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Kali

(56,476 posts)
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 10:48 AM Friday

well shit, misplaced my car keys

I guess the only way I am going to find them now is to pay a locksmith to come make new ones. I have no spares, can't even find the broken off piece that we made the "lost" one from. I bet as soon as I pay somebody they will turn up.

26 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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well shit, misplaced my car keys (Original Post) Kali Friday OP
That is exactly what will happen, it is an immutable law of nature! MLAA Friday #1
Do you have a cat? Ocelot II Friday #2
oh yes totally did the "cat search" Kali Friday #7
Not as critical as car keys, boonecreek Friday #3
Do you know for certain they are in your home? Doodley Friday #4
99 percent Kali Friday #9
Where did you wash your hands before eating? Did you check the pockets of the clothing you wore? Donkees Friday #12
I am a little embarrassed to say I am pretty sure I just sat down and ate Kali 4 hrs ago #19
Very frustrating. My wife just suggested, to try wearing sunglasses and look again with a fresh pair of eyes! Doodley Friday #13
They have to be somewhere between where your car is and where you are. Ocelot II Friday #5
been out there dozens of times since, Kali Friday #10
you will find them in the last place you look lapfog_1 Friday #6
Are your car keys traditional metal keys that one would Niagara Friday #8
did all those things and even thought of the fridge too! Kali 4 hrs ago #20
This message was self-deleted by its author quaint Friday #11
Find them yet, Kali? True Dough Friday #14
A hardware store should be able to make a key from the VIN, I think. Ptah Friday #15
pretty sure you are right Kali Friday #18
Lie down, relax, retrace your steps malaise Friday #16
I have a TILE locator device attached to my keys. Being able to beep them when I can't find them... 3catwoman3 Friday #17
I should probably have some kind of tracker but honestly in 12 years of owning this car Kali 4 hrs ago #21
Are they still lost? 3catwoman3 4 hrs ago #22
yes, but I got a new car key made yesterday. Kali 2 hrs ago #25
I have a Tile LogDog75 4 hrs ago #23
I guess you'll have to do like George Jones did when his wife took his car keys away from him. LudwigPastorius 2 hrs ago #24
Many years ago dweller 1 hr ago #26

Ocelot II

(127,423 posts)
2. Do you have a cat?
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 10:50 AM
Friday

If so, look under your radiators (if you have them) and your refrigerator.

Kali

(56,476 posts)
7. oh yes totally did the "cat search"
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 11:27 AM
Friday

he usually only gets thing under the big living room rug and has never played with keys as far as I know, but we did the full search anyway.

boonecreek

(1,233 posts)
3. Not as critical as car keys,
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 10:55 AM
Friday

but a while back, Mrs. boonecreek misplaced the vid player remote so I bought
a universal one. Got it set up and guess what? She finds the other remote.
Hope your car keys turn up soon.

Kali

(56,476 posts)
9. 99 percent
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 11:48 AM
Friday

the other 1% is in the car itself. that was the easy search. the house is lets say a bit of a problem. however I am pretty anal about putting them on a little table by the door when I come in. less often they get put on my desk, and that is generally when I have stuff in my hands like 2 weeks worth of mail or grocery bags. in this case the last time I drove the car was Sunday evening taking the dogs for a drive. (on a ranch dirt road, no other errands) when I got home, my son had arrived with pizza and I sat down at my desk to eat. he brought the plate, I didn't even go in the kitchen. they HAVE to be on/near desk or that little table, but they are not.

Donkees

(33,177 posts)
12. Where did you wash your hands before eating? Did you check the pockets of the clothing you wore?
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 01:20 PM
Friday

Kali

(56,476 posts)
19. I am a little embarrassed to say I am pretty sure I just sat down and ate
Sat Sep 27, 2025, 10:37 PM
4 hrs ago

and then washed in the kitchen when I went for seconds. at any rate even if I went strait to either the kitchen sink or the bathroom I most likely set the keys down on the little table or my desk as I came in the house. I was not wearing anything with pockets that night though in the morning I was and I have checked them too and around where those pants were in my room.

Doodley

(11,423 posts)
13. Very frustrating. My wife just suggested, to try wearing sunglasses and look again with a fresh pair of eyes!
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 01:27 PM
Friday

Retrace your steps and think of any distractions you may have had to put them somewhere unusual or if you put something over them, obviously pockets too, and if your son inadvertently picked them up.

