VW's to Take Away?

[Deleted member 6183]

What would happen if you parked a number of keyless entry cars next to each other? Would there be a conflict if all the owners tried to open their cars simultaneously?

Some systems benefit the driver, such as traction control and anti lock braking, but some systems beggar belief. Entering a car should be relatively easy for the owner, and not bystanders. An owner standing near their car could inadvertently allow a third person to open the car simply because of their proximity to the car.

Also, how hard is it to press a button? I know that we want more ease of access, but there is a fine line between making things easy, to making things easy for thieves. I'd rather press a button and watch my mirrors fold in, trying the door handle to ensure the vehicle is properly locked, than assuming it is locked (you cannot try the handle to check a door is locked with keyless entry, unless you remove the keys from the proximity of the vehicle).

Our cars are often our second most expensive purchase, and manufacturers need to make sure that stealing our prized possession is as hard as possible, something manufacturers seem to place low on their list of priorities.

Mind you, you can imagine in a few years time, some yobbo will steal your car and take it for a joy ride, then once they have finished with it, it will drive itself back to your house and park up as if nothing has happened. Thank you Google.

It's innovation, some don't like it, some do.

I know of a few people who have bought C class coupes for the 'tech' that their previous Audi A3s lacked.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

It's innovation, some don't like it, some do.

I know of a few people who have bought C class coupes for the 'tech' that their previous Audi A3s lacked.

I wonder how much of the Keyless Entry love v's hate is postcode dependant?

I'd happily have KE where we live, but not so much if we still lived in Manchester.

As an example of what I mean: our car insurance in Manchester was £780 a year. When we moved here it went down to £204

So those in a high risk area would be unnerved owning a KE car.

Just a thought.

 

[st13phil]

The car makers are not really idiots - they're balancing various factors and compromising all the time in their product design.

I quite agree - they aren't idiots, but sometimes the compromises they choose are subsequently seen to be inappropriate. Intelligent people accept that sometimes wrong decisions are made and also have the reasonable expectation that the manufacturer will "stand by" their flawed product. The challenge for the manufacturer at that stage is how to re-establish consumer confidence, and some are much better at doing that than others.

Some of it's sloppiness.

Some of it is down to cost.

And some down to procedure.

Good security is hard.

Unquestionably it's difficult to provide good security and my view is that the automotive industry has come a long, long, way since the days of being able to open any Ford you liked with a worn key

However, it's hard to see how anyone could believe that it was a sensible choice to limit the number of master cryptographic keys to such a small number. Thousands could be understandable, but half-a-dozen or so? Especially when it's perfectly feasible to reverse-engineer the code to reveal the key value.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I wonder how much of the Keyless Entry love v's hate is postcode dependant?

I'd happily have KE where we live, but not so much if we still lived in Manchester.

As an example of what I mean: our car insurance in Manchester was £780 a year. When we moved here it went down to £204

So those in a high risk area would be unnerved owning a KE car.

Just a thought.

Could be, I insured the SLK last week for £148, more than happy with that.

If you think about it the current MB advert on TV just highlights the tech and nothing else aart from the monthly rental.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Could be, I insured the SLK last week for £148, more than happy with that.

If you think about it the current MB advert on TV just highlights the tech and nothing else aart from the monthly rental.

So testing the theory. £148 to insure an SLK would indicate your postcode is a low risk area? So would you have a car with KE?

 

[flat6buster]

So testing the theory. £148 to insure an SLK would indicate your postcode is a low risk area? So would you have a car with KE?

I have k/e on one. I have cheap insurance. I never even use the k/e. I am programmed to press the button. I occasionally then remember and use keyless go. It's all a bit 'something and nothing' for me.

 

[markjay]

Rubbish sceince. My old Renault Scenic had Keyless ignition and never got stolen! Mind, when we wanted to have the car replaced, we couldn't give it away...

All true.

 

[219]

The problems being publicised are not new.

The real problem is that some of the underlying technology is now rather long in the tooth - so that means its getting weaker. The use of keyless entry and start further exposes the technology.

It's worth bearing in mind that vehicle security has in general been very effective since the mid 90s - though I think that manufacturers have become a bit complacent as a result.

In fairness , we have come a long way from the ubiquitous Wilmot-Breeden FS keys , which cars so equipped could just about be opened and driven away using a whittled down lollipop stick

 

[190]

We may have come a long way, the question is have we come too far, too fast.

 

[Dryce]

We may have come a long way, the question is have we come too far, too fast.

ummmmmmmmm......... NO

 

[Deleted member 6183]

So testing the theory. £148 to insure an SLK would indicate your postcode is a low risk area? So would you have a car with KE?

It wouldn't worry me, I'm not particularly worried about my cars generally though. Having said that I wouldn't pay extra for it for the car, I'd be tempted to have it for the house though as I frequently forget to lock up when I nip out to the shops or with the dog.

I guess that this is a low risk area and my motoring has changed recently so I no longer have to endure the less salubrious parts of the UK.

I think that it was the 17 years NCB that helped bring my premiums down, that and the kiddies paying a couple of £K to subsidise my low risk, low premium insurance.