2024-09-04 21:18:33
Keyless entry systems in new cars are convenient – when you approach the car, it recognizes the key in your pocket and unlocks the doors. The engine can be started by simply pressing the button. But the system’s security flaw has apparently not been fixed yet. Most cars with a keyless entry system are much easier to steal than cars with a normal remote key, warns the German Automobile Club (ADAC).
Since 2016, the auto club has tested 698 cars with keyless systems. Almost all cars could be opened with so-called relay boxes. Only nine percent of the cars tested remained immune to these theft attempts.
For car thieves, it is enough to have a small device near the car key and another on the car door. In this way, they can extend the signal range by hundreds of meters. The car can then be opened and started in seconds.
Ultra-wideband (UWB) locking systems are safer as of 2019 and are being fitted to more and more Audi, Cupra, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen models. Improved systems that prevent theft of this type are installed in the A3, Q4 e-tron, Born, Formentor, Leon, Enyaq, Octavia, Golf 8, ID models, Caddy, T7. BMW, Genesis, GWM (Great Wall Motors), Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes and Suzuki also have models with better protection.