!
Similar, I’m Pittsburgh area and travel the PA ‘Pike 76 and 70 often. Not familiar with Ledo, I’ll have to try my next trip East. We may be running to Baltimore this weekend in fact.
If you like thin crust pizza, Ledo is really good. A lot of people around here consider it the official MD-style pizza
I like a thin crisp crust, it looks like a thinner Detroit pizza. I’m guessing NY style but square. I do enjoy a Chicago deep dish when in town though. I don’t think Pittsburgh has a distinctive pizza, but sandwiches….
The crust is a bit flakier than NY style, I’d say
I’m a stockholder, and please quit making excuses for Ford. Back in the days when Ford was a real truck maker you’d have two metal keys and one stowed on you or the truck as a spare. If you lost both, Ford Truck Centers were open ’til midnight and later and could make you a key. If that don’t work, hot wire it!
On my newest Ford truck, a 2022, I on purpose ordered it in XL trim so I don’t have to deal with the disaster that is Kessy. A few islands of credible truck making still exist at Ford, so for about $59 extra I ordered it with 2 extra keys- I have 4 keys and says something of what those chip keys really cost to make!
Ford used to have a seperate door lock and ignition key. They were small enough to tuck in a wallet. I suspect many only had the lock key removed.
They do make the absolutely awesome keypad. Just lock your key inside and use the code to get in. Wish that caught on more with other manufacturers.
Remember when Ford tried plastic key cutouts that came in the form of a credit card? Iirc, the worked (sorta) for the door, but never in the ignition
Never told anyone to “Get a Life” as that’s crass and rude, never thought potentially fatal though.
Having locked my car keys in the trunk, you have my sympathies.
Yes, get a tracker on a removable clip, and use it every time someone hands you a set of keys to a vehicle. All my car and house keys have one, and they’ve saved me time and trouble when I misplace the keys.
Oh God… wife locked her keys in the trunk a few summers ago on a trip to Presque Isle for the day. I was at work and just called AAA.
When I bought my TLX, I had the spare key in a bag the dealership gave me. Threw the bag in the trunk, closed it, trunk popped back open. May be the best thing I’ve ever seen to avoid you locking the key in the trunk.
In December, I locked the keys into my 350Z convertible’s trunk while grabbing cumbersome gear for a film project my friends and I were making. The grief I felt realizing that I didn’t have my keys and that both doors were locked was immense. Thankfully, I bought a non-chipped spare key a few days before and without that I would have been totally and royally screwed, but the car went into anti-theft mode (alarms and all) which made getting into the trunk (that has no keyhole) extremely embarrassing and difficult.
Lessons were learned that day.
When you first posted this, I immediately went and put a airtag on my keychain. Thank you for your sacrifice.
So you can always know where your keychain was 17 minutes ago. 18 minutes ago. 🙂
I’m doing this right now. We have 2 airtags and use them for luggage when traveling, or for kids’ backpacks during school trips or whatever. There’s no point in letting them sit around at home doing nothing for the rest of the time.
I thought I was clever by tucking my airtag in a leaky spot of my house and then going outside to pinpoint the leak, but turns out the signal wasn’t strong enough to penetrate OSB and shingles. Was thinking I was SO clever.
AirTags rely on iPhones in their vicinity to transmit the airtag’s location, so the airtag’s accuracy is only as good as the number of phones within its short range. That’s why they’re great at finding your luggage in an airport, not so much in a deserted spot.
Knowing where and when my phone last saw the tag is pretty much ideal! Unless the phone was with the keys.
This is one of those horrific stories that, in about 2 years, will become one of the best stories you have. Don’t be too hard on yourself. All of my best stories were pants-crapping ones in the moment, too.
You made a few mistakes or questionable decisions but, by my reckoning, you did a sh*t load of things right, as well. The whole situation was precipitated by a fairly stupid Smartkey situation that Ford probably never considered…but maybe they’ll consider it now.
