Smart Keyless Entry

bgb · October 8, 2022

My new NX will be the first car I've had with Smart Keyless Entry. Should I be investing in a Faraday pouch for the key or is the system now used, smart enough to outsmart the would be car thief?

ColinBarber · October 8, 2022

10 minutes ago, bgb said:

Should I be investing in a Faraday pouch for the key or is the system now used, smart enough to outsmart the would be car thief?

Yes and no.

cruisermark · October 8, 2022

Hi

I would say yes you should be investing in a Faraday pouch because

1) Thieves target high value, new and desireable cars - yours is one.

2) Any system can be over-ridden eventually - so even if the system is new and smart, the risk is still there.

Some members recommend a visible steering lock - this works well because it deters a thief from a distance.

hope this helps

NemesisUK · October 8, 2022

Just be aware the Faraday pouches do fail, sometimes quite rapidly, due to the constant flexing. So would recommend testing the effectiveness routinely.

Otherwise you could simply temporarily disable the function with the double key press on the fob?

bgb · October 9, 2022

Ok, thanks for the advice, had two cars pinched in the past so quite keen to avoid it being three..

spacenase · October 9, 2022

If it uses the same key as the previous NX, you can turn the key signal off. You press and hold the lock button, then press the unlock button twice. It means you have to use the unlock button next time you use the car, but it definitely works.

RONNIE W HODGEKINSON · October 10, 2022

On 10/8/2022 at 5:42 PM, bgb said:

My new NX will be the first car I've had with Smart Keyless Entry. Should I be investing in a Faraday pouch for the key or is the system now used, smart enough to outsmart the would be car thief?

DEFINATELY NOT.!!!!! Have you not heard of Relay theft ? Thieves come along with a piece of kit Which can trace your keys inside your home Then transmit the signal to a blank keyfob .Then there off with your car...Get two Faraday pouches one for your spare key and the other for everyday use and keep that one in your bedroom ..ALSO get a Milenco steering wheel lock and always put it on at night..Its the Business ( Around £64 from Halfords ) Also install a ring outdoor camera which will protect your car 24/7 The subscription is £3.49 per month but well worth it.

Dont get me Wrong if a real Professional car thief fancies your car He will get it..But in the main your up against Petty opportunist car Thieves .So Dont make it easy for them.. Hope this helps jon..Ron ps The Milenco steering wheel lock is in my opinion the best security wheel lock Google it and you will see what i mean......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bgb · October 10, 2022

7 hours ago, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

DEFINATELY NOT.!!!!! Have you not heard of Relay theft ? Thieves come along with a piece of kit Which can trace your keys inside your home Then transmit the signal to a blank keyfob .Then there off with your car...Get two faraday pouches one for your spare key and the other for everyday use and keep that one in your bedroom ..ALSO get a Milenco steering wheel lock and always put it on at night..Its the Business ( Around £64 from Halfords ) Also install a ring outdoor camera which will protect your car 24/7 The subscription is £3.49 per month but well worth it.

Dont get me Wrong if a real Professional car thief fancies your car He will get it..But in the main your up against Petty opportunist car Thieves .So Dont make it easy for them.. Hope this helps jon..Ron ps The Milenco steering wheel lock is in my opinion the best security wheel lock Google it and you will see what i mean......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, heard of it, was hoping the manufacturers might have found a solution since the last time I was in the market for a new car. I've got CCTV, a consequence of previous thefts, but that Milenco device certainly looks like a good bit of kit.

bgb · October 10, 2022

22 hours ago, spacenase said:

If it uses the same key as the previous NX, you can turn the key signal off. You press and hold the lock button, then press the unlock button twice. It means you have to use the unlock button next time you use the car, but it definitely works.

Good job the SKE comes as standard rather than a paid option if I'm going to be turning it off!

Herbie · October 10, 2022

8 hours ago, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

The Milenco steering wheel lock is in my opinion the best security wheel lock Google it and you will see what i mean......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just in the interests of fairness it has to be said that in most tests and reviews the Stoplock Elite Pro just pips it at the post. It's very close though, with the Stoplock scoring 10 and Milenco 9, or Stoplock 5 with Milenco 4 (even 4.5) depending on the scoring system used - so you're not going to go wrong whichever one you choose.

ALAW · October 10, 2022

The Faraday pouch get one but be mindful they lose their effectiveness in time quite quickly in fact the one i had within a year. Something i never realized until it was mentioned on the forum.

RONNIE W HODGEKINSON · October 11, 2022

12 hours ago, Herbie said:

Just in the interests of fairness it has to be said that in most tests and reviews the Stoplock Elite Pro just pips it at the post. It's very close though, with the Stoplock scoring 10 and Milenco 9, or Stoplock 5 with Milenco 4 (even 4.5) depending on the scoring system used - so you're not going to go wrong whichever one you choose.

