Warning on vehicle FOB hack

[ATCclears]

» Thieves Are Using ?Mystery Gadgets? To Electronically Unlock Cars And Steal What Is Inside Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!

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[Dunerunner]

Makes me want to go back to the good old days when they just broke a window....

 

[deadeye]

Last article I read said to not use the fob to lock the door but instead use the switch on the door. Supposedly the fob signal can be scanned when you lock it and they just send the same frequency/code to unlock it.

 

[Redcap]

Last article I read said to not use the fob to lock the door but instead use the switch on the door. Supposedly the fob signal can be scanned when you lock it and they just send the same frequency/code to unlock it.

True. You can also freq/code jackhammer the car to unlock as well.

 

[parallax]

well with any luck someone will steal my truck, so the insurance company can buy me a brand new one that isn't all worn out like my current one.

 

[parallax]

Makes me want to go back to the good old days when they just broke a window....

Not that I would, but s.h.t.f. apacolypse,, my master key is a 2 pound rock...

 

[U201491]

Think I will go back to the OLD stuff.

 

[3MTA3]

» Thieves Are Using ?Mystery Gadgets? To Electronically Unlock Cars And Steal What Is Inside Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!

Cool - maybe they will steal all the fast food bags and pop cans my wife chucks in the rear seat of her car. I'll leave money back there for them if it helps.

 

[The Heretic]

Last article I read said to not use the fob to lock the door but instead use the switch on the door. Supposedly the fob signal can be scanned when you lock it and they just send the same frequency/code to unlock it.

Most fobs/cars rotate the code with each transmission, so reusing the same exact code won't work.

I don't know how they are unlocking the cars, but it isn't simple.

I also read that they aren't stealing the cars so they don't have the codes/etc. to unlock the ignition.

Almost always there is nothing in my car to steal that would be of any real value.

A pair of sunglasses, a water bottle, some emergency supplies in the trunk.

 

[3MTA3]

And that's why we need secret compartments in our vehicles

 

[Mark W.]

The electronic devices don't unlock the doors they jam the Fobs signal keeping it from ever locking the door. Much much simpler to do. The bad guy watches as you get out of the car and when you turn back to lock it via the fob they push the simple transmitter in their hand which sends out a jamming signal. You think your car is locked you walk in the store etc. they walk over and open the door and take your goodies.

Saw something on TV weeks ago on this.

 

[The Heretic]

The electronic devices don't unlock the doors they jam the Fobs signal keeping it from ever locking the door. Much much simpler to do. The bad guy watches as you get out of the car and when you turn back to lock it via the fob they push the simple transmitter in their hand which sends out a jamming signal. You think your car is locked you walk in the store etc. they walk over and open the door and take your goodies.

Saw something on TV weeks ago on this.

If this is true then it would not work on my car because I always listen for the click my doors give off when I lock it, and I sometimes look to make sure I locked it.

 

[Redcap]

Manual door locks (and everything else!) for the win.

 

[mosinguy1]

It drives my wife nuts but I hit the button more then once and check the doors!!!!!!!!

 

[Mark W.]

If this is true then it would not work on my car because I always listen for the click my doors give off when I lock it, and I sometimes look to make sure I locked it.

It would work on your car it just wouldn't work with the procedure you follow.

 

[clearconscience]

Thats why you should hit it a couple times and wait for the annoying honk.

I just had a customer that had govt contracts on his laptop and his car was broken into and all of it stolen. He had a brand new caddy SUV. And apparently on the new GMs, Fords larger trucks, etc that have plastic handles you can just punch the plastic lock in and open the door.
$60k truck you can break into with a screw driver. We watched the video and it took a few seconds.

 

[The Heretic]

Thats why you should hit it a couple times and wait for the annoying honk.

My car doesn't honk, it just flashes the lights. I had the dealer program it that way - I hate the honks. I hear the clicks which are loud (I am half deaf and I can hear them 30 to 40 feet away) and the parking light pattern is different for unlock vs. lock; two flashes vs. one and when I unlock the interior lights come on, when I lock the interior lights go out.

I've never had this car broken into, but then I usually don't leave anything visible to tempt anyone. I've had other cars broken into that had manual locks - they break windows, etc.

Also, there is a "clown's nose" on the rearview mirror that flashes randomly to signal that the alarm is on - but there is no alarm, but the only way to know that is to break in - the light comes on when I lock the car using the fob - the car comes setup to accept an alarm, but you can program it to act like there is one even though none is installed. That seems to be enough to deter thieves.

IMO alarms are worthless; nobody pays attention to them.

 

[Redcap]

My car doesn't honk, it just flashes the lights. I had the dealer program it that way - I hate the honks. I hear the clicks which are loud (I am half deaf and I can hear them 30 to 40 feet away) and the parking light pattern is different for unlock vs. lock; two flashes vs. one and when I unlock the interior lights come on, when I lock the interior lights go out.

I've never had this car broken into, but then I usually don't leave anything visible to tempt anyone. I've had other cars broken into that had manual locks - they break windows, etc.

Also, there is a "clown's nose" on the rearview mirror that flashes randomly to signal that the alarm is on - but there is no alarm, but the only way to know that is to break in - the light comes on when I lock the car using the fob - the car comes setup to accept an alarm, but you can program it to act like there is one even though none is installed. That seems to be enough to deter thieves.

IMO alarms are worthless; nobody pays attention to them.

Very true.

 

[U201491]

In what year did computers in cars first become widely used ?

 

[The Heretic]

It depends on the car.

IMO the Germans were some of the early users of electronics in fuel injection, but in the 70s the US manufacturers had to go to electronics to meet emissions. Since then the electronics increasingly had more and more programmable ICs.

I don't think electronics in cars are bad in and of themselves - they are necessary to sold a lot of problems, especially with emissions and fuel economy. But the implementations are coupled in such a way that there are a lot of side effects when something fails. They are getting better about it, but it is getting harder and harder for the owner to diagnose and fix their own vehicles without a lot of specialized equipment and knowledge for each brand (or even model).

The old basics of compression, fuel and ignition are not enough anymore. You have to know all the different electronics systems, know how to diagnose them with special equipment, and then it isn't a matter of repairing the electronics, it is a matter of remove and replace.

I had the Ford shop in Dallas take weeks to fix a problem with a Bronco II I had and they still didn't get it right. Once a year I had to take that Bronco into the shop and get some $500 e-module replaced because it failed.

My Bimmer on the other hand has been very reliable, but now it has almost 100K on it and I am thinking it is time to get a new vehicle before things start failing. I also need AWD - a RWD low slung BMW coupe is not the best car for driving on a bumpy mountain dirt/gravel/muddy road for two miles to get to the paved road, especially when it snows or is icy like it was yesterday.