Stetson Call

I know my car (w212 E63) came from the factory with a keyless start, but what safety features does it have? Say I go outside and start my car in the morning to warm it up before I go to leave and left the vehicle running with no fob in it can someone hop in and drive off? Most answers I've found aren't very straightforward. I've heard some yes's and some No's and some other things like the car will not allow you to put it in gear with no fob. I havent really had the time to test it myself im always busy, so I figure someone in this forum should be able to provide an answer... Its just kinda concerning, the thought that if it allows the driver to drive the vehicle without a fob; it could very easily be stolen... figured id see what yall have for me

Mojo20032004

My wife test drove my car around our block without my key fob inside the car. Other than the annoying beeping sound it drove fine. Maybe it has to be a certain radius?

We also have a 2022 Tiguan R line, and does the same thing. Can drive the car without the key fob if it was started in the way you described above. It will beep and all, but will not shut off or anything.
My parents have a 2019 or 2020 Subaru Outback and when the Fob is out of range it starts a count down that the vehicle will turn itself off on the next stop.

Jonny English

As above, start the car and take the key away and you'll get a red message in the cluster saying "Key not detected" or words to that effect.. It's still driveable, therefore open house for stealing.

I've not tried it, but starting the car and closing the door and double clicking the fob should prevent entry until the fob is clicked again.
Get Autowatch Ghost fitted and a code has to be entered before putting the car in gear or it will stall and not restart. Not sure that immobilizer is available in the US though.

_KO_

The car will keep going without the fob. U can think of it as if you started the car and the battery in your fob died. The car won’t turn off. Actually happened to me once. I turned the car on to warm it up for my wife with my key. She hopped in and drove it to a mall an hour away . Don’t know how she didn’t notice the beeping or the message in the instrument cluster.

sickSVT

Get a remote start system if you like the warm up the car a lot, I just installed one on mine and it has built-in safety features to avoid theft. Pretty cool feature to have.

BiturboSF

Which brand did you go with? & did it require you to give up your 2nd key like some brands do?

sickSVT

I went with the 12volt solutions kit, full plug & play kit. It programs to your factory key fob, no need to give up an extra set of keys. Installed it myself in a few hours, the hardest part was removing the trim lol

https://www.12volt.solutions/product...mote-start-kit

I saw a youtube video a few days ago of the same kit I have.

midcityeng

This is an issue that is totally avoided and managed when using our SmartKey Starter remote start system.
Take a look at what we can do for you and your vehicle here: https://www.midcityengineering.com/d...t-key-starter/

Valvestud

Their website has no link to a version for a 2014. Has this been installed in a 2014? The Mid City requires the extra keyfob.

wseikow

You can just get in, start the car , open door , hit the central locking button , step out, close the door , remove physical key from fob , insert physical key in door , turn key to lock. Done!

midcityeng

Our kits for many 2014 models and newer require an extra key because this is the model year where Mercedes rolled out the newest (DAS4) security platform. The biggest change in this platform as it pertains to remote starters is that the vehicle requires that a key be present in order for the engine to start. The extra key is a workaround for this security platform change, and is due to the way MB has designed their vehicles.
Also, because of this change in security, you'll notice that all other remote starter coverages made by other companies stop right around this model year, as we're the only ones to have developed a solution moving forward from there.

Valvestud

Hello,

Thanks for the update and clarification. Since I always want two available keys, what's the typical best practice to get an additional key at the lowest cost?

Thanks,

Joe