To add a data point to this old post, I've had my key card in my wallet for 5 years. I keep my wallet in my back pocket. Never once, have I had to use the card for an emergency and I never valet my car, but I keep it there just in case there is a problem with my phone. Last time I had to use the card was about a year ago when I replaced my phone and had to set it up as a key.
This past weekend I was staying at a wilderness lodge where there was no cell reception and I was required to valet park. The key card would not open the car. It was slightly cracked in the upper right corner (not as bad as the other photo in this thread) in the exact place where the chip and the antenna supposedly meet. The valet let me park it myself, so no big deal. However, if my phone was lost/broken, I would have had no way to start the car since there was no reception. The only way to open it and start it would have been with a working card or a phone with the Bluetooth key already set up. Both of those were hundreds of miles away.
The important lesson learned was make sure the key card is working before going to a location where there is no reception. I'm also going to consider hiding a second key card in the car somewhere. Even if I had to break a window to get in and retrieve it, that would probably be better than being completely stranded.
This past weekend I was staying at a wilderness lodge where there was no cell reception and I was required to valet park. The key card would not open the car. It was slightly cracked in the upper right corner (not as bad as the other photo in this thread) in the exact place where the chip and the antenna supposedly meet. The valet let me park it myself, so no big deal. However, if my phone was lost/broken, I would have had no way to start the car since there was no reception. The only way to open it and start it would have been with a working card or a phone with the Bluetooth key already set up. Both of those were hundreds of miles away.
The important lesson learned was make sure the key card is working before going to a location where there is no reception. I'm also going to consider hiding a second key card in the car somewhere. Even if I had to break a window to get in and retrieve it, that would probably be better than being completely stranded.