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What about your license plates? With the license plate number it is relatively easy to get your VIN. So I'm not sure you are accomplishing much doing that.
There are good electronic keys and there are bad electronic keys.
The good ones... There are no codes. The factory has to send out a replacement key that they code to a particular VIN, and they will only send that key to the dealership. The dealership, in turn, will only request a key be made if you have a valid registration for that car and can prove proof of ownership (driver's license, etc.)
My Mercedes is like this. You can't clone a key, no one else can go to a dealership and ask the factory to code a key unless they also have my DL and the title as proof of ownership, and if you do go buy a "blank" uncoded key, the dealership can't code it to your car, only the factory can.
Pretty much foolproof, which is why you don't see Mercedes ever on the list of most stolen cars. High end manufacturers all do stuff like this, it's the lower tier brands that don't bother with this level of security that are putting their customers at risk.
That's whats got me a little confused. I had a crappy little 96 Intrepid and I needed new keys since I somehow lost the originals. I had to provide the VIN, license plate number, title receipt, my drivers license, and a copy of my court ordered name change (since the name on the title was my old name) just for them to even start the key making process. Car was a royal hunk of junk and I wasn't expecting all that just to get a couple keys made, but i felt better knowing they went through all those steps prior instead of just making keys for whoever walks in and claims the car is theirs.
And the keys I had weren't even electronic. Little turn key, simple.
Aren't there only like 300 key combinations for the doors for each manufacturer?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Labonte18
The ignition has far more combinations, but for the doors and trunk, it's not unheard of for someone to have the same key. You'll often hear about that at Christmastime.. someone puts the presents in the wrong car because their key opened the trunk.
The door lock was never intended to make a vault out of a car.
Car makers and the insurers are concerned about theft of the vehicle, and not so much on the contents.
That said, locks for many cars have improved greatly, increasing the number of permutations ( possible keys ) as well as dramatically tightening up of tolerances. I believe they are on the right track. Some handles fail if one punches at the lock, so those components could be improved.
A Toyota Camry, 2015 has a potential 1048576 different keys. Key interchange is unlikely. Older 1970s-1980s Toyota models sported only 4096 total potential keys, and much looser tolerances.
I agree somewhat with the reports linked to, though they are presenting a situation where they may have access to a token, or can successfully intercept communication by other means. At present, these would be considered low-incidence, high loss possibilities, and further study with vehicles one does not have prior access to would be necessary. As time goes by, devices to reset immo devices have hit the streets, and this is a direct result of pushbutton-start ignitions that do not have a unique key element.
There are NUMEROUS unintended consequences beyond hacking that has predictably occurred, due to there being no need to insert a key into a lock, or at minimal, insert fob into a slot.
There are good electronic keys and there are bad electronic keys.
The good ones... There are no codes. The factory has to send out a replacement key that they code to a particular VIN, and they will only send that key to the dealership. The dealership, in turn, will only request a key be made if you have a valid registration for that car and can prove proof of ownership (driver's license, etc.)
My Mercedes is like this. You can't clone a key, no one else can go to a dealership and ask the factory to code a key unless they also have my DL and the title as proof of ownership, and if you do go buy a "blank" uncoded key, the dealership can't code it to your car, only the factory can.
Pretty much foolproof, which is why you don't see Mercedes ever on the list of most stolen cars. High end manufacturers all do stuff like this, it's the lower tier brands that don't bother with this level of security that are putting their customers at risk.
Aftermarket blank keys can be programmed into Mercedes, just not by the dealer. This is a response to the demand of car owners to be able to get keys when they need them, not the following week. Imagine being on a trip, losing your keys and towing it to the dealer on a holiday weekend.... to have dealer order the keys the following Tuesday, then you get car back...maybe....Friday.
The problem is such that California Locksmiths get direct cooperation from BMW, so at least in that one state, keys can be completed within 24 hours ( Though without BMW this can be done by advanced techniques by locksmiths, even if dealer says "all the keys for that car have already been purchased, you need a new immobilizer system, etc $$$$ etc $$$
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Car door and trunk security
