Klaus pointed out that I hadn't updated my posts to report on the dealer's work on the key fob problem. Long story; short version here.

AAA refused to tow the car, because the driver didn't feel he could safely put the tow dolly under the front wheels. After a couple of days of frustrating exploration of ways to address that problem, Jen, of the marvelous couple who own the car repair place across the street, found the ritual necessary to prepare the car to acknowledge a key fob (something the dealer's service writer didn't know): use the manual key to unlock and lock the car; unlock and lock the car using the buttons on the fob/remote; unlock it again, get in, and start the car.

That worked for one fob (my wife's), but not for mine, so I drove it over to the dealer, where they spent a day trying to figure it out. The mechanic finally got it to recognize my key fob, and, a couple of hundred dollars later, I picked up the car. A day (or was it two?) later, I went to move the car, and it failed to recognize my fob again. It now recognizes my key fob for purposes of unlocking the car - sometimes, not always - and for adjusting the seat to my preferred settings, but not for starting the car.

At the time this occurred, we had so much going on in our lives that I just called the dealer and said, "You're gonna need to do this over, but I'll call later," and we went on with life. We were scheduled to go on our first ever cruise starting October 27, to celebrate our 50th anniversary (the illegal one - when we started living together); instead, we spent October 27 driving the RV to a town south of us, under a mandatory evacuation order due to the fire in our county (the Kincade Fire, for those following along at home). Maybe next week, I'll find the time to schedule the car for more attention at the dealer's; but I plan to ask the service writer to contact regional Volvo to see if they're aware of this kind of behavior.

I am NOT convinced that the convenience of the magic key fob outweighs the inconvenience when the software goes nuts. I certainly don't remember ever experiencing this kind of hassle with old-fashioned keys.