Posted on 03/18/2016 7:14:32 PM PDT by Olog-hai
The German Automotive Club (ADAC) tested 24 different cars with the new Keyless Go technology for safety. The result: all of the cars could be stolen with one easy trick. […]
In a report released Thursday, the ADAC tested 24 car models from 2015 from 19 different manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, VW, Toyota, Renault, and Ford.
The results were damning. They managed to illegally open every single car and drive it away within a few seconds.
“All you need to do is extend the transmission range of the key from two or three meters to a few hundred meters. The car thinks that the owner is nearby, unlocks the doors and starts its engine — all without any trace of a break-in.” said Arnulf Thiemel, car technician at the ADAC. …
(Excerpt) Read more at thelocal.de ...
The banks that finance cars find them convenient as well; years ago there was a TV show about repo men, and so much centered around obtaining the key(s) from the borrower in default (probably to minimize the damage to the car in transport). In this economy, where gas stations have changed their signs to digital to reflect the economic instability (a scary trend), many car buyers will default as we continue to bleed jobs. Instead of having the repo guy beg you for your keys, he’ll already have the ability to take the car without it/them.
The only problem with that is that I pay my bills on time. So there would never be a situation where somebody repossesses my vehicle.
That’s great; I’m genuinely happy for you.
There is just another side to this whole trend; it goes hand in hand with longer term car loans.
Was it one of those van/pickup hybrids? Those are rare collector's items these days. Yes, they were strange looking.
I saw a meme recently elsewhere, it was a picture of a manual gearshifter. Under the picture was this:
“Millennial anti-theft device.”
So true.
I wouldn’t trust keyless locks in cars or homes...
It’ll be in the thief’s secure facility or a back alley where nobody can see him ripping apart pieces of the car to bypass the system or just ripping the parts off for resale.
It’s like those anti-rape devices that require cooperation to remove. Somewhat okay if you’re in public and attention will stop the rape. Useless if the rapist has no fear of attention.
Once the car is where he wants it to be, restarting it won’t be a concern.
I think my 57 Bel Air is safe, but I have too many fools eyeing my 67 Camaro
Why not? Unless the thief can generate the unlock signal, he can't easily restart the car. It would be trivial to make the lock signal so complex that it couldn't be brute-forced, so I presume that has been done. The car could probably be hot-wired, but if the car is to be sold whole, it has to look and function as though it was whole. I suspect that would require replacing the ignition system. Replacing all the functionality of such a high-tech system sounds a lot more complicated than replacing a lock cylinder or re-keying a few old fashioned non-encrypted locks.
Obviously, I don't know much about car theft. Maybe this stuff is simple.
A stolen car usually goes right to the chop shop. Parts is parts, worth more than a whole car. Think ‘Roach hotel’ cars go in never come out.
Misspent youth as a juvie.
I didn't know that.
Thanks.
My 16 Tacoma is a manual as well as the CJs.
The Tacoma still requires a key.
My wife’s Camry has a fob.
Seems like that would make the battery drain pretty quickly - also need to have the key in order to modify it's power.
I love my convenience of not having to take a key out of my pocket to do anything.
How do they get past the Viper remote start systems?
When someone gets in the running vehicle and tries to put it in drive without the key in the ignition, it’ll kill the engine.
You don't. This technique is, as someone else noted, for driving the car to a chop shop. Of course, someone with the right knowledge of and access to factory replacement parts, could also get the car running again with new keys / programming. This could become popular with the thieves who specialize in "automobile export".
Is it a standard transmission? That helps deter modern car thieves. They don’t know how to use a manual transmission.
My wife’s Toyota just has a start button, and unlocks the doors and enables that button automatically if she has the key fob on her person. There is not even a key to insert.
My Ford truck works the way you describe. I much prefer that.
You don't. They are only driving it as far as a "chop shop", where it will be taken apart for spare parts.
Aren’t most of these cars small enough for two people to pick up and carry away?
Yes, there's that to. Get it into the shop, re-program the internal computer to work off a new key code, then drive it down to Mexico for re-sale.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.