In article ,
T i m wrote:
On Sat, 14 Jul 2018 18:05:55 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
NY wrote:
Do they constantly transmit? I thought they were dormant until they
received an interrogation signal from the car - or from a thief's
cloning device.

Sort of makes sense. But can't be totally dormant if it can receive a
signal.

Is this whole keyless entry / start a solution to a problem that
didn't exist?

IMHO, yes.

Our Meriva / Corsa have a std remote fob / key transponder where the
first opening button press unlocks just the drivers door (stops people
hiding down the passenger side jumping in) and a secondary press
unlocks all the doors / tailgate etc.

For the truly paranoid. ;-)

I think if you don't open a door within a certain period of unlocking
it locks all the doors again.

Yup.

So, do keyless entry cars not have a mechanical steering lock?

They may have one, but if it is controlled by the same transponder in your
pocket that is so easy to clone, not much point. A traditional one
requires a physical key.

With the 'std' keyed solution you can't get into the position of the
passenger getting out with the keyless card in their possession and I
don't think it can be hacked (I'm guessing it could be scanned to give
someone entry but that still wouldn't bypass the need for an ignition
key to defeat the steering lock (FWIW etc) or the transponder) as
easily as the keyless system.

I guess the only 'good thing' with keyless entry is that with some
cars you can also open the tailgate / boot with a wave of your foot
that could be handy if you were carrying stuff.

You still need a hand free to pull a door open so it's not an
advantage there (unless you have gesture triggered auto doors as
well)?

Well plenty vehicles have motorised tailgates, so why not doors too?

I'm usually a bit ahead of gadget makers. The 'wouldn't it be nice'
syndrome. Which also means I can't really see the point of some of them.

So often they tend to end up being a compromise between what's really
needed and what can be achieved at a price. Like one of those things that
can play music for you on a voice command. Where the audio quality is
distinctly average.

--
*I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe*

Dave Plowman London SW
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