Thieves hacking the keyless entry system

[Chief inspector]

Im not sure how Volvo's works, but on the Fiat 500's it wont start unless the key is inside the car, you can unlock the door but it wont start, it will say 'key not present'.

No doubt there is a hack for that too though.

[PToK72]

I'm new to the forum. Having recently test driven a new XC60 R-Design Pro, I am waiting to VT my existing car early 2018 to get back into a Volvo.

I did a lot of reading into this recently as was originally looking at BMW 3 Series Touring and these seem to be among those cars which are regularly targeted.

My understanding of this is they boost the key signal to get into the car then plug a device into the ODB port which can create a new key within 15-30 seconds. This allows them to drive away as though they have your key without having to gain access to your property.

This may not work the same in Volvos (at least I hope not) but it is becoming common in other premium brands.

When I am home this evening I will post the link to some recent news stories.

[AB-UK]

Originally Posted by PToK72

.... then plug a device into the ODB port which can create a new key within 15-30 seconds.

Makes you wonder why it costs costs several hundreds of pounds from a dealer to reprogram a replacement key.

[PToK72]

Below is one of many articles on this matter. I did not hear about this myself until reading on a BMW Forum recently when looking to buy a 335d Touring.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38225274

This is clearly not a new thing as this particular article dates back to 2016. I had heard before of the signal jamming and stuff to get into your car but the thought of them then being able to code a key is quite concerning.

Maybe it is not such a big thing with Volvo, can't understand why as many of them are just as desirable as high end BMWs and the like.

[familymangreg]

Originally Posted by PToK72

Below is one of many articles on this matter. I did not hear about this myself until reading on a BMW Forum recently when looking to buy a 335d Touring.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38225274

This is clearly not a new thing as this particular article dates back to 2016. I had heard before of the signal jamming and stuff to get into your car but the thought of them then being able to code a key is quite concerning.

Maybe it is not such a big thing with Volvo, can't understand why as many of them are just as desirable as high end BMWs and the like.

They are just as desirable to us, but maybe not to those who are in the market for a stolen vehicle.

:wq

[gaby]

Originally Posted by PToK72

Below is one of many articles on this matter. I did not hear about this myself until reading on a BMW Forum recently when looking to buy a 335d Touring.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38225274

This is clearly not a new thing as this particular article dates back to 2016. I had heard before of the signal jamming and stuff to get into your car but the thought of them then being able to code a key is quite concerning.

No, it is not a new thing and iIt's the reason I didn't want keyless entry.

[nu11eaf]

I would not get paranoid over this, the chances of it ever happening is very remote and at the end of the day its only a car. If it did happen to me, I would then go and buy an Audi Q7 and have a nice quiet car to drive.

[Bicax]

Originally Posted by gaby

... iIt's the reason I didn't want keyless entry.

Why?

They don't need keyless entry to enter your car, and they certainly don't need your key to plug in to the OBD port and drive away.

Guys, the best protection against theft is a good insurance, and using common sense.

Not getting keyless entry will not make a difference, if your car is targeted it will be stolen.

[id5]

Originally Posted by Bicax

...
Not getting keyless entry will not make a difference, if your car is targeted it will be stolen.

I do not agree. If there were two identical cars, one with and one without keyless entry then the thief would steal the one with keyless entry because it is quicker and the alarm would also not go off. Why would they want to draw attention to themselves by stealing one where the alarm would go off.

[Bicax]

There are ways to open a car without triggering the alarm that don’t involve copying the keyless system. On some cars not that long ago it was even possible to break a window in a way that wouldn’t trigger the alarm (not sure if that’s still possible).

And even if the alarm triggers, it takes them less than a minute to hack the car through the OBD port. A couple of years back there was a video circulating of a BMW being stolen on someone’s driveway without the person being able to react. And they did break the car’s window and set off the alarm, with a camera and light pointing at them, and 2m away from the front door.

I hear your point about one car being more discreet to steal than another, and therefore being a more appealing target. But unless you have a friend with a similar car with keyless entry that follows you around everywhere, I’m not sure that’s going to be much of a deterrent in most situations.

We are driving around in very expensive cars. Having keyless won’t make you less of a target.

I really do believe that by doing that you are only passing on extra convenience, and the impact on the probability that your car is stolen is minimal.

Edit: just to add an example. A colleague of mine bought a brand new X6 a few years back. No keyless entry. Took it to the south of France a couple of months after he bought it, went to a restaurant in a little village 100km north of Marseille. After dinner the car was gone without anyone noticing it. They found it totally burnt a few days after that. Thankfully the insurance repaid the full value.