Electronic break-in?

[InBiarritz]

Hi everyone,

I had a quick search and couldn't find a similar thread so apologies if it has been asked before.

I have a VW T6 Caravelle and drive for a living in the Basque Country. I was in San Sebastian after a job and went for a surf. I locked the van with the buttons on my remote and put the key in my waterproof pouch in my wetsuit. I got out of the water after half an hour and my van was unlocked and some important items stolen.

Since then the buttons on the remote won't open or close the van but I can use the physical key to unlock the driver's door and thankfully I can start the engine.

I have two questions:

1. If I had locked the van with the physical key instead of using the remote buttons would the thief still have been able to 'steal' (I don't know what the correct word is) my code or is it only when you press buttons and emit a signal?

2. In the future my next vehicle will probably have keyless entry so is there any way to prevent a thief from stealing the code from thin air?

Thanks in advance for any help with this.

 

[Wills]

Interesting, they may have been scanning when you used your remote control? Keyless entry has fueled the rise in car theft. They ping your “key” to steal the code!

 

[InBiarritz]

Thanks for the reply. How far away can someone be to ping the key? What's the range of the scanner or my key?

 

[drinfinity]

Had a similar thing this week in Zaragoza. Items nicked from locked hirecar, which has ‘keyless’ entry. The basic function of a lock seems to have been so compromised with this system.

 

[Robert]

I have a VW T6 Caravelle ...
I locked the van with the buttons on my remote and put the key in my waterproof pouch in my wetsuit. I got out of the water after half an hour and my van was unlocked and some important items stolen.

Since then the buttons on the remote won't open or close the van but I can use the physical key to unlock the driver's door and thankfully I can start the engine.

All of this sounds like you have accidentally kept on pressing buttons on your remote key fob(including unlock button).
Someone has noticed that and opened one of the doors before the van relocked itself.

Eventually you got out of the range but you kept on pressing unconsciously key fob buttons and caused keyfob to go out of sync. This is absolutely normal as this generation of radio communication between the key fob and the van uses so called progressive code(AKA rolling code).

A rolling code or progressive code system works by generating a unique code sequence each time the key fob button is pressed. This code is transmitted wirelessly to the car's receiver, which verifies its authenticity before performing the requested action, for example unlocking the doors.

The key aspect of progressive code systems is that the code sequence changes with each transmission. This means that even if someone intercepts and records the code during one transmission, it will not be valid for future use. The rolling or progressive nature of the code makes it extremely difficult for unauthorized individuals to reproduce or guess the correct code sequence, thus enhancing the securiy.

Overall, progressive code systems in automotive key fobs are a security measure that helps protect against unauthorized access and key fob cloning. By using a unique code sequence for each transmission, these systems offer an added layer of security to prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining access to a vehicle.

 

[Robert]

@InBiarritz going forward you could consider this mod.

 

[InBiarritz]

@InBiarritz going forward you could consider this mod.

That's a nice hidey-hole. But if I still have to lock the vehicle first then I still emit the signal from the key? If I lock the van with the physical key does this prevent the code being transmitted?

 

[Robert]

If you use the actual key to rotate key barell and you don't press any buttons on your key fob nothing is being transmitted wirelessly.

 

[Dellmassive]

like @Robert says,

you can lock, deadlock, alarm the van without pressing the fob button.

have a look at the user guide

T6 - T6 Owners Manual

PDF version of the user handbook.

www.t6forum.com

 

[InBiarritz]

like @Robert says,

you can lock, deadlock, alarm the van without pressing the fob button.

have a look at the user guide

Thanks for this, I've never read this section of the manual (mine is in French).