We're on our third keyless entry car. The 2014 Chevy Volt was the worst, but they all had that feature. I had to read the manual to find the trick, but you:

* Open up the compartment on top of the center of the dashboard

* Take out the rubber liner on the bottom of the compartment

* Pop the mechanical key out of the fob

* Poke the mechanical key into an unlabeled hole in the bottom of the above compartment

And bingo, your car will start.

The Kia Sorrento we have with a keyless system is much more sane: The center panel has a really obvious place to push the whole keyfob in, and it will start with a dead fob battery.

The Toyota Prius we used to own also had keyless, and also had a place to insert the whole keyfob to start the car when the battery died. And it was also pretty obvious (and labeled).

It's only the Chevy Volt where it was an absolute mystery what you're supposed to do (unless you read the manual). I don't think I would have ever guessed that you should disassemble the compartment on top of the dashboard and stick the key into an unlabeled hole. Would have been afraid of shorting something out.

On my Ford Fusion, it apparently has a passive RFID chip in the key fob in case the battery dies, and the reader is in the bottom of the cup holder. And a hidden key inside the fob, that you can use to pry off a plastic shroud on the door handle to get access to a hidden cylinder lock on the door.

By the time this technology is out there, car keys would be obsolete. You would nt own a car.

> But do they, though? I'm thinking it's just a matter of actually reading the owner's manual.

It's in the glove box...

I have a 2012 Lexus that actually tells you "place key on start button" if it thinks the key battery is dead.