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Key Fob Hack

jmblur

jmblur

Autocross Champion
Location
Massachusetts
Car(s)
2017 Golf R
Finglonga said:
You will soon be keeping them in a Faraday bag when the latest trend of stealing key-less entry cars gets over there. Takes them a few seconds to unlock the car and drive it off without the need to take the original key.
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The car won't start without the key physically inside the car. The range outside the car for unlock is also very short - standing next to the driver door will not let you unlock the passenger door, for example.
 
E

elterrible

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
US
abt12 said:
The car won't start without the key physically inside the car. The range outside the car for unlock is also very short - standing next to the driver door will not let you unlock the passenger door, for example.
Click to expand...


I did some googling because what the guy above said peaked my curiosity. It appears they are stealing cars out of people's driveways by overcoming the above with amplifiers that relay the signal so that it is full strength right by your car and your car thinks the key is there. This seems like it would defeat even modern keyless entry systems with rolling codes.

Looks like I am finding a tin jar for my keys. I already was considering this after having to replace my fob battery after 8 months.
 
M

Mugzy

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Frisco, TX
elterrible said:
I did some googling because what the guy above said peaked my curiosity. It appears they are stealing cars out of people's driveways by overcoming the above with amplifiers that relay the signal so that it is full strength right by your car and your car thinks the key is there. This seems like it would defeat even modern keyless entry systems with rolling codes.

Looks like I am finding a tin jar for my keys. I already was considering this after having to replace my fob battery after 8 months.
Click to expand...

I work in IT security, so I follow things like this. There is a technique where car thieves use a pair of devices to jack someone's car. The catch is that one of the devices needs to be close enough to the keyfob to pick up the weak signal (a few feet at most) then it relays it to the other device that broadcast it to the car.

So, there is really no need to worry about someone doing this while your keyfob is in your house.
 
oddspyke

oddspyke

Autocross Champion
Location
Delaware
Car(s)
2016 GTI, 2018 ZL1
chid said:
yes, something like that.
The photos are not clear, but the Fitment guide says GTI 2015 to 2017.
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I went ahead and ordered one to try it out and it fits great (other than the 3 button/4 button thing). I highly recommend it.
 
Finglonga

Finglonga

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Stafford, UK, Earth, Solar System.
Mugzy said:
So, there is really no need to worry about someone doing this while your keyfob is in your house.
Click to expand...


Yes there is, there are quite a few now that have been stolen this way over here and not just VW. People are now buying Faraday bags to put their Kessy key in as they are waking up with their keys but the car is long gone.
 
Z

zimmie2652

Ready to race!
Location
Frederick, MD
Finglonga said:
Yes there is, there are quite a few now that have been stolen this way over here and not just VW. People are now buying Faraday bags to put their Kessy key in as they are waking up with their keys but the car is long gone.
Click to expand...

There's security camera footage of this exact procedure all over the internet and people still choose to not believe it can happen. Blows my mind. Let their vehicle get swiped. We'll read about it here a day later and get a good laugh out of it.
 
ThirstyTurtle

ThirstyTurtle

New member
Does anyone know:
1) How to disassemble the key to remove the immobilizer/circuit board?
2) Where the immobilizer/wireless part of the key is?

I Frankensteined my MK4 Golf TDI key to be just the circuit board and a separate key and eventually only used the remote and kept a key in the car. I park my car in my garage at home and right outside my office window at work so didn't have a concern about it being stolen. With my 2017 GTI I'm not that cavalier about it but would like to pull the board and immobilizer out separately in the interest of shrinking the overall footprint. The only thing I've found online for the MK7 key is battery replacement.

Here's what I did with my MK4 remote:




Anyone torn their's down further?
 
B

B6JoeS41

New member
Location
Western Chicago Burbs
Some of the newer VW's have a much smaller key with no switchblade key built into it. I have seen them on the new Atlas. The fob looks like ours but its shrunk down to about 70% of the size.



Who wants to try to program one to work with an MK7? Maybe even a frankenstein key. I have a feeling the board in an MK7 key will fit inside the case of the Atlas key.
 
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