I have, unfortunately, washed the fob for my Impreza twice. Full wash and dry cycles both times. Fob has worked perfectly for years.

There is a rubber membrane inside the fob. The level of water resistance/proofing isn’t advertised.

Someone else will surely reply that they splashed their fob with a drop of water and their fob stopped working.

Glad to hear yours is working!

 

Could I expect a delayed failure or is there a degree of water resistance to those fobs?

Obviously what your fob and @supasta 's went through shows they have good dunk resistance or it would not be operational.
I'd be surprised that a device that works well after that wash cycle was to have a subsequent problem, and after a couple of years it didn't in the documented testimonial above.

 

The only thing I might be worried about is the potential for corrosion from residual water / contamination on the components inside (if they got that far). If it were me, I'd probably remove the battery, dry it out and clean the board, connectors, etc. with IPA and a Q-Tip. ....but that's me.

 

Washing machine may have paired with the fob and now needs to be started with it? 🤭🤭

 

Or worse, you could only start the car with the washing machine!

 

After (or even b4) drying out, use Detoxit – An aerosol electronics cleaner that some use to clean entire circuit boards b4 and after resoldering. I use it on $uper touchy 1980's/90's rack effects, amps and electric guitars. Also a fav of electronics gurus who maintain gear for verifiable touring music stars. If it keeps that gear working it'll most likely work on something as simple as a keyfob.

 

Agree that at minimum you should open it up / disassemble and then rinse it again and dry it thoroughly. Never push buttons on something that might be wet inside, as that can quickly degrade it.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I opened it up and aired it out. No sign of corrosion and still working.
Uh oh, just jinxed it.....