Car thefts report on 'Rip Off Britain' today ?

christopher_h · October 11, 2017

Hi,

My first post

I saw a report today on BBC1's 'Rip Off Britain' where a high end Mercedes (£40k value) with same entry FOB system as my Lexus IS300 Premier (where the car detects when the FOB is close) was stolen in seconds. The criminals used a 'signal amplifier' which they held close to the wall/window of the house and hey presto, the car door was immediately opened and they drove off.

Couple of questions please:

In the report, they said that two clicks of the FOB could stop the transmission (presumably the Mercedes FOB), does the Lexus FOB do the same thing and if so, which buttons to click on the FOB ?

If you CAN stop transmission of signal with two clicks, how do you get FOB to restart its signal transmission ?

Finally, if a Lexus car door is illegally opened using the signal booster like this, wouldn't the engine stop/stall once the car is out of range of the transmission back at the house ?

Thanks in anticipation.

Chris

(Watford)

rayaans · October 11, 2017

There's a way to disable to smart key system and just use it as a regular fob. Its in the manual somewhere. And no, the car will keep on going but just display the "key not detected" sign until its turned off.

But personally, I wouldn't worry about - life's too short and plenty of Mercs and Audi's to steal. No point getting paranoid over a hypothetical situation

October 11, 2017

Old news, BBC months behind as usual.

Friends friend Lost a week old RS3 like this.

Keep your keys out of range. Upstairs in drawer or tin, not near the front door. You can also buy special pouches if it makes you feel safer.

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk

Muddywheels · October 11, 2017

Big problem with keyless Land Rovers being stolen for years now so I am happy the function can be switched off on my Lexus

Press and hold lock button on fob then press unlock twice on fob and keyless is disabled until you press any button on fob to activate - simple and no inconvenience 👍

LR claim to have been working on way to combat this issue for years after first denying it existed

christopher_h · October 11, 2017

thx for your responses guys - appreciated ;-)

rich1068 · October 12, 2017

I take it these are the systems where the key is in your pocket and as you grab the handle the door unlocks? I could never really see the point. I ordered this in 2011 on a BMW E91 thinking it would be pretty cool and for opening I suppose it is but to lock the car you had to touch a certain part of the handle. I found this to be a major step back, like using a key in the lock rather than just pressing a button on the fob as you walk away. Could just be me I guess.

Muddywheels · October 12, 2017

Keyless is normally more secure than using fob buttons and more convenient so security advice is to use this if possible and shield or disable when parked

Keyless signal is short range so criminals need to be nearer and more likely to be noticed whereas fob button is longer range and can be compromised while hidden nearby

If you use fob button be aware the signal can be jammed so Police advise checking the vehicle is locked when you leave vehicle

Muddywheels · October 12, 2017

Some useful advice here https://www.police.uk/news/motor-industry-and-police-launch-new-initiative-help-drivers-secure-their-cars-and-beat/

Quote

4. Check that your vehicle is locked before leaving it. Listen for the locking noise, watch for the lights to flash or mirrors to fold, or simply pull the door handle. It might sound unnecessary, but thieves can sometimes block the signal between your key fob and your vehicle: so although you’ve pushed the button, it may not have locked the vehicle.

Quote

8. Think about where you keep your keys at home. Keep them well away from the door or windows and out of sight. For additional security for electronic key entry systems, you may wish to consider storing them in a tin container to block any attempt by thieves to hack into the electronic signal between the key fob and your vehicle.

October 12, 2017

11 hours ago, Muddywheels said:

Big problem with keyless Land Rovers being stolen for years now so I am happy the function can be switched off on my Lexus

Press and hold lock button on fob then press unlock twice on fob and keyless is disabled until you press any button on fob to activate - simple and no inconvenience

I have the credit card thing in my wallet. Don't think that can be turned off, but can easily slide the Battery out I suppose.

Will turn my spare fobs off though - was wondering how to do that.

Muddywheels · October 12, 2017

Alternatively get a shielded pouch as I did when I had the RR Sport - cheap as chips on amazon

rayaans · October 12, 2017

16 hours ago, Comedian said:

Old news, BBC months behind as usual.

Friends friend Lost a week old RS3 like this.

Keep your keys out of range. Upstairs in drawer or tin, not near the front door. You can also buy special pouches if it makes you feel safer.

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk

If I bought an RS3, or any RS Audi, Id expect it to be stolen.

rich1068 · October 12, 2017

Don't think I'd sleep either.

Britprius · October 12, 2017

Chris once the car has been started with the legitimate fob or other it will keep running as normal.

The reason for this is that if the fob Battery was to fail while you are driving you would not want the car to come to a standstill in the middle of a motorway. Once you turn the car off you then need the fob signal to restart it.

This can lead to problems if you loose a fob or only carry one fob with you and your wife in the car. You jump in the car with the fob in your pocket, and your wife gets in as passenger. You go into town, and your wife gets into the driving seat to go else ware dropping you off. Your wife arrives at her destination , and turns the car off to do some shopping. Comes back later to find she cannot get into the car or if she left the car open she cannot start it as you have the fob your pocket.

John.

cruisermark · October 12, 2017

John on the LS430 - if the fob goes out of range whilst the engine is running (as in the above scenario) then the car beeps and a message comes up on the dash.

Does the GS450H not do that? it must do - its newer?

christopher_h · October 12, 2017

thanks again guys for all responses especially 'Muddywheels' coz I just successfully disabled the FOB - this probably saves the Battery a bit too, I can sleep a bit easier now ;-)

Chris

Muddywheels · October 12, 2017

2 hours ago, Britprius said:

Chris once the car has been started with the legitimate fob or other it will keep running as normal.

The reason for this is that if the fob battery was to fail while you are driving you would not want the car to come to a standstill in the middle of a motorway. Once you turn the car off you then need the fob signal to restart it.

This can lead to problems if you loose a fob or only carry one fob with you and your wife in the car. You jump in the car with the fob in your pocket, and your wife gets in as passenger. You go into town, and your wife gets into the driving seat to go else ware dropping you off. Your wife arrives at her destination , and turns the car off to do some shopping. Comes back later to find she cannot get into the car or if she left the car open she cannot start it as you have the fob your pocket.

John.

Few years back LR collected my RR Sport for a service - I got it out of garage and car jockey jumped in and off he drove - I then walked up to front door of house and put my hand in pocket to find door key and pulled out Fob

I immediately rang dealer to tell them to get their guy to come back for fob so they did and he pulled over to answer phone and stopped engine

I then had to ring a friend to take me to find my car and hand over the fob as he was stuck there