Ocelot II

(127,423 posts)
5. They have to be somewhere between where your car is and where you are.
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 11:06 AM
Friday

Maybe you dropped them in the car while fetching something from the back seat (I've done that). Or you dropped them on your way from the car to the house (I've done that too, in the snow, at night). Or your cat batted them under a radiator, which, if you have a cat, is the most likely explanation.

Kali

(56,476 posts)
10. been out there dozens of times since,
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 11:58 AM
Friday

it is bare ground but yes, double, triple, ochtruple (?) checked out near, under, and inside car. we all agree and know which cat (little bastard) would be the culprit but still can't find them.

Niagara

(10,828 posts)
8. Are your car keys traditional metal keys that one would
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 11:32 AM
Friday

Insert into the ignition to start the vehicle? Or do have a key fob that you have to start your car?

Go back out to your car. Are the doors locked? In the event that your car doors are locked your keys are in your purse, a pocket, placed down on a surface or a shopping bag.

Try to retrace your steps as best as you can. I know it's difficult to do when one is distracted and there are tons of thoughts racing through our minds.

If your car is unlocked the keys might have slipped in between the seats or in they got dropped between the car and the house.

Try to replace your steps as best as you can before calling a locksmith.

Try to remain calm. Maybe you got distracted by a phone call and put them down someplace unusual that you normally don't place them.

Years ago, I placed my keys in the refrigerator. Haha.

I hope you find them. Good luck!



Kali

(56,476 posts)
20. did all those things and even thought of the fridge too!
Sat Sep 27, 2025, 10:39 PM
4 hrs ago

the wierd thing is the small number of places they could be and yet are not. I did get a new key made yesterday and thought we would find the lost ones today. alas, no but at least I can drive my car again.

Response to Kali (Original post)

Kali

(56,476 posts)
18. pretty sure you are right
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 06:46 PM
Friday

but instead I got impatient with the insurance company automatic system that can't handle me or the ranch and made a side deal with the first guy that was going to come out and he seems to have gone to Tucson to pick up a new key from a locksmith (or hardware store, as I suspect) and is bringing it out. oh well. its just money and I have made a new possible "fixer" contact in Willcox.

3catwoman3

(27,781 posts)
17. I have a TILE locator device attached to my keys. Being able to beep them when I can't find them...
Fri Sep 26, 2025, 06:24 PM
Friday

...has come in very handy several times. I carry a rather deep purse, and if I put my keys in the center chamber instead of one of the outer pockets, the keys can get "lost" in the purse.

Our 4 cats have TILEs on their collars so I can locate them when they do that favorite cat trick and pull a disappearing act into the alternative dimension and scare the hell out of me. I even have a TILE on one of our TV remotes which I often put down in odd places.

Kali

(56,476 posts)
21. I should probably have some kind of tracker but honestly in 12 years of owning this car
Sat Sep 27, 2025, 10:43 PM
4 hrs ago

I have only locked the keys in one time and this is the first time I lost them (maybe - if the cat theory eventually proves out then I didn't even actually lose them LOL)

LogDog75

(879 posts)
23. I have a Tile
Sat Sep 27, 2025, 11:04 PM
4 hrs ago

I bought a four-pack of Tiles and I keep one in the car, one on my key ring, one in my bowling bag, and one on my bicycle. I got them because when I parked and locked the car at the base exchange I couldn't find the keys when I came out. After checking with the store and spending about 30 minutes retracing my route in the store I had to walk to my condo, about a mile away. My house keys were on the key ring but my unit was being heat treated for bed bugs and they pest control people let me retrieve my valet key. I called AAA on my cellphone and got them to open the car and I drove to the motel I was staying because it was too hot inside my condo to stay. While emptying my pockets, I found my keys in my back pocket. I must have had them in my hand with my wallet when I locked the car and accidentally dropped the key with wallet in the back pocket.

Now with the Tile, if I lose my key I can use the Tile app to find them or to send a signal for the Tile on the key to chirp. I haven't had to use it yet but it's a relief to know it's there.

LudwigPastorius

(13,477 posts)
24. I guess you'll have to do like George Jones did when his wife took his car keys away from him.
Sun Sep 28, 2025, 12:26 AM
2 hrs ago

...take the riding lawnmower to the liquor store.

dweller

(27,186 posts)
26. Many years ago
Sun Sep 28, 2025, 01:14 AM
1 hr ago

I put a hook beside the front door , is where I hook my keys on entry , they are always there on exit .
I’ve had to expand to bigger hooks , or multiple hooks over the years as my keys have grown in number , but they are always there when I need them . Walk in , hang them up .

Hope you find them soon



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