sunil517

I know someone who had a Lexus LX taken like this...

chiromikey

What exactly did they do to gain access?

sunil517

One guy come to the house to pull the signal from the key inside that is inside the house. ( my thinking) The second person at the cars quater panell ( where all the RF stuff is ) has a transmitter that receive the signal from the first guy that is close to the house.
So now I am thinking our keys is always broadcasting a signal, which make sense.
My doors are locked I walk to the car not touching the remote put my hand next to handle and it unlock. Is the remote broadcasting or is the car broadcasting.
What ever is it this is not good. I had Rx7s and my Grand National all stolen out of my driveway and now this is the last thing I want to see.
As a

cetialpha5

I suppose you could stick them in those anti-static bags to stop them from transmitting.

dav461

that happens to cars with keyless-go systems. to avoid just wrap your key in cooking foil.

sunil517

for storing keys. ( superman style)
So does this mean that the keys are transmitting a signal all the time. I guess remove battery from spare key is a start if this is of concern to owners.

Alps

A lot of cars being stolen in the UK like this, BMW`s M`s, Merc`s, Audi`s

Anything keyless! use a metal box or lined bag to stop this happening

Another method is breaking into the house and stealing keys, probably the uneducated smackheads doing it this way!

sunil517

I wrap my spare in foil.
I will look into a lined storage box for my daily keys. All cars are keyless-Go.
I guess a fix will be coming soon and that will decrease our remote range I am sure of it.

PeterUbers

best way to test if your box or bag is working is to try opening the car or starting it while the keyfob is in the box and in your possession as you try to open or start the car

dav461

Or if you don’t want to be bothered so much, just put keys every time to oven.
That works same as foil.

omega_jeff

Have you tested the range of your key fob yet? I've done it....my car won't open unless the key is within 5 to 10 feet of the car. Go try and tell us what you find.

cetialpha5

Well the way they steal your car is to walk around outside your home scanning for your key. So if it's within 5-10 feet of the exterior, they can grab the code and clone it so that they can access the car. I'm not too worried about it. If they're that enterprising to steal the car, then insurance will cover it.

They don't need to reduce the range, they just need to increase the security.

Mikeki7

My key fob will work through walls into my garage and I remote start across parking lots especially if I put the key fob to my head before pressing the button. Don't know about 5-10 feet, @omega_jeff maybe your battery is low. I believe there are 2 communication methods used by the key. RF signal for long range use and IR for right next to the car for example if you hold the unlock/lock button it will open/close all windows/sunroof but only if you are next to the doors.

The key must always be transmitting a signal but the car only starts looking for a key when you touch a keyless door handle or press the trunk button. Just a guess. I think i forgot my key one time, touched the door handle and the car started to prime the fuel pump/airmatic but obviously the door did not open.

e500slr

Is Mercedes security that **** that they just "scan" and then can clone a key and turn on the car. That's insane, how is the security that bad or what kind of sophisticated tech are they using to pull this off. Surely it can't be that simple.

Kind of scary because I don't care about the car, it's insured but I sometimes leave things in the car.

cetialpha5

It's not that sophisticated. They basically clone the signal by user a repeater/signal booster. Normally it only has a 3-10 foot range to detect the key, but what they do is get the car to transmit a signal to wake up the key, then use a signal booster to relay the response from the key back to the car so the car thinks that the key is close when it's not. Only defeat for it seems to be to keep your keys in a faraday bag. Ovens/freezers/microwaves not recommended as you don't want to risk damaging a key that's probably about $500 from MB. They have all sorts on Amazon, just search for faraday cage.

For me, if someone is going to go to that much trouble to steal my car, I'm going to let them.

nynd

Modern day remotes should be using the rolling code / handshake method whereby each time the remote is used, there is a special handshake done between the two (remote and unit) which need to have identical codes the next time either transmitter 1 or 2 or whatever is used. As well - usually to start the vehicle, the key needs to be inside the cabin... usually. Surprised how they are making off with these cars.

cetialpha5

That's probably true, but the method use to defeat that, a signal booster/repeater basically just extends the signal range. As far as the car is concerned, the key is right wherever they're putting the transmitter so if it's inside the car, then it should start. The weakness would be that you can just pick up the signal and re transmit it. They just need to add additional security like a timeout feature as when there's too many hops.

evilsaint

Somebody mentioned it, but yeah - build a faraday cage if you're worried about it. Not too difficult or expensive. https://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/b...age-heres-how/