Car broken into

[Nibbo]

Hope this is the right section to post but mods please move if not.

A friend of mine has had his car broken into again.
He has a 2001 E-Class estate which has now been broken into TWICE in a year.
There are no visible signs of entry but they obviously did not unlock the whole car. We have come to this conclusion because the cargo cover was tugged away from the tailgate. If they had unlocked the car then the tailgate would also have been open so no need to tug at the cover.
There were also muddy foot prints on all of the seats which implies that they had to climb around inside the car.

Suddenly it dawned on me that perhaps they did not have a key that unlocked the doors but may somehow have the Infra-Red code to wind the windows down. That would explain everything.

The questions that remain are:

1. Is it possible to have the IR code to wind the windows down without having a key that would unlock the car?

2. If they opened the windows using the IR but did not unlock the doors would the alarm go off if they climbed in through the window?

3. Is it possible to change the IR code?

Or... has anyone got any other theories?

TIA

 

[amwebby]

I don't believe there is a separate IR frequency to wind the windows down but I stand ready to be corrected.

However, assuming they did gain entry through the windows somehow, are you saying they then very tidily wound the windows back up again before departing the scene?

 

[robert.saunders]

Let's be careful what we post here eh?

 

[MBManInKen]

The simplest explanations usually are the best. Are you sure that the car was not accessed with a mechanical key? Yes, it would set the alarm off, but how many people take notice of that these days?

 

[robert.saunders]

Oh, and read here

 

[television]

No seperate code the key only has the one RF and one IR plus to get to the window down function it is an extention of the unlock, so the car would have unlocked first.

 

[glojo]

On a 2001 E-class then my guess is the car is either left unlocked, or they used the mechanical key, but that would surely set off the alarm?

John

 

[television]

but that would surely set off the alarm?

John

It sure would

 

[television]

Another thing here, just try locking your car with a window not closed and see how long it is before your alarm goes off.

They all have movement sensors and they work on moving air

 

[Nibbo]

The simplest explanations usually are the best. Are you sure that the car was not accessed with a mechanical key? Yes, it would set the alarm off, but how many people take notice of that these days?

The car was on his drive outside the front door; he assures me that he is a 'light' sleeper and that the alarm would definately wake him up.

 

[Flash]

IF this scenario is true AND the one about the CL203 being broken into without any forced entry than may be MB have a serious "black hole" in their security!

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=49070

 

[Dec]

According to this it is possible…http://redtape.msnbc.com/2007/08/researchers-say.html

Dec

 

[television]

According to this it is possible…http://redtape.msnbc.com/2007/08/researchers-say.html

Dec

Once again these are only words, and nothing has ever appeared in the trade press, plus it might work on some cars the MB is not mentioned and no one as of yet can make a key other than MB

 

[glojo]

Once again these are only words, and nothing has ever appeared in the trade press, plus it might work on some cars the MB is not mentioned and no one as of yet can make a key other than MB

I once read an article about how someone had developed a key that could open a modern Mercedes and I ahve no idea if it was the same folks that are referred to by the link that has been posted, but when I read into it, they used a lot of very expensive equipment and merely cloned one of their own keys. Huge amounts of university resources went into the development, but it only worked on the one specific car and they had to have the original key in the first place. It reminded me of a very expensive study that decided the worse place toi find 'drunks' was outside a pub. A complete waste of time and money.

I have heard all sorts of rumours, claims etc, but I suspect that car was opened by the use of a key. It could be that the key is kept in an accessible place, or perhaps a third party has an extra key.

Can it be said that it is not possible to obtain or buy these keys without jumping through hoops AND leaving a paper trail?

I for one am very interested in this claim and please do not think I am poo hoo-ing the suggestion.


John

 

[Dec]

Malcolm, I was referring to the original post where the car was unlocked but not driven away, the article refers to unlocking the car electronically by means of some kind of master key fob.

I completely agree that a thief could never duplicate the physical key, but I think the possibility is there, to unlock the car, which turns off the alarm and the thief can then steal whatever belongings there are in the car. It is plausible. That may have been what happened to Nibbo’s friend.

Dec

 

[kbhogalW126]

Has the OP had his car alarm fitted/changed/serviced recently or had it into a car audio place to have anything done?

Back in the day, there used to be stories of a particular auto electricians back home who had some unscrupulous fitters who would come back and pinch your car after work had been carried out!

Could something like this have happened?

My 2p worth.

KJ

 

[crockers]

Or......... how long has he owned the car? If second hand - did the last owner have a spare key??

 

[television]

I once read an article about how someone had developed a key that could open a modern Mercedes and I ahve no idea if it was the same folks that are referred to by the link that has been posted, but when I read into it, they used a lot of very expensive equipment and merely cloned one of their own keys. Huge amounts of university resources went into the development, but it only worked on the one specific car and they had to have the original key in the first place. It reminded me of a very expensive study that decided the worse place toi find 'drunks' was outside a pub. A complete waste of time and money.

I have heard all sorts of rumours, claims etc, but I suspect that car was opened by the use of a key. It could be that the key is kept in an accessible place, or perhaps a third party has an extra key.

Can it be said that it is not possible to obtain or buy these keys without jumping through hoops AND leaving a paper trail?

I for one am very interested in this claim and please do not think I am poo hoo-ing the suggestion.


John

Its a hard one to answer, sure you have both the IR and the RF to work on, either would do it.

Its possible that the IR bit stream is easier to copy. The IR only works at very close range, so pushing the button with an IR only would not unlock other cars in the vicinity as you have to be standing just a few feet or maybe inches from the lock.

This all takes some thinking about, and maybe I/we should not rush to some conclusion.

 

[television]

Or......... how long has he owned the car? If second hand - did the last owner have a spare key??

This was the point that I had also been thinking but I see that it had crossed your mind too.

How hard would it be to sell a car and keep a key back.
some months later the car could be traced and a visit to the new owner could take place where you could unlock the car, take what you want and lock it and leave.

Or sell the car to those who do such things

 

[glojo]

This was the point that I had also been thinking but I see that it had crossed your mind too.

How hard would it be to sell a car and keep a key back.
some months later the car could be traced and a visit to the new owner could take place where you could unlock the car, take what you want and lock it and leave.

Or sell the car to those who do such things

It could be that the key is kept in an accessible place, or perhaps a third party has an extra key.
John

I go along with that and hopefully the owner should know who the previous owner is?

If the car came with only one key then where is the missing one? If any of the previous owners had extra keys made, then Mercedes-Benz will have a record which will disclose who ordered them, where and when.

These new vehicles are not easily unlocked unless you use a good olde fashioned Irish Micrometer:

John