Keyless fobs. Why?

[Easternlight]

Just more technology we don't really need, that will make your car obsolete that bit sooner, and keep making the stealers money mending it.
Great for those with PCP or lease cars with a warrenty and st for everyone after that.

[SmoothCriminal]

LuS1fer said:

Birdster said:

Is your car an ST-2?

With the ST-3 you have the keyless ignition as well as the keyless entry so you jay press the button on the handle and open the door. Makes more sense that way. I would pay extra mind, it's just the deal I got was on the ST-3.

Yes. So I have to unlock the car on the fob, get in, throw the key in the tray, press the START button and when i stop, I have to press the START button to stop the engine and then root for the key so I can lock it when I get out.

So many opportunities to lose it or have to root round ypour pockets looking for it.

Yes, it has a key inside it for emergencies but really, I prefer a key. I actually like the turning of the key, not the pressing of a button.

Unlucky you got a stty ford then who decided on a half job keyless system.

My gtd is great keys don't ever leave my pocket or the misses bag.

[LuS1fer]

SmoothCriminal said:

Unlucky you got a stty ford then who decided on a half job keyless system.

My gtd is great keys don't ever leave my pocket or the misses bag.

True but at least it's not a diesel.

[Howard-]

SmoothCriminal said:

Unlucky you got a stty ford then who decided on a half job keyless system.

My Ford is great, keys don't need to leave my pocket or bag either


Keyless entry is an optional extra on many cars that already have keyless start

[AB]

Howard- said:

My Ford is great, keys don't need to leave my pocket or bag either


Keyless entry is an optional extra on many cars that already have keyless start

Like nearly every single BMW going from MINI right through to 6 series and I assume 7 series too but I've never driven or looked closely enough at one.

[graham22]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

boyse7en said:

GetCarter said:

It's very simple.

I walk to the car and open the door and it unlocks.

I get in the car and press the start/stop button and the car starts.

I drive the car.

I stop the car and press the start/stop button and the engine stops.

I walk away from the car and it locks.

..and all the time my key is in one of my pockets (I don't even know which one).

I therefore don't have to faff about finding the key to unlock the door.

I don't have to faff about finding the key to start the engine.

I don't have to defrost bloody door locks in winter.

I don't have a bunch of keys hanging from the ignition.

etc.

Those who want all that faff are welcome to their keys

That's great for a one-user car.

My sister and brother in law get in their car. She's driving. She and children get out at my house and hubby jumps in, presses start button and waves goodbye as he drives off to a business meeting in Norfolk.
The phone call came about two hours later when they discovered she still had the keys in her handbag...

Then either the car is broken, or they dont pay much attention to their surroundings....

Mine bongs like a demonic tw@t when the key is out of range and the engine is running. Theres no way you could ignore it.

Perhaps the keyfob should bong/ring/vibrate/catch fire if it leaves the car when the engine's running.


Couldn't help but laugh at the car left running on the dealer's ramp though.

[edward1]

I'm in the pointless camp. Driven a variety of cars with keyless ignition but often the keys are required to unlock. This seems completely pointless as you then need to find somewhere to put the key thing so it won't rattle about etc once you get in the car.

Then there are the ones where they have keyless entry as well. I can just about see the point of this if you have shopping in both hands etc. My issue is the keys are generally quite large and as I don't have a handbag or man bag, find them irritating when in my pocket in the car. Consequently I end up whit the same problem, where do you put them. At least the ignition gave you some where to put the damn things. Not to mention when the key fell out of my pocket once and got jammed under the seat. On arrival at destination in the rain, spend time on hands and knees trying retrieve it, gave up and just left car unlocked. (it was a secure company car park and as it was a hire car I stopped caring)

May be it is a feature designed for the under 40's!

[Prof Prolapse]

edward1 said:

I'm in the pointless camp. Driven a variety of cars with keyless ignition but often the keys are required to unlock. This seems completely pointless as you then need to find somewhere to put the key thing so it won't rattle about etc once you get in the car.

Then there are the ones where they have keyless entry as well. I can just about see the point of this if you have shopping in both hands etc. My issue is the keys are generally quite large and as I don't have a handbag or man bag, find them irritating when in my pocket in the car. Consequently I end up whit the same problem, where do you put them. At least the ignition gave you some where to put the damn things. Not to mention when the key fell out of my pocket once and got jammed under the seat. On arrival at destination in the rain, spend time on hands and knees trying retrieve it, gave up and just left car unlocked. (it was a secure company car park and as it was a hire car I stopped caring)

May be it is a feature designed for the under 40's!

Yeah my Lexus does none of that, the fob is smaller than those in new Fords, and it can still be opened with the key and started with the fob even if the battery is dead.

It can't help you with your clumsiness however, but I doubt traditional keys could either.

[Gary29]

edward1 said:

I'm in the pointless camp. Driven a variety of cars with keyless ignition but often the keys are required to unlock. This seems completely pointless as you then need to find somewhere to put the key thing so it won't rattle about etc once you get in the car.

Then there are the ones where they have keyless entry as well. I can just about see the point of this if you have shopping in both hands etc. My issue is the keys are generally quite large and as I don't have a handbag or man bag, find them irritating when in my pocket in the car. Consequently I end up whit the same problem, where do you put them. At least the ignition gave you some where to put the damn things. Not to mention when the key fell out of my pocket once and got jammed under the seat. On arrival at destination in the rain, spend time on hands and knees trying retrieve it, gave up and just left car unlocked. (it was a secure company car park and as it was a hire car I stopped caring)

May be it is a feature designed for the under 40's!