So agree. The best stories are the fuck ups. No one wants to hear that the sand was perfect, the sunshine bright and the drinks cold. Boring. Surviving a rip current off the coast of Mexico. Way better. The crisis ones remind us we are but human and as humans prone to disaster. Self made disaster
Man that’s a crazy story. Glad you made it back safely.
When I used to drive trucks I’d hook the vehicle keys to a lanyard carabiner around my neck. When I was doing my pre-trip inspections I could hook the carabiner end into the button-hole of one of the front breast pockets so the key wouldn’t dangle loosely or get caught on anything. The lanyard was also reflective and official-looking which cut down a lot of weird looks since it was an independent company without uniforms.
So, Mercedes, remember that Ford has sold and continues to sell a ton of Ford Performance / Whipple Superchargers because of your FP700 article. Last time I checked, Whipple was at 12-16 weeks on them. We bought one because of your novel on that a few years ago. It’s amazing, and I’ve help sell a few more. Be proud of that.
Remember that “life happens” and that “life is not perfect”. I hope the folks at Ford understand and remember that as well.
I’ve locked keys in cars many times, and I should have been a frequent flier back in the GM key code fax days. I know my dealership loved me. For me I take a photo of the lock number sequence and store it in your phone!
Take the high road. Apologize as you can. Make things right with fair journalism and a transparent review of the truck!
Sorry about the ordeal, glad you’re safe though. Also, Ledos Pizza FTW
This is why I lasso the key to my belt loops. Too big for pocket. Easy to know you have it.
I also use a carabiner daily
Nite ize?
I tie it next to my onion….
…which was the style at the time.
dang! Glad to hear you made it out of there ok though
I think we all have these WTF-did-I-do-that moments. Missing keys is a recurring waking nightmare for me. I have ADD so that I forget things like that all the time and I grew up in a house where one of the many weird things that happened was keys disappearing despite nobody else being home only to reappear exactly where you left them out in the open several hours later after ripping apart the house trying to find them in any long-shot guess of where you could have possibly dropped them. I took to keeping keys in my pocket and that solved the problem . . . for a while. Now, with bulky fobs I hate having in my pocket, I sometimes take them out and put them on the counter. No mischievous fae folk or ghosts here, so they stay right where I left them, even while I get in the car and try to start it. The good thing is that they’re out of range, so the car doesn’t start only to brick later.
Keys go on one of 2 hooks as soon as I am in the door and home. I have hook by the driveway for when I am working in the yard and such. At work they are in my sport coat or my laptop bag.
In a previous life, my ex-wife had a Subaru with proximity keys. I kept my keys in a bowl that was apparently close enough to the garage to kill the fob battery every month. This probably meant somebody could have gotten into the garage and stolen the car quite easily. Nonsense!
With my own mental issues I’ve learned to transfer my keys and wallet to whatever clean pants/shorts I’m wearing the next day, so all I have to do in the morning is put them on as normal, slip my phone into my pocket, and I’m set.
I have a similar arangement, keys go with wallet, and they both live in a drawer in the kitchen along with anything else I need to regularly leave the house with. Took me a few months to ge the system worted after moving it, but now that it’s repeatable I’ve only locked myself out of the house once or twice!
Same, when single I had a small table next to my apt door. Keys, wallet, change, cell etc… all dropped off first thing.
I didn’t want to admit it, but I often do the same as I change into pajama pants like a much older or younger person when I get home. I tried shoes, but that got annoying when I’d go to put my feet in them as it’s usually dark when I’m leaving in the morning.
Having ADD is like being haunted by yourself. I like to watch `paranormal’ documentaries and 90% of the ghost symptoms are just ADD – ‘things would constantly dissappear and reappear days later where I hadn’t put them! Things would get moved by nobody! I would find doors and windows open I had sworn I closed!’
That’s basically my average day.
I very much am in this comment. Still looking for my P-Touch label maker that I’ve found three different times since my move in 2022, all three of those times I was looking for something else…. The P-touch haunts my soul.
