Okay, so lots of updates including this one which I don't think anyone has done--ran the key fob through a full wash load in the washing machine.
With only one fob left (other was stolen years ago when my wife's purse was stolen), I was afraid that this was going to be a really big issue.
I immediately wiped it down to remove all the water I could and removed the key so that all that water could come out as well. Then I remembered--rice! It works for cell phones, right?! But I didn't have any rice.
So what else to use?! How about this container of oregeno? Sure, better than nothing!
So I dropped the fob in the container of oregano and shook it vigorously to hopefully get all the water out into the super absorbent oregeno.
I did this twice, leaving it in the container for a while (can't remember if it was minutes or hours now), and then pulled it out and cleaned it off using a paper towel and toothpick, shaking it first to make sure there wasn't any more water in it.
I fully expected it to be dead, but I approached the car and the door unlocked with just a press of a button like normal! I proceeded to make sure it worked for the ignition and has been working fine ever since.
I know the fob isn't just for the Suzuki, but boy is it well made and tested. I'm very thankful this turned out okay.
So now onto the second item to share. The poor Kizashi has turned into a rust fiend after leaving the Midwest for the SE again. There is rust everywhere! I don't think I shared the story of how after just one month of leaving the midwest and parking in the SE for a month that the entire braking system was rusted solid and it took a lot of pb blaster as well as almost 2000rpm in reverse before everything finally broke loose. And unfortunately, I didn't have time to even inspect it and had to just drive it that way. Well, that was 3 years ago...
And in that time, it's become obvious that there is stuff seized in the braking system--constant brake dragging, grinding and other noises that initially I thought would go away as the brake surfaces restored themselves. But maybe it was the pads and rotors being original and not completely full or just the extreme abrasion from cleaning rusted spots off rotors that has wore them down to the pad backing--who knows.
Well I found out the answer the other day when I was reversing the car into its spot and I heard a metal 'klunk'. It wasn't a hard klunk, but definitely the sound of metal hitting something. I knew it had to be something with the brakes, so I just barely used them parking the car. And sure enough when I went to inspect the driver's rear, something didn't look right. And I found out why when I went to the front of the car and noticed a rear brake pad sitting there on the ground.
So a long overdue Kizashi brake overhaul is now imminent, but for now I'm just going to just work on the driver's side rear to the point that pad stays in. I suspect all the calipers sliding capability was never restored so they've basically been wearing on one side or the other. And I remember our rear calipers were only using the very inside of the rotor for some reason so the rears already had some sort of issue in this department, although there was nothing noticeable when I was doing the seasonal tire swap when we were in the midwest.
All this and our car doesn't even have 95k on it yet.
I've been reading the service manual this morning and my only two concerns are the parking brake cable and turning the piston back into the caliper. I've been searching here too, but it seems we don't have a link in the DIY for brakes.