Would Totally Agree With You Herb.. I just liked the feel and look of the Milenco lock But If the undesirables Really want your car ITS OFF..So we do everything in our power to protect our Pride & joy..I just love my Lexus Wish i had bought one Years ago..Have a lovely day Herb Ron Big Hugs

RONNIE W HODGEKINSON · October 11, 2022

Never Thought of that Brent.. .I Have just bought two, Keep one in the hall upstairs at night and the other protecting the spare key which is kept in the safe..But i also have a Ring outdoor camera wired to the mains which is directed at my pride and joy 24/7 So i feel i am doing everything possible to secure my Car.. Best Wishes Ron

DanD · October 12, 2022

Personally, I feel it sufficient to double lock the car (two consecutive presses of the lock button on the fob or of the "groove" on the door handle), and to then disable the key (as documented above). This is quick, practical, and does not need any additional investment in pouches (although these are cheap) or steering locks. I also disable the spare key, which has the added benefit of lengthening the life of the Battery.

Herbie · October 12, 2022

It may (or may not) be sufficient but any passing scrote doesn't know that you've done that so they may well still attempt entry or worse still, go for ripping out the CANBUS wiring, thus disabling any alarm/immobiliser.

As the old saying goes, 'prevention is better than cure' so a great big bright yellow steering lock, easily visible from the driveway, should hopefully be enough for the scrotes to think 'sod it' and go to an easier target, leaving my pride and joy untouched.

Harrier Man · October 12, 2022

1 hour ago, DanD said:

Personally, I feel it sufficient to double lock the car (two consecutive presses of the lock button on the fob or of the "groove" on the door handle), and to then disable the key (as documented above). This is quick, practical, and does not need any additional investment in pouches (although these are cheap) or steering locks. I also disable the spare key, which has the added benefit of lengthening the life of the battery.

This is where I have settled too. Easy, practical and, I feel, sufficient for my quiet neck of the woods on a day-to-day basis. However, I also have steering lock for the reasons Herbie outlines above for when I am in more vulnerable parts of the country.

Thackeray · October 12, 2022

After all the design effort Lexus put into the locking system, it's a pity that it won't keep the car secure.

So I've gradually refined how I lock the car. The habit I now use is:

touch the car handle to lock the doors. This is because if you use the key fob the radio signal could be jammed by some thief across the car park, the result being that the car isn't actually locked when you walk away from it. When you use the touch pad on the door handle I assume (perhaps wrongly!) there are no radio signals involved.
Disable the key fob. The combined button operation means that this does two things at the same time. First, the lock button double-locks the doors since they are already locked before pressing the button. Second the key fob is disabled so the radio signal can't be relayed from the keyfob to the car.

On balance, as a habit it's little more effort than just using either the keyfob or the touch pad on the door handle but potentially makes theft of the car a little more difficult.

As others have said, a steering lock would be a good addition but I haven't got around to doing this and as the car gets older it's probably less of a target for thieves anyway.

NemesisUK · October 12, 2022

Touching the door handle to lock/unlock will only work if the key fob is within range, so there must be a radio signal present?

I always use the touch method to lock the car, as I'm stood right next to it I can see and hear it is locked, plus I always have the door mirror auto-fold on so I can see when I look back, the car has been locked. When in a public space I also double touch (touch, wait a couple of seconds and touch again) the handle to deadlock the car. This means even if a window is broken the car doors cannot be opened from the inside.

Thackeray · October 12, 2022

1 hour ago, NemesisUK said:

Touching the door handle to lock/unlock will only work if the key fob is within range, so there must be a radio signal present?

Good point! As you say, the advantage of using the touch method to lock the car is that you can see and hear that it's been locked. If the key's radio signal was jammed and the touch method wouldn't work, you'd notice that the car wasn't locked. Whereas if you used the fob only you might not notice whether the car had been locked or not. This is all probably quite a remote possibility anyway but you do read in newspapers anecdotes about these kinds of attempted thefts. Maybe they don't really happen in practice.

Addh · October 14, 2022

I would have thought that having the key in a Faraday pouch makes having keyless entry pointless because you have to take the key out of the pouch for it to work ?

I decided to keep the key in a Faraday box overnight as this is the most likely time someone would attempt to steal the car.

RONNIE W HODGEKINSON · October 14, 2022

On 10/12/2022 at 1:22 PM, Herbie said:

It may (or may not) be sufficient but any passing scrote doesn't know that you've done that so they may well still attempt entry or worse still, go for ripping out the CANBUS wiring, thus disabling any alarm/immobiliser.

As the old saying goes, 'prevention is better than cure' so a great big bright yellow steering lock, easily visible from the driveway, should hopefully be enough for the scrotes to think 'sod it' and go to an easier target, leaving my pride and joy untouched.

Well said Totally Agree..!!!!!

RONNIE W HODGEKINSON · October 14, 2022

45 minutes ago, Addh said:

I would have thought that having the key in a faraday pouch makes having keyless entry pointless because you have to take the key out of the pouch for it to work ?

I decided to keep the key in a faraday box overnight as this is the most likely time someone would attempt to steal the car.

Adam.. Yes.. I Always place the key fob in the Faraday pouch at night and remove the keys in the morning...Most cars are stolen at night...