PHEV driven without keys!

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Tipper

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 7, 2015
Messages
325
Location
Devon UK
On Friday last week my wife and I set out on a visit to the theatre. As she was ready to leave before me my wife took the keys and went out to the car, unplugged the charging cable and settled herself in the passenger seat. I joined her and I drove to the theatre. When we arrived at the theatre it was raining hard so I dropped my wife off near the entrance and I then drove 400m or so to where I could park the car. I got out of the car and immediately realised that I had no key to lock the car...it was in my wife's handbag! I had driven the car with no key at all!

After walking back and forth to get the key and getting soaking wet in the process ( :cry: ), I found that the car appeared to have locked itself so I unlocked it then re-locked it again just to be sure. I presume the car's logic told it that the car had been switched off and left with no key so it locked for security.

Clever car! :lol:
 
It kind of has to be like this, imagine the key transponder failed whilst you were in the middle of an overtake and the engine just switched off! it could be tragic.

So if the key is not detected it lets you finish the drive.

I am surprised you didn't get beeps and 'key not present' warnings though..
 
It will normally give warning beeps when walking away with the key and the car activated, but those can easily be missed amidst the Seatbelt not Locked, Door Open, Walking Past the Parking Sensor and other beeps it emits.
 
No beeps at all, I just paused to let my wife out of the car and drove on.

We've also found that if you leave one key in the car and try to lock it it beeps like mad and won't let you. Logical I know but really annoying if the second key is hidden in luggage to act as a spare or being taken somewhere. Not sure how you secure the car using a key safe attached to the outside of the car like surfers do?
 
It will do so if you use the button on the door to try and lock it. If you use the key fob itself it will lock obediently.
 
On an older car with the same "as long as key is nearby" technology, one time the car dropped off a passenger who had the key in their pocket and the car was able to drive 20 miles to its destination. It was then stranded because they didn't have the key to start it.
Another time we drove across town with the keys on the roof.
It's a double-edged sword, this sort of thing...
 
Tipper said:
On Friday last week my wife and I set out on a visit to the theatre. As she was ready to leave before me my wife took the keys and went out to the car, unplugged the charging cable and settled herself in the passenger seat. I joined her and I drove to the theatre. When we arrived at the theatre it was raining hard so I dropped my wife off near the entrance and I then drove 400m or so to where I could park the car. I got out of the car and immediately realised that I had no key to lock the car...it was in my wife's handbag! I had driven the car with no key at all!

After walking back and forth to get the key and getting soaking wet in the process ( :cry: ), I found that the car appeared to have locked itself so I unlocked it then re-locked it again just to be sure. I presume the car's logic told it that the car had been switched off and left with no key so it locked for security.

Clever car! :lol:


Good job she had them in the handbag and not left them at home then!!
 
Mitssupplier said:
Tipper said:
On Friday last week my wife and I set out on a visit to the theatre. As she was ready to leave before me my wife took the keys and went out to the car, unplugged the charging cable and settled herself in the passenger seat. I joined her and I drove to the theatre. When we arrived at the theatre it was raining hard so I dropped my wife off near the entrance and I then drove 400m or so to where I could park the car. I got out of the car and immediately realised that I had no key to lock the car...it was in my wife's handbag! I had driven the car with no key at all!

After walking back and forth to get the key and getting soaking wet in the process ( :cry: ), I found that the car appeared to have locked itself so I unlocked it then re-locked it again just to be sure. I presume the car's logic told it that the car had been switched off and left with no key so it locked for security.

Clever car! :lol:


Good job she had them in the handbag and not left them at home then!!

How could that be, I don't think that's possible at all...she hadn't started the car so the keys would need to be in the car before the car was started and the journey began.
 
Bumping this as I have a related question.

I windsurf, and I carry my car key in a "waterproof" Aquapack (experience suggest they may leak a bit !) inside my wetsuit.

