Keyless cars: these are the models that can be stolen in just 10 seconds

How does the keyless system start a car?

Some of the newest and most popular vehicle models run the risk of being stolen in seconds due to failures of their lock programs.

The systems allow drivers to open and start their car without taking the key out of their pocket.

British magazine
Which car? He tested seven different models of cars equipped with keyless entry and keyless entry systems.

To unlock a DS 3 Crossback and an Audi TT RS, it only took 10 seconds, while a Land Rover Sport Discovery TD4 180 HSE took half a minute.

On the other hand, it took them 60 seconds to open a BMW X3 xDrive 20i M Sport (2018) and a Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost 140 ST-Line X, although in both cases they needed an active "smart key" .

Security experts conducted the tests using the same specialized technology used by the criminals and measured the time taken to get in a car and escape.

Security measure

Audi's parent company, the VW Group, said it was working with the police and insurers as part of its "ongoing" work to improve security measures.

PSA Group, DS's parent company, told What Car? He has a team dedicated to the management of potential security breaches and works closely with the police to "badyze flight methods".

He also stated that sellers could disable keyless lock systems in cars at the request of the owner.

Jaguar Land Rover said, "The proven model of Discovery Sport is no longer manufactured, the Discovery Sport produced today is equipped with a technology that prevents attacks of this type.

"In addition, all our vehicles are available with tracking devices with a recovery rate greater than 80%."

A flight that ruins almost a vacation

Britain's Stephen Savigar, 59, was traveling to Heathrow Airport with his wife and two friends when they were victims of the theft of his car without a key.

The couples went to Singapore for a cruise celebrating the 60th birthday of his wife and friend.

The robbers acted when they stopped to go to the bathroom.

The criminals did not steal the Ford Mondeo in Savigar, but managed to open it and
They took what they wanted from the inside, which almost forced them to cancel their vacations.

"While we were inside, the thieves broke my car's locking system," he said.

"My travel bag was stolen with my pbadport and my wife's, our glbades and a tablet," he said.

"It meant we could not get on the plane, but we managed to leave our friends at the airport and we said goodbye and my wife finally fainted. were in a deplorable state. "

The couple returned home, went to the pbadport office, returned to Heathrow the next day and paid for another flight with another airline. They arrived in Singapore just in time to take the cruise.

Five months later, Savigar says that he always feels upset when he talks about it. "It was an absolutely horrible experience and we planned this trip for two years."

"People are fooled"

Andrew, who lives in North London, was deprived of his keyless Mercedes C220 in front of his home last November.

"The vehicle had a keyless lock and my keys were not even near the front door," he told the BBC.

The car is still missing and Andrew said that Mercedes had not been able to explain how that had happened.

"Mercedes told me that if I touched my key twice while locking the vehicle, the security was better because the key does not allow any type of transmission.For me, it was a common practice, I knew this function, the key was third floor at the bottom of my house. "

"I think people are fooled when the manufacturers say that the vehicles are safe.According to my insurance company, nothing in London, they had stolen more than 10 cars with a keyless lock in my postcode this month. "

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