Are you using your keyless car correctly?

Keyless cars have been around a while, but there’s still a few tips and tricks to learn. But first, what is keyless?

Normal cars require you press a button which unlocks the vehicle, or if they’re really old, actually insert a bit of metal into a keyhole to unlock.

Once inside you press a button to start the car, and as long as the keyfob is somewhere in range you’re good to go.  The button will always be in easy reach of the driver but could be on the left or right. 

Then drive as normal, and when you’re at your destination hop out and close the door.  There’s still no need to remove the fob from your pocket – just touch the handle in the right place and the car locks. 

The lock button on the fob works, but isn’t necessary in modern systems.  There are however a few slightly older systems that don’t use metal keys but require the keyfob to be placed in a special dock for the car to start, and don’t work on proximity.

And that’s it! Simple and easy to use once you know those tricks, which to be fair are written in the owners’ manual but that’s not for people other than myself to read.

FAQs

Can’t I lock the key in the car?

The systems within the car are sensitive enough to know where the key is, so it is able to distinguish when the key is inside, outside, by the drivers’ door or anywhere in range.  So, knowing where the key is means that, in theory, you should not be able to lock the key into the car and if you do, then it’ll be in range so when you try and open the car it’ll work.

Can someone drive off with the car after it’s started?

Yes, you can start the car, throw the keyfob out the window and drive off. The car will let you do that but will recognise it’s lost its fob and complain long and loud, so you can’t do it by mistake.  The engine will never stop, but once stopped it cannot be restarted.

How do I know it’s locked?

You pull the handle and it opens…oh dear. You could walk away, drop the keyfob and return. Or if your car flashes its indicators or folds mirrors in you could take that a confirmation. Or try pulling on the handle in such a way you don’t activate the sensor.

What if the car doesn’t sense my hand?

Might happen in rain for example. Just fish out the keyfob and use that as you would a conventional remote.

What cars are keyless?

Just about all cars are now, although many only keyless in the higher-end trim specs.

Can my car be hacked?

We’ve covered that in detail here.

What’s a 2-Point Entry ?

These days, even if we don’t use it, we’re fairly familiar with the idea of having one click on a key fob only unlocking the drivers’ door and then needing a second click to open the rest of the doors. How does this work when you have keyless entry? When you go to open the car door, 2-point entry knows exactly where the key is and which door is trying to be opened. Armed with this information, it can make a decision:

• If the person with the key is opening the drivers’ door, it will just unlock the drivers’ door, even if someone is also trying to open a passenger door.
• If the person with the key is opening any door other than the drivers’ door, it will unlock all the doors at once.

…but remember, you need to have the 2 Point Entry enabled in the first place for this to work.  Not all cars have this feature.

What if the keyfob battery fails or doesn’t work?