I tried various ways of securing the car without taking the complete fob with me, due to risk of water incursion, and came up with the following:
- remove the metal key from the fob, and leave the fob in the car
- lock the doors using the button on the inside of the driver's door
- lock the driver's door using the metal key
- go play
- unlock driver's door using metal key

Any comments on this ?
Car doors are locked by this process but car may not be fully security armed ?
Would it be possible, if entry was forced, to drive away as the fob is still in the car ?

It would sometimes be possible to leave the fob away from the car but not on my person - but this would also only be a manual lock level of security.
 
@ps44

A smart workaround solution

But very risky indeed ... if some bad guy know your habit, he will have a mega easy way to take away your car

Better to buy a proper water proof container for your key
 
If the key is in the car anybody will be able to start it and drive off once entry is gained. They will even be able to switch off the alarm when they find the fob.
It would be a better scheme to look at waterproofing the key further. What about sealing it into a small ziplock plastic bag before putting it into drybag?
 
Surely the best way would be to lock the car with the fob button, ie not the door button, then place the fob complete in a 'lock box' locked onto a tow ring on the car? This way the fob/key can neither get lost nor wet.

http://www.surflock.com.au/

An Aussie version but there are many others I'm sure (I'm not in Oz but this was the first one I found on Google! :lol: )
 
Thanks for the replies, which confirm my view of the risk. I've made many efforts at complete key waterproofing, incl triple bagging, without 100% success.

Yes I'm heading towards a key lock box - haven't needed to do this in the past as I've always had a minimal function electronic key as part of the set, but this is my first experience with a keyless system.

As mentioned above though, wouldn't the proximity of a fob in a lock box enable engine start after forced entry ? Maybe the Faraday cage effect would prevent the key being visible. Better test that out.
 
It should be fine; the key chip detection is rather sensitive. If neccessary (but rather unlikely) you could even add a lining of foil or thin lead sheet. The only other solution I can think of is to seal the key into polyethylene permanently. You could use the spare key for this.
 
Yes, I just started thinking about more permanent sealing. Not practical previously as I needed to insert the key to open the door, but I don't need to now. I understand condoms is one solution :lol:
 
An fyi on this one. I went with a Bulldog Surf Lock which got well rated. It's very strongly built, and loops nicely round the tow bar shaft. It would take some serious intervention to get at it. Also completely screens the key from the car despite the proximity. Just need some slightly warmer weather now !
 
When kayaking I currently put the PHEV key (full) and my mobile phone in a waterproof pouch like this http://aquasatch.com.au/. I used to use a "lock & lock" box (clips on 4 sides) for the key and phone which was fantastic and neatly fit into my lifejacket, however I recently updated my mobile and can't find a lock & lock that fits the phone while still being reasonable sized. I also have panadol, bandage etc in there. I have also previously used the waterproof pouch for the PHEV key (full) at a waterpark (next door to Dreamworld which I gather sadly would have been world news recently)
 
I've learnt to my cost that aquapack type enclosures are not always waterproof when worn under a wetsuit for windsurfing. Must be something to do with level/type of exertion and dunking. Maybe I should stay on the board more !
 
ps44 said:
I've learnt to my cost that aquapack type enclosures are not always waterproof when worn under a wetsuit for windsurfing. Must be something to do with level/type of exertion and dunking. Maybe I should stay on the board more !

All my windsurfing was done >10 years ago so my memory may have faded, however the abuse my aquapack type enclosure got in my boardshorts at https://www.dreamworld.com.au/whitewater-world from all the slides (except wedgie) from 5 days of slides must be similar to coming off a windsurfer at high speed? I think there would be vastly different quality products out there, and you do have to be careful that nothing is obstructing the squeeze closure bit. I put the key in and then a tissue so if any water got in the tissue would soak it up, however I soon became complacent as the tissue was always dry.
I had to replace the battery in my iMiEV key recently and noticed there is a red "seal" around the flip off section. Does anyone know if the silver buttons are somehow also made "splashproof" as there would be little point in the back seal otherwise?
 
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