Keyless entry.

[MyQul]

Bikes in London must be the most nicked item in modern history!

Not my recumbent. I've left it all over London and never had a problem. I suppose no-one wants a 10 year old bike they dont know how to ride

 

[MyQul]

I'd love to not have to drive so much but as I do 1000+ business miles a week my car is my office unfortunately.

'gawd, I'd hate that

 

[Chippy_Tea]

What I don't understand is why the key needs to be able to transmit the signal so far you only need it to talk to the car when you are close to the car so the signal only needs to travel a meter or so if this was the case we wouldn't need pouches and tin boxes.

 

[An Ankoù]

I have the ultimate security system - I don't have a car for anyone to nick

The naked man fears no pickpockets!

 

[The Baron]

I agree with all the comments but the people who had the car stolen insist it was in the protection box also I have been told the signal can be grabbed from quite a distance on some of the manufacturers so leaving it unprotected at the back of the house may not be enough and I would say the insurance company would probably dispute any claim unless any key is under the approved protection system. It looks like putting the old steering locks etc are going to make a comeback which defeats the idea of the system. I am dreading changing my car for 2 reasons 1. this what we are discussing and 2. I run a old car (being in the motortrade for years I have had all the flashy new cars probably atleast 6 a year as I have to change the demonstration vehicle as and when a new one comes out) and do not see the point in running a highly depreciating lump of metal with my own money also they are so technical that it is becoming a main dealer service/repair on most occassions nowadays and I certainly know what they charge. At least with my 16 year old wagon I can work on it still and it is reliable so my next car will be as new as I can get without it becoming a computer on 4 wheels. P.s I am retired from the motortrade now

 

[Alex.mc]

Spent many years in the motor trade before moving on some ten years back.
Car have always been stolen, and always will. If you take a look at this site, https://www.carshop.co.uk/latest-news/uk-car-theft-statistics/ you'll see that car theft has dropped as a "rate" over the years. In simple terms you are far less likely to have a car stolen than you used to.
If you buy a car that is "currently" popular for stealing, then you are more likely to have it stolen that other cars, but the chances are still low, or far lower than they were.
If you really want a 100% faraday cage for your keys indoors, nip down too your local builder's merchants or chat up a roofer, or visit your local church and get a small amount of sheet lead. Line a small box all around with it, and nothing, I repeat nothing will get in or out as far as RF goes.

 

[MyQul]

The naked man fears no pickpockets!

I'm certainly not going to be cycling around naked. Dont want to scare my fellow peckhamites

 

[kelper]

Thieves can capture the signal when you lock the car if they are nearby. A Faraday cage is then too late.

"Research from the German General Automobile Club (ADAC) analysed by consumer publication Which? found four out of the top five best-selling cars in the UK – the Ford Fiesta, VW Golf, Nissan Qashqai and Ford Focus – were vulnerable to keyless thefts, while the Vauxhall Corsa – the third best-selling car – is not available with a keyless system, and so is impervious to such attacks. Only the Jaguar I-Pace, and the latest versions of the Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover, were able to fully resist keyless theft attempts."

 

[Dexter101]

From memory, I don't remember steering locks being particularly successful generally.

Someone did a test recently on different keyless systems, some were easy to access the car but didn't allow the thief to drive off.

Its not something that interests me to have, but I drive a 14 year old car and don't even want auto lights, auto wipers etc.

 

[kelper]

Good article here from Whatcar listing models with keyless entry and whether or not it can be disabled. Some newer cars have a motion sensor in the keyfob which switches it off if it's not been moved for forty seconds, some have two minutes delay. But this won't defeat thieves who intervene quickly as you walk away. The article says new Vauxhalls don't have keyless entry.

 

[Smileyr8]

Spare key remove the battery and tape to the key, ensure you place live key in metal box at the rear of the house pretty sure this will stop most thefts, although if you have something proper fancy and big £s you'll attract more interest.

 

[kelper]

ADAC, the German motoring club, tested three hundred cars. Only three resisted keyless theft.

