As of: February 20, 2024, 7:15 a.m
By: Lisa Klein
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More and more cars are equipped with Keyless Go.
Drivers can open and start their car without using the key.
But the system is also popular with thieves.
A trick secures the vehicle.
Cars are becoming more and more modern - and the keys can also do more and more.
Many vehicles already have an invention that is no longer entirely new: a keyless go system.
The car recognizes the key when the driver is in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle and unlocks the door, explains the “ADAC”.
The driver doesn't even have to take the key out of his pocket.
The engine can also be started at the push of a button without having to insert the key into the ignition lock.
But the system has its pitfalls - because cars with a keyless go system are “significantly easier to steal than vehicles with a normal radio key,” writes the “ADAC”.
Drivers can protect themselves from thieves with a simple trick.
Security gap in Keyless-Go: Modern keys open the door to thieves
But what is the problem?
“There is a widespread security gap,” explains the “ADAC”.
Car thieves can steal vehicles with a keyless go system much more easily.
To do this, the thieves “only have to be near the car key with a small device – even if it is not in the immediate vicinity of the car – and with a second device on the car door.”
This extends the range of the signals “by hundreds of meters,” writes the “ADAC.”
This makes it easy for thieves to open and start the car illegally.
The automobile club has tested over 600 vehicles with keyless go systems - according to its own information, “almost all vehicles could be opened without any problems” and driving away also worked.
This only didn't work in around eight percent of the cars checked.
So anyone who has a car with a keyless go system is very likely to be affected by the security gap.
And now the key trick with which the vehicle can be extra secured.
Protect your car from thieves: deactivate the keyless go system with a simple key trick
The security gap cannot simply be closed.
So there is actually only one solution: turn off the keyless go system.
Vehicle owners can find out whether this is possible in the operating instructions.
“Then the car can usually not be cracked using the method mentioned above.
But then you forego the keyless convenience,” explains the “ADAC”.
This is where the key comes into play.
In some cars, the Keyless Go system can be switched off simply using the vehicle key.
As “chip.de” explains, in Mercedes, for example, it is enough to press the close button on the key twice in a row, i.e. with a “double click,” to deactivate the keyless system.
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According to “chip.de”, Toyota and Mazda also have similar functions to switch off the system.
However, there is no overarching standard for all vehicle manufacturers and models with which keyless go can be switched off.
Key trick for drivers: This is how the vehicle can be protected from thieves
Drivers can easily find out whether the key trick works: When locking the vehicle, simply double-click the lock button.
Drivers should then put the key in a pocket and try to open the car as usual without pressing the key again.
If the key is near the vehicle but the car remains locked, the key trick has worked and Keyless-Go is switched off.
If that doesn't work, according to "chip.de" it is also possible for a workshop to switch off the Keyless Go system in many vehicles - but this will permanently end the convenience.
With the key trick, however, the system can be reactivated at any time - usually with a simple click on a popular key button.
The double-click usually has to be used again and again when closing.
By the way, if you find yourself standing in front of your car with an empty key battery, you can still start the vehicle with a simple trick.
There is a secret function in the car key that many people don't know about.
Key trick doesn't work: What can drivers do?
The “ADAC” demands that manufacturers ensure that their keyless systems become more secure and that vehicles are better protected from thieves.
There is another problem associated with the theft trick: the “convenient opening” means there are no signs of break-in - this makes it difficult to catch the thief and also make a claim with the insurance company.
The “ADAC” advises everyone for whom the key trick does not work and the Keyless Go system cannot be removed: If possible, park the vehicle in a locked garage overnight and do not place the radio keys inside buildings near external doors , exterior walls and windows.
Placing the key in a metal box can also work, this will interrupt the radio.
By the way: Modern car keys can do a lot - sometimes more than many people know.
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