Car Key Fobs

GeekyChick

I thought there might be a techie on this forum who could answer a question for me about key fobs. Does anyone know how far a car (2012 Lexus) could go without having the key in the car? I know it must be in the car to start it. We lost a key and can't figure out what happened to it. We are afraid we may have started the car at a different location and dropped the key there. Don't ask how we might have done that. I know the car would beep but, believe me, my husband doesn't notice a thing.

dhay13

Can't say for sure but we have a 2017 Subaru with the keyless fob and I have walked about 50' away with the key in my pocket and it kept running. It was beeping to let me know something was wrong but it didn't shut off.

Will the car start without the spare fob? If it does then the original may be in the car somewhere? We have only had ours for about 2 months so not a bunch of experience with it but I do know that the door locks and remote start won't work more than about 20' away so I doubt the car would start with the fob further than 20' away?

GeekyChick

We tested it and it would let us drive around the block without the key. We didn't try to go any further. His work is about 30 minutes away. He doesn't pay much attention so I don't know if he would even notice it blinking on the dash if the key wasn't in the car. All in all, I think car technology is so fascinating anyway. I wouldn't even mind just talking about what new cars can do or even hardening your car. If anyone has suggestions I would love to hear them. TIA

Iristheangel

They usually let you start it and continue driving without the fob but if it's not within a certain distance, you might not be able to re-start the car

GSXR750K2

I had a 2007 Corvette Z06 a while back and noticed I could start it to warm the engine and walk all the way to the other side of my property and it wouldn't shut off. I shrugged it off to a safety feature that would prevent the car from shutting off while driving down the road in the event the fob's battery died or the fob became otherwise unusable (spilled drink, etc.) and would no longer be recognized as being "in" the car.

I only received one fob when I bought it from the dealer (previous owner didn't turn both in), so I went through the owner manual steps to clear all fobs and only program the two I had (I bought a spare). That gave me a peace of mind that there wasn't an active fob floating around out there in the possession of someone who may have had ill intent.

GeekyChick

GSXR750K2 wrote: »

I had a 2007 Corvette Z06 a while back and noticed I could start it to warm the engine and walk all the way to the other side of my property and it wouldn't shut off. I shrugged it off to a safety feature that would prevent the car from shutting off while driving down the road in the event the fob's battery died or the fob became otherwise unusable (spilled drink, etc.) and would no longer be recognized as being "in" the car.

I only received one fob when I bought it from the dealer (previous owner didn't turn both in), so I went through the owner manual steps to clear all fobs and only program the two I had (I bought a spare). That gave me a peace of mind that there wasn't an active fob floating around out there in the possession of someone who may have had ill intent.

That's a great idea about clearing and reprogramming the keys. My concern was the key was lost at his work and someone picked it up. You know where I'm going with that.

@Iristheangel - It's a good thing we had an extra key.

thomas_

I read a story some where online(maybe here?) where someone was shopping in a store and their key fob was powerful enough for a criminal to start the car while they were still shopping and drive off with it. I think it might have been one of those cars if you touch the driver's side door with the key fob and it automatically opens. They come out of the store, realize what happen, and then log into an app and are able to remotely shut down the car. The police found it abandoned in the middle of the street a few minutes later.

Priston

"remotely shut down the car" Just wait till hackers, terrorist, and/or the government gets access to your car.

GeekyChick

Priston wrote: »

"remotely shut down the car" Just wait till hackers, terrorist, and/or the government gets access to your car.

Seriously! I do worry what someone could do to the new cars. Some new cars have apps that you login to check on your car, like @thomas_ mentioned. Mine does and I didn't set it up, too scary.

Iristheangel

thomas_ wrote: »

I read a story some where online(maybe here?) where someone was shopping in a store and their key fob was powerful enough for a criminal to start the car while they were still shopping and drive off with it. I think it might have been one of those cars if you touch the driver's side door with the key fob and it automatically opens. They come out of the store, realize what happen, and then log into an app and are able to remotely shut down the car. The police found it abandoned in the middle of the street a few minutes later.

Hahahaha. Yep That was me. Christmas Eve over a year ago. I happened to be parked on the roof of the store and I think that I was either underneath the car or something and the proximity still allowed them to unlock it. Thankfully, the phone app let me turn it off and set off the alarm remotely. Whoever stole the car rummaged through it and didn't know what the Cisco boxes were so they left them in there. Probably could have taken off with over $10K of gear if they had been smarter.

DPG

GSXR750K2 wrote: »

I had a 2007 Corvette Z06

An automatic Z06?

GSXR750K2

DPG wrote: »

An automatic Z06?

BLASPHEMY!! Luckily, they were all manual "way back then". It may be considered neanderthalic to some, but there's something satisfying about shifting through the gears. Now, on a track, I'll take F1 paddles for the lap times.

GeekyChick

@iristheangel, good thing you saw it so quickly. Your car and all the equipment could have been gone for good. It's kind of concerning that you could shut the car off with the app. What could stop someone from logging into your account and doing it to you? I haven't setup my car with the app yet. I just don't know about the safety. What do you think?

Iristheangel

It doesn't just hit the breaks. It just slows it down and then makes it come to a slow stop. Not really dangerous but can be annoying if someone did hack it.

As far as the risk of someone logging into my account, sure. There's always a risk. But that doesn't stop any of us from making purchases online, checking our credit report online, logging into our medical providers, doing banking online, etc etc. With all things, there are risks. I try to make sure I keep 2-factor authentication on everything and hope that no one gets REALLY determined to crack those controls we put in place.

TechGromit

We have a KIA Sorento, and if the key is not inside the car, it will not start. Once started you can get out of the car and walk away with the key, but once you get 1 foot away from the car it will have a loud beep that can be heard inside and car and out. The car will run until you shut it off and not restart, you lock the car doors from the inside, but when you unlock them again without the key, the car alarm will go off.

GeekyChick

It turns out my husband found the key. We don't need to spend $ to buy a replacement or worry where it went to. Yay!

@iristheangel - Thanks. I will probably setup my new car with the app.