Here is the report. It's in German but you can use Google translate. The first column with X's is whether the car can be unlocked, the second whether it can be driven away.

https://www.adac.de/-/media/pdf/tet...a=de-de&hash=B3B19D86811B3895824436E1FBE581ED

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Good article here from Whatcar listing models with keyless entry and whether or not it can be disabled. Some newer cars have a motion sensor in the keyfob which switches it off if it's not been moved for forty seconds, some have two minutes delay. But this won't defeat thieves who intervene quickly as you walk away. The article says new Vauxhalls don't have keyless entry.

Good article and it looks like for most of us a bag or box is the only way to keep the scum from using these devices.

 

[kelper]

I am looking at changing my car in the near future and most of the ones i have shortlisted have key-less entry

what's on your shortlist?

 

[MyQul]

Thieves are always going to be ahead of the game. I think the best way to avoid having your car stolen is to drive a car that is undesirable to thieves, keyless or not. Similarly to my bike, as mentioned, noone wants to nick a ten year old bike that takes 20 mins to learn to ride

 

[Chippy_Tea]

what's on your shortlist?

To be honest the list isn't that short, i will not be buying a Ford or Vauxhall as their recent decision to put their timing belts inside the engine (B.I.O) worries me as i will probably be keeping the car for several years.

Timing belt in oil (BIO) overview
Earlier iterations of this unit used a duplex chain assembly, which connected and synchronised the crankshaft and diesel pump sprockets. They lasted the lifetime of the engine but this is not the case with the belt. The BIO fitment is seen as vital in reducing CO2 emissions and driving engine efficiency. However, we have heard of a number of them failing in service over the last few years and the issue has become so well-known that some owners have requested that independent Ford specialists should convert the belt back to a chain, which is a simple bolt-on conversion.

As BIO timing belts have been employed subsequently on a number of new-generation small-capacity engines, we wonder how reliable they will be in the longer term. Ultimately, we hope that that the customer is not the one to be saddled with expensive bills, when the parts that have been designed for an environmental benefit fail prematurely.

Full article -
https://blog.motoringassist.com/car-maintenance/timing-belt-oil-bio-overview/

 

[dad_of_jon]

Thieves can capture the signal when you lock the car if they are nearby. A Faraday cage is then too late.

"Research from the German General Automobile Club (ADAC) analysed by consumer publication Which? found four out of the top five best-selling cars in the UK – the Ford Fiesta, VW Golf, Nissan Qashqai and Ford Focus – were vulnerable to keyless thefts, while the Vauxhall Corsa – the third best-selling car – is not available with a keyless system, and so is impervious to such attacks. Only the Jaguar I-Pace, and the latest versions of the Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover, were able to fully resist keyless theft attempts."

with all due respect where I live a random person hanging around is going to stick out pretty much like a sore Plus my keyless car is £18K not £80k new. plus I have a motion sensor alert on my drive so I'm sent a pic of whoever sets it off. The cat 3 doors down is the main culprit

 

[DavieC]

You need one of them old "crook lock"things chippy, my Dad had one, used to hook under the clutch and through the steering wheel, when we all used to jump in the car he had to faf about trying to get it off, then go and put it in the boot.When we got to where we were going he had to get it out the boot and faf about fitting it on,...he used to swear a lot

 

[The Baron]

I think what Kelper was trying to point out is that these people are grabbing your signals at supermarkets car parks etc as they steal to order (specific vehicles) and they then follow you home and already have the signal they need to be used when they desire. I personally know that a majority of these vehicles are stolen and stripped for parts abroad or made into ringers, same place all the tractors and farm vehicles are going a very lucrative trade since the borders were opened

 

[Chippy_Tea]

with all due respect where I live a random person hanging around is going to stick out pretty much like a sore

I thought the same but what about a supermarket car park they could place themselves in a position where they could read the signal as you leave the car so i guess the only solution would be to place the key in the pouch as soon as you lock it.

You need one of them old "crook lock"things chippy, my Dad had one

As your father found a bit too much of a faff about.