It works perfectly in my Megane, the key card fits in a credit card section of my wallet, I always have a wallet on my person, so the car just opens and will start whenever I go near it.

The 'half' systems are pointless though.

[TheTyreAbuser]

SmoothCriminal said:

Unlucky you got a stty ford then who decided on a half job keyless system.

My gtd is great keys don't ever leave my pocket or the misses bag.

Gotta love my stty Ford.

It does sound like I dodged a bullet with the ST-2 though, the keyless entry and start is an absolute godsend for me. Just leave the key in my jeans pocket. My housekeys and old Passat key sit on a massive bunch of necessary keys so I can't fit it all in my pocket at all and fumbling for the key to the Passat is a fecking nightmare (it's an '89 GT, I'm lucky the central locking works at all, and I now have to start it by turning the key and pressing a starter button due to a knackered ignition barrel).

I've used loads of systems before and I swear by it now. Various XF's, Mercedes' and Hyundai's have come with it and have all been faultless about execution. The same with the better spec ST. Though I've never been bothered about leaving keys in my pocket as some people have been (for whatever reason, ya bloody weirdos ).

I actually find myself going back to the old way of plipping and starting on a key and utterly hating it.
And if it's a thing for the under 40's as previously mentioned then my 67yr old dad must be an outlier. Though his C-class' way of doing it (like the A8) is just to slide your hand behind the handle and it unlocks. And each door handle has this lock or unlock mechanism but the keyholder has to initiate the unlock.

[mattlad]

A friend of mine stopped at some traffic lights and got hauled out of his car by four members of the bandit class of citizen. They gave him two black eyes stole his phone and his car. Fortunately he had his keyless key thingy in his pocket and the car didn't get very far before cutting out. The bandits were shouting at him to give him the key but a member of the Good Samaritan class of citizen let him into his car and took him away from the scene temporarily.

The bandits obviously had no choice but to abandon the car and my mate was able to go back for it a few moments later. He said he didn't think that he would have had time to get a conventional key out of the ignition and would have lost his car too.

So one of my mates is thankful for keyless type keys!

[Superhoop]

mattlad said:

A friend of mine stopped at some traffic lights and got hauled out of his car by four members of the bandit class of citizen. They gave him two black eyes stole his phone and his car. Fortunately he had his keyless key thingy in his pocket and the car didn't get very far before cutting out. The bandits were shouting at him to give him the key but a member of the Good Samaritan class of citizen let him into his car and took him away from the scene temporarily.

The bandits obviously had no choice but to abandon the car and my mate was able to go back for it a few moments later. He said he didn't think that he would have had time to get a conventional key out of the ignition and would have lost his car too.

So one of my mates is thankful for keyless type keys!

What was he driving?

Not aware of any systems that cut out if the key is removed from the car - they key is normally only checked when starting the car, once it's running, it stays running and does look for the key again until you switch the car off, at which point, if they isn't present, it won't restart.

If the car and they key were in permanent communication all the time the car was running, the key fob battery would last about a week.

The system I work with warns that the key is no longer present in the vehicle, but doesn't cause it to switch off, and all of the systems I've ever experienced are exactly the same.

There are after market alarm/immobiliser systems that can switch the car off, but none that are fitted by OEMs as far as I'm aware - I'm sure someone with more knowledge than me will along soon to tell me I'm wrong though.

[LankyLegoHead]

Considering how low rent most of my cars gizmos are, including the key fob which looks like a 90's aftermarket job, the Toyota Keyless system is pretty good. Mainly because it has sensors behind the door handle, so it unlocks when you put your hand behind it. It also has one you swipe on the outside of the handle to lock it. Gives you about 5 seconds to check the cars locked (You can tug on the handle without it unlocking again). A bit more peace of mind than just "walking away" from you car. It also still has buttons on the fob in case you cant remember if you locked it or not, you dont have to walk back to the car again!

[The Mad Monk]

carmadgaz said:

I keep my keys on a carrabina on my belt

But what do you look like?

[mph1977]

The Mad Monk said:

carmadgaz said:

I keep my keys on a carrabina on my belt

But what do you look like?

young man, there's no need to feel down ...

[Howard-]

mattlad said:

Fortunately he had his keyless key thingy in his pocket and the car didn't get very far before cutting out.

Are you sure? They probably just stalled it. Cars with keyless start don't automatically cut out if the key isn't detected.. That would be a gigantic safety issue!

[speedking31]

[redacted]

[mattlad]

Howard- said:

mattlad said:

Fortunately he had his keyless key thingy in his pocket and the car didn't get very far before cutting out.

Are you sure? They probably just stalled it. Cars with keyless start don't automatically cut out if the key isn't detected.. That would be a gigantic safety issue!

I can remember that he had the windows wound down (in bandit country!) Can't remember if the car had stop / start or if it was stalled by my mate or the hijackers during the takeover attempt. Thinking back about it the thieves didn't manage to move the car from where they took it over.

Needless to say he now travels in town with the windows shut and the car locked!

[carmadgaz]

mph1977 said:

The Mad Monk said:

carmadgaz said:

I keep my keys on a carrabina on my belt

But what do you look like?

young man, there's no need to feel down ...

Standard PH powerfully built chap here

They go in my pocket so they aren't hanging around like a janitor but it saves me having to dig through my pockets (like mittens on a piece of string )