Remember the new car shortage two years ago, when it was hard to find any new cars for sale on dealer lots?
That shortage is pretty much over in 2023, with a few exceptions.
But a frustrating new shortage has popped up: Toyota key fobs, of all things.
Most of us don't think twice about our car's key fob.
But to Jill and Shawn Threm of West Chester, Ohio, it's like having an only child.
That's because when they bought their brand new Camry 6 months ago, it came with only one key and remote.
"They told us then that it would be about 8 weeks, they said 8 weeks, until we would have the second key fob," the Threms said.
But 8 weeks went by, and then another 8 weeks.
"I contacted Toyota and they said it will be March 2023," Shawn Threm said, "and then after March it was April."
Most cars come with two key fobs, so that when you inevitably misplace one of them, you always have a second to lock, unlock and start the car.
But the Threms have to keep track of their one key fob like it's a brand new puppy that has to be watched every minute.
"It's in a very specific spot in my purse," Jill Threm said. "It's never in a pocket, so it can't go through the wash, or fall out."
And they worry about taking a summer road trip, and losing their key, stranding them.
Thousands of buyers affected
They are not alone.
Toyota says last October, it started issuing just one key fob due to an ongoing chip shortage, for almost two dozen Toyota and Lexus models, both cars and SUVs.
But the company said in a statement: "Toyota is preparing a Service Campaign to provide customers with a second key as the supply of semi-conductors improves. The Service Campaign is currently estimated to launch in phases starting in the summer of 2023."
The Threm's dealer, meantime, tells us he will keep them updated as soon as he hears anything.
So all they can do is wait, and be careful every time they take their new Camry on a road trip.
"We are treating this like gold," the said,
Meantime, if your dealer tells you have to wait for a second key fob, ask if you can at least get a metal, second key to open the car, which most Toyota dealers are now doing.
That way you don't waste your money.
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