Hyundai Keys Suck!

I desperately needed to replace the key housing Hyundai gave us with the car. It’s so thick it creates a second, uncomfortable bulge in my pants. Between the chunky keys and the tightness of my hipster skinny jeans, the buttons get pressed at random. I’ll be sitting at my computer and suddenly the car locks itself while parked in the garage.

The color doesn’t help either. It’s basically camouflaged. I’ll set the key down somewhere and then spend way too much time looking for it again. Reflective gray and black is a terrible choice for something so small and important. The case itself is horrifically ugly too. Sure, I get it. They wanted the key shaped like the Hyundai “H.” But honestly, whoever thought turning the logo into a key was a good idea should be drawn and quartered.

Let’s talk about the buttons for a moment. The buttons are practically unreadable. The text is too thin and some of them don’t even make sense. “HOLD ⟳”? Wtf does that mean? Circle the parking lot in a holding pattern?

This thing is a joke and it needs to be thrown into the fiery pits of Mordor!

So I sat down and started designing my perfect key case in Fusion360. Here’s what I need:

• Be easy to spot when I set it down somewhere random
• Don’t create an unsightly pants bulge
• Look cool af
• Block accidental button presses
• Allow for easy battery replacement
• No rattling noises
• Durable
• Waterproof

Halfway through, I hit a wall: I’m not an expert in Fusion360. The design needs a top and bottom shell to hold the electronics, and those two pieces have to connect and separate for battery changes. Plus, if I contoured the electronics more closely, the overall frame could be slimmer with just enough clearance for the battery. I don’t know how to do either of those, but they are now both on my list of things to learn.

In the end, I kept the key uniform in height. It’s not as small as it could be, but it looks good. I went with a bright yellow so it’s easy to spot. I added Pac-Man on one side and a ghost on the other. This alone makes the project worthwhile. The new case is thinner, lighter, and makes it impossible to press the buttons accidentally. Honestly, it’s very close to perfect.

I’m going to put some black velcro on this so it sticks in the car. That way it’s always in my sight and obvious where it is. This redesign also has a handy privacy / security feature. No one will think twice about this being a car key.

Let’s check out how successful we were today:

Success Criteria

• ✅ Be easy to spot when I set it down somewhere random
  • It’s bright yellow. Can’t miss it!
• ✅ Don’t create an unsightly pants bulge
  • Thin and uniform. Slides in and out of pockets just fine.
• ✅ Look cool af
  • Damn right it does. Waka waka!
  • Printed on a 3D effect build plate.
  • Has a cool bottom layer infill pattern if you look close.
• ✅ Block accidental button presses
  • There are no buttons!
• ⛔ Allow for easy battery replacement
  • It’s a thin amount of glue and this can be pried apart and / or printed again when the time comes.
• ✅ No rattling noises
  • It’s in there good.
• ✅ Durable
  • It’s printed with thick walls and isn’t flexible. This could take a proper beatin'.
• ⛔ Waterproof
  • It’s mostly waterproof. I’d imagine you could take it on a water ride and be alright. I wouldn’t go swimming with it though. FDM printers aren’t exactly known for being leak-proof.