Keyless Go: How does it work and how does it NOT benefit thieves?

Reading time 10 Min.

Recently updated on February 18, 2022 at 02:45 am

Keyless Go is English and means to go without a key in German. That actually explains everything. It is a system for cars and motorcycles that is comfortable opens and closes. Door and steering wheel locks are automatically opened when the user gets close to the vehicle. There is a built-in transponder that uses radio signals to trigger unlocking. There is a receiver in the vehicle that gives the command to unlock. However, thieves are using this technology more and more often by stealing the signal from the transponder extend. But there are tricks that make life more difficult for car thieves. For example, the key could be shielded with aluminum foil. If your car is stolen anyway, report the loss rinse of car insurance. The partially comprehensive insurance covers the damage incurred.

Keyless Go

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1. Keyless Go, how it works!
2. Is it possible to retrofit with Keyless Go?
3. Is the keyless go system secure?
4. How do thieves work?
5. How are automakers solving the problem?
6. Other solutions than switching off keyless go.
7. Keyless-Go, the pros and cons!
8. Can I protect my key?
9. Additional safeguards keep thieves away.
10. Which insurance pays for the damage?
11. What to do if the vehicle is stolen?
12. Motorcycles also have keyless go!

Keyless Go, how it works!

Keyless Go is convenient first and foremost. No conventional car key is required to unlock the vehicle, but a radio key, i.e. a radio signal. It is a simple radio principle: a chip is built into the door key. This chip emits coded signals. There is a suitable receiver in the car that is supposed to pick up the signals. In order for the whole thing to work, the driver has to be in a minimum proximity to the vehicle, otherwise the signal will not be strong enough. Then the car stays shut. If the minimum proximity is reached, the signal is strong enough and the receiving unit recognizes the radio signal. The vehicle will then unlock itself. For this function, the driver does not have to press a button, it happens completely automatically. In most vehicles, however, he still has to operate the door handle himself. The vehicle cannot (yet) open the door completely. At least not below the segment of luxury vehicles like a Rolls-Royce. Mercedes-Benz has the keyless go system along with SiemensVDO developed. The W220 S-Class was the first vehicle to have it installed in April 1999. Other manufacturers followed suit later and gave the system other names, such as Keyless Access, Keyless Drive, Keyless Entry, Comfort Access, Smart Entry or Smart Key. "Back to overview

Is it possible to retrofit with Keyless Go?

If the vehicle already has one Central locking system owns, keyless locking can be retrofitted. However, the system is not necessarily convincing. For this, the key must be in the ignition lock during installation and the ignition must be switched on. The steering wheel lock is unlocked during this process. According to the installation instructions, the part of the key that is also visible mustcut off" will. The rest of the beard then gets stuck in the ignition lock. The keyless go system will take over the immobilizer in the future. Since the installation is quite complicated, we recommend having the conversion carried out by a specialist. More details on retrofitting Keyless-Go can be found in our article "Things worth knowing about retrofitting Keyless Go!", on the subject of digital vehicle keys in our article "Contactless unlocking / digital vehicle key: retrofitting?" and if you simply want to retrofit an immobilizer, you should read our article "Retrofitting convenience – the central locking system in the car“Read through. "Back to overview

Is the keyless go system secure?

The keyless go system has one security breach. The opener (vehicle key) sends the signals without a break. Criminals can take advantage of that. If they pick up the radio signal, all they need is a bit of technology to lock it amplify, and then they have very easy access to the vehicle and can also start it directly. "Back to overview

How do thieves work?

The keyless locking system is used by crooks via a weak spot tricked. Most of the time, the crooks work in teams. One is at the apartment building and is trying to intercept the signal from the radio key. He does this with a special antenna that is built into a briefcase or something similar, for example. The much more modern variant is a tablet or a device that works like a router. If the first thief gets close enough to the signal from the radio key, he picks up the data and forwards it to the second thief using a radio amplifier. so can up to 400 meters be overcome with technology. The other crook has a suitable high-tech device with him and is near the vehicle. The car receives the signal and thinks the key or transponder is nearby. The vehicle is then opened. The second thief only has to get in the vehicle and drive off. The key can therefore remain untouched in its place and the vehicle is still stolen. "Back to overview

How are automakers solving the problem?

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH for short, in Zurich recognized the vulnerability as early as 2010. In the meantime, some manufacturers have reacted to the problem. With its newer models, Mercedes-Benz admits the possibility of keyless go deactivate. To do this, the button to lock must be pressed twice and Keyless-Go is off. If desired, the E-Class can also hand over the role of the digital door opener to the Smartphone. Manufacturers such as BMW and Toyota have also become active with regard to shutdown procedures. The Japanese have a procedure similar to that of Mercedes. But there are differences: With Toyota, the driver presses and hold the close button and at the same time presses the open button twice. "Back to overview

Other solutions than switching off keyless go.

With BMW, the convenient locking system can be switched off via the infotainment menu. Jaguar/Land Rover continues to give its customers the convenience of the keyless go system. The British have developed a keyless entry slide that is not so easy to crack. The technology measures how long the signal takes. So the vehicle is only unlocked when the signal is fast, i.e. the driver is nearby. If the thieves use the system to pick up and forward the signal, it will be on the road longer and the vehicle will remain locked. This means that the crooks with the Jaguar E-Pace, Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery and the Range Rover Sport (so far) have no chance. "Back to overview

Keyless-Go, the pros and cons!

