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Cell Phones Disable Keys for High-End Cars

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the fun-toys-to-exploit dept.

Geoffrey.landis writes "Turns out if you have a top-end Nissan car, your cellphone may erase your car key. '"We discovered that if the I-Key touches a cellphone, outgoing or incoming calls have the potential to alter the electronic code inside the I-Key," Nissan spokesman Kyle Bazemore said. "The car won't start and the I-Key cannot be reprogrammed."'"

14 of 463 comments (clear)

  1. That's a crying shame... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I miss the days when you could open the car door with a coat hanger and hot wire the ignition.

    1. Re:That's a crying shame... by Tyrion+Moath · · Score: 5, Funny

      I miss the days when you could put your cellphone in the same pocket as your car keys.

    2. Re:That's a crying shame... by dawnzer · · Score: 5, Informative

      I called my sister after reading this (she has a new Altima), and she said Nissan sent out letters awhile back about the problem. They said they are developing new ones that aren't affected by phones, and will be sending out replacements.

      --
      "Oh, say, can you see by the dawnzer lee light," sang Miss Binney
  2. Stupid New Cars by phantomcircuit · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The amount of electronics in modern cars is ridiculous, especially when you think about how often electronics break and how easily they're broken.

    My mom has a ford escape, there have been two wiring recalls and the wiring has failed on two separate occasions. They had to completely replace the main board!

    I can understand that putting electronics in cars seems like a good idea, but it's not.

    It's DANGEROUS!

    1. Re:Stupid New Cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't think it's the electronics per se, but rather the attitude creeping in from the computer industry. I've noticed it in other industries as well, such as television and phone service. Faults that wouldn't have been tolerated ten years ago are suddenly cropping up everywhere. People have become desensitised to failure with electronics because of computers. Sloppy QA because of the training/expertise/staff overlap with computers.

      And at the same time, another problem is preventing this from being solved. People put up with it. The way capitalism is supposed to work is that if somebody fucks up, you can go with a competitor. But now it's trendy to complain and then forget about it until next time something goes wrong. Shitty mobile phone reception? Moan about it, but don't ask for your money back. Crashing computer? Complain to your neighbourhood geek, but don't demand a refund. Evil dictator in charge of your country? Re-elect the fucker! When there's no consequences to providing a shitty service, that's exactly what people will give you.

    2. Re:Stupid New Cars by couchslug · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No, crappy engineering (Ford cruise control switches, having large areas of harness "hot" even with the vehicle not running...) is dangerous.

      The public want blingful features, the public are no longer mechanically literate, and the public will not vocally insist on reliable vehicles. This creates tremendous pressure on makers to offer stupid shite at a competitive price.

      Even good features like electronically controlled automatic transmissions are often poorly engineered and are brutally expensive to replace when they fail.

      As an aside, tool prices have remained quite low, and if you are the sort of person who isn't afraid to learn you can save many thousands of dollars by doing your own work. The money you save easliy buys good equipment you can use for a lifetime.
      Never has an auto repair course at the local community college been a better value. You can free yourself from ever having to buy a new car, free yourself from being at the mercy of undertrained or unethical automobile repair outfits, and know the person who worked on your car gave a shit.
      If you can understand computers, it isn't a great leap to understand other technology, and as usual the internet can help.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  3. Honda and Microwaves by Hsensei · · Score: 5, Funny

    A friend of mine his dad purchased a Honda S2000 the garage was next to the kitchen. Well when they turned on the microwave it set off the alarm. The cars' keys would always have to be next to the microwave because of the "feature". When he called Honda then told him to buy a different microwave. I fould it hilarious.

    --
    ~
    1. Re:Honda and Microwaves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      So Honda's logic was that the microwave is not in fact compling with FCC interference regulations, like the sticker on the back says it does?

      That's not unreasonable. We usually buy the cheapest appliances, and there's virtually no testing on imports after the demo model. Since around 1995, I've seen some amazing crap inside electrical items that were supposedly UL and CSA certified.

