KEYLESS ENTRY & THEFT

[Jon39]

We have known for some time now, that criminals can easily overcome vehicle keyless entry systems, enabling them to steal a car in minutes. No need to break in to a home looking for physical car keys.

Many years ago, some motorists fitted hidden switches to their cars, simply as an added security measure.
It isolated all electrical power to the car.
Obviously modern cars require a constant electrical power supply, so an isolating switch is not something that could be used.

QUESTION.
Could an electronics expert, fit any kind of physical switch, to hinder the crime of keyless entry theft ?
Perhaps to somehow disable the circuit operating the starter motor. Probably an old fashioned description, in these days of CANBUS.

As this criminal activity is still taking place today, years after first knowing how the crime is undertaken, it seems clear that motor manufacturers have not reduced the risk of our cars being stolen so easily and quickly.

[The Road Crew]

Ghost immobiliser. Been available for years.

Won't stop them coming in your home and beating the access code from you though!

[FourWheelDrift]

Maybe some kind of keypad with a coded number,

https://www.sparkfun.com/news/2926 <-- there are other projects too

https://youtu.be/stXvMZ1JJAo?t=183

Put the keypad in the glovebox, with no sound unlike Higgins.

[Ohio7274]

The Road Crew said:

Ghost immobiliser. Been available for years.

Won't stop them coming in your home and beating the access code from you though!

Would have to be pretty special indeed to risk confronting the owner.

Most just want an quick & easy theft using the technology, if a problem then move on…

Ghost seems to have some great reviews on here.

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

Jon39 said:

As this criminal activity is still taking place today, years after first knowing how the crime is undertaken, it seems clear that motor manufacturers have not reduced the risk of our cars being stolen so easily and quickly.

One theory is that they have a vested interest in not making the cars too secure. The more cars that get stolen, crashed, stripped, shipped abroad etc, the more new cars the motor manufacturers will sell.

[Square Leg]

FourWheelDrift said:

Maybe some kind of keypad with a coded number,

https://www.sparkfun.com/news/2926 <-- there are other projects too

https://youtu.be/stXvMZ1JJAo?t=183

Put the keypad in the glovebox, with no sound unlike Higgins.

Citroen did that in the 90’s.
Often wondered why it didn’t catch on with other manufacturers.

[KingNothing]

I had Clifford Blackjax fitted to my Focus RS which meant you had to input a code before the ignition circuit became live, you could always do simple things like interrupt the ignition button circuit or fuel pump circuit with a hidden switch.

[andyxxx]

Matt_E_Mulsion said:

Jon39 said:

As this criminal activity is still taking place today, years after first knowing how the crime is undertaken, it seems clear that motor manufacturers have not reduced the risk of our cars being stolen so easily and quickly.

One theory is that they have a vested interest in not making the cars too secure. The more cars that get stolen, crashed, stripped, shipped abroad etc, the more new cars the motor manufacturers will sell.

Well even if that theory is correct, it is backfiring with JLR.

Their FFRR is becoming increasingly difficult to insure. Many insurers will not quote and any still in the market are offering eye wateringly high premiums.

I am about to cancel my next vehicle because of it. (I see residuals plummeting and that will certainly slow new sales)

[Mr Tidy]

It just seems like a pointless gimmick to me!

Why not buy a car that doesn't have it?

[SteveR1979]

Mr Tidy said:

It just seems like a pointless gimmick to me!

Why not buy a car that doesn't have it?

I couldn't find a 440i without it

[Terminator X]

The Road Crew said:

Ghost immobiliser. Been available for years.

Won't stop them coming in your home and beating the access code from you though!

Rare event. Most thieves will fook off if the car won't start.

TX.

[Jon39]

To all contributors, thank you for all of your comments.

I did not know about the product described, so very helpful.

[andy43]

Simple old school hidden switch. Use it to isolate the fuel pump relay feed, starter motor, electronic gear selector earth, brake light switch, there’s loads of choice. Plus a diy job won’t be in the Scuzzers Manual of Standard Issue Security Hacks.

[anonymous-user]

Matt_E_Mulsion said:

One theory is that they have a vested interest in not making the cars too secure. The more cars that get stolen, crashed, stripped, shipped abroad etc, the more new cars the motor manufacturers will sell.

Its driven by EU legislation designed to open up vehicle systems including security to independent garages so cars can be fixed and maintained by anyone with the necessary equipment. There were articles about this back in the day. If manufacturers were allowed to develop proprietary systems with tools only available to dealerships, this would be far less of a problem.

[Davie_GLA]

Honestly, let them take it. Nothing is worth the potential of some hooded goon with an axe arriving at the side of your bed.

Insurance is much more achievable and the majority of policies will cover key theft under house insurance.

Cue the powerfully built directors dominating the stairs with a can of red bull protecting his 335d (mapped)…



I’ll let myself out.

[youngsyr]

These have been available for decades.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/...

Remove the "key" and any attempt to start the car will blow the fuse and immobilise it.

[speedking31]

youngsyr said:

These have been available for decades.

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/...

Remove the "key" and any attempt to start the car will blow the fuse and immobilise it.

But most people don't want to have to open and close their bonnet every time they leave and return to their car, particularly in the rain.

Is a Faraday bag not the answer?

[volvos60s60]

I thought that you can generally disable the keyless option on most cars using the menu selection. I was looking at an F-Type a while ago & that is definitely an easy to do option. Would this be an easy way to 'fix' the problem?

[raspy]

andyxxx said:

Well even if that theory is correct, it is backfiring with JLR.

Their FFRR is becoming increasingly difficult to insure. Many insurers will not quote and any still in the market are offering eye wateringly high premiums.

I am about to cancel my next vehicle because of it. (I see residuals plummeting and that will certainly slow new sales)

Apparently, it's no longer an issue with the new model -->

Thefts of high-end JLR models including the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport is a concern for the company, its CEO has admitted, but he claims the firm has solved the issue with the latest models.

“Theft of our vehicles in large cities has become a problem,” Adrian Mardell, JLR’s acting CEO, told analysts in June, singling out London and Manchester as the two worst theft locations.

Earlier this year, an Autocar investigation found that Range Rover owners were being denied insurance because the risk of theft had become so great.

According to the DVLA, Range Rovers were the second most stolen cars in the UK in 2022, with more than 5200 taken.

Mardell said recorded thefts were “mostly old-architecture” Range Rover and Range Rover Sports.

The company is working with owners of the previous-generation flagship Range Rover models in two ways to reduce thefts, Mardell said. The first one was to ensure log-in details of the InControl app, which allows remote access to the vehicle, were being correctly transferred to new owners. The second was updating the car’s body control module, which oversees security.

“There's a lot of work to do - there's a big car parc out there - but our data tells us with those two actions, the theft of those vehicles is significantly lower,” Mardell said.

Meanwhile, instances of theft of the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport on the MLA architecture were “very close to zero” despite the cars being on sale for a year, Mardell said.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/jlr-bo...

[captain_cynic]

The Road Crew said:

Ghost immobiliser. Been available for years.

Won't stop them coming in your home and beating the access code from you though!

The fact they have to come into your home and beat the crap out of you (but not so much that you're unconscious) is usually enough to stop them doing that.

Violence as a motivatior is very unpredictable and rarely works out the way you think.

Crime is mostly about opportunity, contactless entry makes it easier to steal a car with far less risk to the perpetrator. Keyles entry was actually quite secure as we could implement decent cryptography and rolling code systems. Due to that and immobilisers criminals preciously had to break into your house to steal the keys (which reduces.the opportunity while increasing the risk).