Keyless Go, the advantages:

• It's extremely convenient.
• The automatic opening of the vehicle.
• No button needs to be pressed.
• The driver cannot lock himself out because the vehicle recognizes whether the key is inside or outside.

Keyless Go, the disadvantages:

• The signal can be intercepted.
• A car theft is possible in 30 seconds.
• No traces of the criminal act detectable.
•  "Back to overview

Can I protect my key?

The radio signal can be blocked. Some aluminum foil, a tin can or a special box protect your keyless go system from thieves. The radio key is shielded by the special coatings. This makes it impossible for the thieves to intercept the code. Choose one of these variants and try it out on the vehicle to see if it works. If the key is perfectly shielded, the door will also remain locked for you. However, the keyless go system is then almost pointless.

More good advice:

• Keep the key from sparking in a keysafe or key case with crytalloy foil.
• Do not keep the radio key on the front door or near windows.
• Park the vehicle in a lockable garage.
• Removing the battery from the key is effective but cumbersome.

Be alert: Be aware of people around the vehicle, especially when you park and lock it. Additionally secure the vehicle: Thieves want to work fast. The longer the work takes, the more likely they'll find an easier target. This not only applies to burglaries, but also to theft of vehicles. "Back to overview

Additional safeguards keep thieves away.

What thieves have least is time. The longer thieves have to plan for their "work", the more likely they are to abandon their plans. This applies to burglary as well as car theft. One antitheft can be retrofitted from as little as 100 euros. Possibilities are many like that fuel supply or circuit to interrupt, a steering lock or Denver boot. A good garage can provide effective advice and we also have a few suitable topics ready. "Back to overview

• Protection against theft - the manual immobilizer
• Manual and effective - the pedal lock for the vehicle!
• Secure the car with an electronic immobilizer.
• Off the mouse - the car battery switch for the car.
• Little protection for little money - the fake alarm system!
• Also for retrofitting - the alarm system for the vehicle.

Which insurance pays for the damage?

The Partial insurance compensates for the damage caused by the stolen vehicle. However, it sometimes happens that the vehicle turns up again within a month of the damage being reported to the insurance company. The insurance customer then gets his vehicle back. However, if the vehicle is so badly damaged that the repairs exceed the value of the vehicle (replacement value), the injured party receives the replacement value of an equivalent replacement vehicle minus the residual value of the existing vehicle. If the vehicle turns up later, it legally belongs to the insurance company. "Back to overview

What to do if the vehicle is stolen?

it says to act quickly, for the victim of car theft. Only if you act quickly is there a tiny chance of catching the thieves and retrieving the entire stolen vehicle.

• Step 1: File a report with the police so that they can search for the vehicle.
• Step 2: If possible, locate the vehicle using a smartphone app. Many manufacturers offer the service free of charge. If the vehicle can be located, then give the details of where it was found to the police. but NEVER you should look for the car yourself.
• Step 3: Notify the vehicle insurance company immediately.
• Car insurance requires the following documents:
  – The written notification of damage by the person concerned.
  – Proof of reporting to the police.
  – Information about the value of the car.
  – The papers of the vehicle.
  – All vehicle keys.
  – The deregistration certificate from the registration office. "Back to overview

Motorcycles also have keyless go!

The car manufacturers went ahead and a few years later the motorcycle manufacturers followed suit. Drivers of BMW, Ducati or Harley-Davidson, for example, can find out about Keyless Go be happy. It works the same for motorcycles and cars. The locking mechanism of the steering wheel lock is unlocked when the biker approaches his vehicle. Accordingly, thieves can easily extend the radio link here as well. Tip: So if you want to have fun with your machine for a long time, you make it difficult for thieves. This is very easy to do with brake disc locks as a protective measure. And of course the motorcycle is safer in the garage. And the bike's keyless key can be shielded in the same way as that of a car. Keyword: key safe. Cars are attacked by thieves like bank accounts. There are locking systems that make the car more theft-proof, like that virtual car keys. "Back to overview

Are cars becoming more theft-proof?

• Yes. The number of vehicles increases and thefts decrease. At least in relation. They have been fairly constant at around 2006 vehicles per year since 20.000. So there is anti-theft protection that really works. This is about the electronic immobilizer. The suggestion for this came in the mid-90s from the Allianz Center for Technology. This made the cost of theft too high for amateurs. Only professional thieves take on the hassle.

Are thieves now trying to steal the key to steal the car?

• The dangerous thing is that the key does not have to be stolen. The key can be where it always is, but the vehicle is still gone.

The car key is no longer safe at home?

• With Keyless-Go, wireless communication is used. This offers a danger: A thief approaches the front door, extends the radio signal and the car opens and starts. So the car key should out of reach be kept to give attackers no chance, for example not next to the front door in the hallway.

New technology equals new way of car theft?

• That's the way it is. The crooks used to break into the vehicles by force. Today, thieves have to deal with the on-board electronics. Cars are becoming more and more networked. The development goes on steadily. Now stealing a car can be likened to a virtual attack on a bank account.

The virtual key is the next step. How does the virtual key loaded onto a smartphone work?

• The owner of the vehicle can load the virtual key onto one or different mobile end devices, such as a smartwatch or a smartphone. The virtual key also opens the vehicle via a radio link.

The Advantage:

• Different drivers can be given permission to use the vehicle.
• It is operated like a conventional key.
• In everyday use, no online connection is required. "Back to overview

Of course, that wasn't the end of it!

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