Is Remote Keyless Entry Any Safer Than It Used to Be?

Clue4All asks: "The time has come for me to start looking for a new car to buy after the winter snows have come and gone. Every car I'm interested in seems to come standard with Remote Keyless Entry with all their models. Has this technology become safer since I last bought a car? I remember seeing a news story years ago about burglars receiving signals used to open garage doors, and Google turned up articles like this from a few years ago. Apparently, some keyless entry systems now use "code hopping," which changes the signal after each use, making copying the signals pretty hard. I've requested information from a few car companies as to whether they employ such technology, what are your findings? Are these safe? I ask because I live in an apartment complex, not that I'd worry about anyone living around me doing something like this, but the thought is still there."

Comments

Ask for battery time while you're at it.

[TripleA]

Don't forget to ask for battery time when you are at it. If the batteries run out quick, you will get very frustrated.

Multiple Remotes?

[dschuetz]

Here's a question I've never seen addressed:

What if you have multiple remotes?

If, for example, you've got two cars, each with their own garage door opener remote, and the remote uses code hopping, how does the 2nd remote know what code to use after the last time the 1st remote was used?

(obviously, it can't "know," which is the problem).

Do these things use some kind of challenge/response system, with a different challenge each time?

Or are you simply stuck with only being able to use one remote for any given device? (door, car, etc.)

Re:Saturns have it

[nelsonal]

I have an 1997 Integra and it will let you use the key to open the driver's door after locking with the remote, but heaven help you if you try the trunk, or unlock all the doors from the inside after using only the key. Also, it seems to unlock all 4 doors even though it's only supposed to open the driver's door if you press it once.

While your at it

[rerunn]

Alot of the makers now use imobilizer chips in their keys. Without this embedded chip, the car wont start even if the key matches.

Great idea, until you want another key made. Mr Keyman at your local mall will happilly grind you a matching key without the chip thus making the 4 bucks you just spent useful for only opening the doors. Now the kicker -- you need to go to the dealer to get a real key and get reamed in the ass for at least 50 bucks.

If your getting a new car, try to get the dealer to throw in a extra key or two.

good luck.

Go "old school"?

[cr0sh]

As others have mentioned, locks and alarms of any kind exist only to keep honest people honest. A true thief is not going to care.

With that said, you might try doing the smart thing - don't buy a car someone would want to steal. Remember, a vehicle is simply a way to get you and your stuff from point A to point B - the minute the vehicle seems like something that gives you an "image", you are lost. That isn't to say that you need to get a clunker or something, just don't buy for image. Furthermore, the best advice I was ever given as a kid was "Buy a vehicle that will for for you, instead of one where you work for it". My vehicle is a small pickup - should I lose my job as a programmer, I still have a vehicle I could (in theory) load up some lawn equipment in and do some yard work for cash until I get back on my feet, or deliver newspapers, or phone books, or haul trash, or throw wire boxes in and install network cabling, etc - hard to do that with another vehicle, but maybe your needs or work are different.

One note: buying a used car may be a better thing - my small truck is pre-1997, which I think is the year they went to the ODB-II system. This is the "On Board Diagnostic" system used by the vehicle's engine computer - it also reports back things typically using a reader. Here is the clincher - on ODB-I systems, you can read the codes yourself, most of the time doing nothing more than stick a jumper in a plug and watching a blinking light - other times by keying the starter switch in a certain pattern and watching the engine light blink. ODB-II systems require you to buy a reader, and unless you buy an expensive reader, you can only read one model vehicle at a time. Still, you have to spend some bucks for the reader. Another thing is that on ODB-II systems when you go get smog checked, if they are using the system, they simply plug in, and tell you if you pass or not. My wife recently had this done on her 1997 Neon, and she passed, but if she hadn't, the paper wouldn't have said where the issue was, and we would have probably had to take it to a mechanic to get it fixed - at least when you can see what emmisions are out of whack, you have an idea where to start (ie, O2 sensor, etc). Don't even get me started on ODB-III (which seems near Orwellian in scope).

Another thing would be to see if they will eliminate these "mandatory" systems that simply add to the cost of a new car and take it off the price. Save a little money.

Finally, instead of an expensive system, add an "old school" system - a second switch. Wire it inline with the starter switch. If you want, you can wire up a high-current contact relay in the system instead, and hook that up to the relay in the starter, so that current has to pass through both set of contacts in order for the starter to turn over. Hide the switch somewhere in the automobile where a thief typically won't look - under the dash is bad, but in the glove box, a cubby hole, under the seat, in the trunk - all good spots. Add a well visible blinking red LED to complete the system. Total cost in parts will be a few bucks, but would probably frustrate the hell out of a potential thief (of course, it might tick him off so bad that he destroys the interior of the car or something, and it wouldn't stop him from stealing the radio or anything - which is a good reason to keep the factory radio).

Ok, you may not like any of my answers, but my point still stands - a vehicle is just something to get you and your stuff from point A to point B. Whatever you do, don't get into the "buy a new car every three years" cycle - this is just a waste. Pay off your car, keep up its maintenance, and the thing should last you a looong time - my truck currently 8 years old, and has 115,000 miles on it - the only thing I am needing replacement on is a new fan belt and new tires, which will probably happen sometime this winter. I replace the oil and filter on it every 3000 miles (btw, get a "permanent" air-filter as soon as you buy the car - it will cost more, but in the long run you will save money on air-filter replacements after about 8-10 oil changes), replace the shocks when needed, flush the tranny and radiator every now-and-then, change the spark plugs and wires as needed, belts, hoses, diff gear oil (nasty stuff) - every 60,000 miles get the timing belt/chain looked at and replaced if needed (timing chains can go longer in between checks - see your manual - but they still need to be looked after). If you treat everything right, there is no reason your car shouldn't last for 200,000 miles or more.

Myself, I plan on keeping my truck until the engine dies - then if the engine dies, I might look into getting a new engine (has to be cheaper than a brand new truck, and better than a used truck that I don't know how it was maintained)...

Just use the key

[Tet]

Now call me old fashioned, but just because your car now comes with a remote, there's no reason to actually use it. Why not just continue using the key as normal? That way you're not exposed. Of course, that won't work with cars like the new Renault Laguna that are only accessible with the remote. But the vast majority (at least here in Europe) still have a key. Use it. The remote is a useless gimmick anyway.