VehicleĬredit: Thatcham Research How to prevent keyless car theft It’s fair to say a number of manufacturers may have beefed up their security since then, but these results show that some systems can be better at resisting keyless theft than others. First (and this may not be surprising), in order to be vulnerable to this type of theft, a car must have keyless entry – remote central locking is not vulnerable to the same hacking techniques.Ī study by Thatcham Research in 2020 assessed how resilient a number of cars were to keyless theft, and awarded Poor, Basic and Superior ratings them. It’s fair to say that some models of car are more susceptible to keyless theft than others. Which cars are most likely to be stolen by keyless car theft? One of the thieves will walk around the external walls of your house with the amplifier, hoping to detect the signal emitted by the keyless key.Īn accomplice will stand by the car, and when their receiver picks up and replicates the amplified signal from the key, the car will be fooled into thinking the legitimate owner is there, allowing the vehicle to be unlocked and driven away. The relay amplifier is used to pick up the signal transmitted by your key. They will usually target a house with a desirable car on the driveway, and their equipment will help them determine if the car is one with keyless entry. Keyless theft (otherwise known as relay theft) is relatively simple all it requires is two small boxes of electronics, which thieves can use to open your car in as little as 60 seconds.Ĭrooks will typically work in pairs to commit relay theft, with one holding a relay amplifier, and the other a relay transmitter. Some will unlock the doors, but still require you to insert a physical key into the ignition in order to start the engine. It’s worth noting that not all keyless systems will both open and start the car. If the car doesn’t recognise the signal as being correct, or there is no signal, you can pull the door handle as much as you want but the car won’t open. If your car recognises the signal as the correct one you’ll be able to unlock it by opening the door as normal, or pressing a small button on it before opening the door, after which you can hop in the car and start it.
These systems work using short-range radio waves, with the key in your pocket or bag transmitting a signal that’s picked up by a receiver in your car. What is a keyless car?Ī keyless-entry system allows you to get into and start your car without ever having to fumble in your pocket for a key. So what is keyless car theft, and what can you do to prevent it? Well, the good news is it’s not very difficult or expensive to provide some extra protection for your pride and joy. More than 101,000 cars were stolen in 2021, with many of these cases being attributed to keyless thefts.
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But while immobilisers and alarms have made life much harder for crooks over the years, some keyless entry systems provide a weakness in modern cars, which thieves like to take full advantage of.
You’d like to think that car theft was a thing of the past in this day and age. If you’ve ever wondered why a £100,000 Range Rover has an aftermarket steering lock fitted, it’s probably to prevent keyless car theft.
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