If it weren’t for the less explainable things, I’d have been convinced that it was just me somehow not seeing them sitting right where I left them despite checking multiple times. I still forget stuff today, but they’re always where I left them now. It’s just remembering where that was that I left them that’s the problem (not keys in this case, as I always leave them in the same two places, but this definitely applies to tools—I swear half the time it takes me to make something is spent looking for tools I’m actively using).
Sounds like you had an infestation of garage gnomes that got into your house. They usually subside on frustration of losing 10mm sockets and “that tool you just had”, but when they get in your house they tend to go for frustration over missing keys and TV remotes. If anyone knows how to get rid of them, I’m all ears…
You know, I’ve lost so many tools over the decades, but strangely enough, maybe only a single 10mm socket.
Mercedes, you can rest assured knowing that I’ve made far greater mistakes in life.
I could absolutely see the same scenario happening to myself, as I too get paranoid about keys getting locked inside of vehicles.
I once lost my primary set of keys for a week – found them on the cowl in the wiper well when I popped the hood to check oil. Suspect I set them there when out in my driveway the weekend prior. I now have an outdoor key hook as well !
I also once left an Nokia cell phone on a car roof and pulled on the the highway. Actully found it battered but functional in a ditch.
We have all locked ourselves out of cars or homes at least once.
We all do this stuff, don’t sweat it just learn from it.
Oh no, there’s a part 2! This is already horrible without a part 2!
Oh, it’s worse than that. This is going to be a three-parter! After all, the lede does hint that I managed to get a second truck stuck during these escapades.
Not fun at all, but so far in the story nobody is killed or maimed so life goes on.
And having a freebie deluxe pickup to drive Chicago to the coast and back sounds like a great perk.
Hopefully in part two nobody is killed or maimed either.
Yeah, used to get calls all the time – It’s an emergency!! Are the police, EMS, fire dept or coroner involved? No, ok. What’s your problem.
Sorry to hear about your ordeal, Mercedes. I’m glad you are OK and I applaud you for telling us all about your mishap even if it showcases a simple mistake that we could all do. This experience highlights the danger of those convenient “keyless start” fobs. An acquaintance of mine drove their Ram truck with fifth wheel attached all the way from SE Michigan to Indiana until he stopped for gas and found that he left the key fob at home. Must have been a silent warning or no warning at all. Unfortunately, the engine was already off so they were stuck there blocking two pumps until someone else from back home made the trip to bring the fob.
I inherently mistrust rich people keys. You’re not convincing me I’m wrong.
It’s irritating walking around my driveway and hearing cars lock/unlock at random. I’m just going to get the mail dammit.
That’s… not how they work. Every fully-keyless vehicle I’ve ever driven had some kind of button or touch-sensitive panel on the door handle to lock and unlock the car. They don’t do it when you just walk past the car.
Sorry, no. My ’14 Toyota auto unlocks if I get within 3 feet of the door carrying the key.
I’d pay for the older system.
That’s wild, and would definitely be annoying. I’ve never used Toyota’s system, but they must be the only company with that setup.
I don’t know if this is really an “older” vs “newer” system thing; I’ve got 2020 and 2021 vehicles with the button and capacitive touch setups. I’d be interested to see what method a newer Toyota used, actually.
Yeah, I have my key ring on and I’m washing/vacuuming another car and this one is having a seizure. Reason why I now have an outdoor key hook.
There is probably some way to disable it.
No, GM does this too. My 2024 Cadillac unlocks, unfolds the mirrors, etc when I get within a few feet while carrying the keys.
The EVquinox not only unlocks, but extends it’s electronic door handles.
Which is handy because you know that your car unlocked itself.
But it’s also unhandy because EVERYONE know the car is unlocked.
My ’21 and ’19 Toyotas only unlock by proximity if we wave a hand over the handle. Just walking past the car does nothing.
Or why my 3 cars are from last century. A metal key, of which I have a minimum of 2, goes into a steering column ( sold the Saab a few years ago) and you twist it. Car starts. My wife has the hybrid Ionic which I have left on dozens of times. So yeah, progress? Or
Needless complication