      And really, do you want to stand beside a microwave that can trigger car alarms? Take Honda's advice on that one.

  4. They should take a lesson from the MAFIAA by Hektor_Troy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nissan should simply state, that the car owners only bought the right to use a specific version of the key, and that they'll have to buy a new car, if they ruin the old key.

    --
    We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
  5. Caution using cellphones by whiteranger99x · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's ok, I usually drive and use a laptop instead of a cellphone.

    --
    Join the TWIT army now!
  6. Lies... by penguinwhoflew · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The car won't start and the I-Key cannot be reprogrammed."

    Obviously it CAN be reprogrammed, or else they wouldn't have this problem to begin with.

  7. Except they do... by name_already_taken · · Score: 5, Informative

    Electronic controls do not give anything that a well engineered engine does not

    Huh?

    Show me a car engine that can meet current emissions requirements without electronic controls while running on fuel that you can buy at your local gas station. You can't, because it simply isn't possible. Even diesels have computer controls these days.

    Electronic controls are an absolute requirement for gasoline engines because of the fine level of control of air/fuel mixture and ignition timing required to burn the fuel efficiently and somewhat cleanly whilst not destroying the engine in the process.

    One car I owned recently (a 1995 Chevy) had an 11:1 compression ratio and ran on 87 octane fuel (that's the lowest grade of gasoline available in most of the USA). Without electronic controls such as knock sensing, O2 sensor feedback, mass airflow measurement, and the precise control of both the quantity and timing of fuel injection and the timing of the ignition by a computer, it simply would have been impossible to reach the power level that engine developed (or even to drive at all with an 11:1 CR on 87 octane fuel without knocking holes in the pistons) and at the same time producing HC and CO emissions that were a fraction of the same size (5.7L V8) engine from ten model years earlier.

    An easy example of how electronic controls have improved the reliability of modern cars is the elimination of the ignition distributor. Pretty much all modern cars do not have distributors now, because they were such a common point of failure for ignition systems that they made cars break down due to things like worn out cap and rotor, or burned points (going back to before 1975 when electronic ignition became pretty much mandatory). Take a look at the tune-up intervals in a modern car's maintenance schedule. It used to be you'd have to change half the ignition system out every couple of years - now the whole thing is good for at least 100K miles in most cases.

    Without modern electronic engine controls, US cities would still be blanketed photochemical smog from vehicle exhaust, and people's cars would be significantly less fuel efficient and far less reliable.

    Your statement that electronic controls are not a vast improvement over the previous mechanical and vacuum controls is patently incorrect.

    --
    Putting moderation advice in your .sig lowers your karma!
  8. New Owner -- G35 by alexfeig · · Score: 5, Informative

    Just bought a 2007 Infiniti G35S and it's a beautiful car.

    Infiniti has been dealing with the problem quite well.

    This is really not as big of an issue as the press is making it out to be -- it's a very isolated issue. I keep my phone next to my Blackberry all day and haven't had any problems. On the G35 forums, maybe 3-4 people have run into the issue. All owners recieved a letter about 2 weeks ago informing us of the issue and that they would have a replacement key for us within a few months.

    Read more about it here: http://g35driver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15378 8

  9. Bad, bad analogy! by mangu · · Score: 5, Informative
    The Model T was extremely simple, sturdy and reliable. Just to give you an idea, it didn't have a fuel pump. The tank was located above the engine, gasoline flowed down into the carburetor. There was no water pump either, water flowed through the radiator by convection. Ignition was powered by a magneto, it didn't need a battery.


    The Model T had two different clutches, one for going forward and the other for reverse. When the forward clutch wore down and started slipping under heavy loads, one turned the car around to go up a steep hill. Or, if the brakes didn't work, you could use the reverse pedal to stop the car.


    Perhaps one could say that Model Ts were so widely used because they were more reliable than horses. It's more probable that a horse would become sick and die than a Model T engine would need replacement.