Security And Convenience: Where’s The Balance?

"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54) 04/04/2016 at 21:04 • Filed to: None

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Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who would trade convenience for some temporary security, deserves neither convenience nor security.” !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but when it comes to cars there are some trade-offs when it comes to convenience and security. A recent experience of mine has made question at what point security is too much of an infringement on convenience.

On the extreme of convenience, we have the convertible. Open air motoring is fun. It’s super easy to fit inside a convertible, and to reach inside to grab your stuff. This convenience comes at the expense of security, specifically that anybody other than you can also reach in and grab your stuff. Putting the top up and locking the doors doesn’t eliminate this inconvenience either, since all it takes is a knife to breach this layer. In fact many Miata owners intentionally leave their doors unlocked at all times, hoping that any would-be thief will check the doors and let themselves in before damaging the convertible top worth several hundred dollars.

My BMW 320i was the victim of a theft attempt before I bought it. The ignition switch on the steering column was broken. The seller had plugged a second factory switch into the wiring harness (just the switch, no key), but didn’t repair it properly. To prevent theft, BMW broke off the steering column bolts at the factory, meaning they had to be drilled out to drop the column and replace the switch. This tactic worked perfectly to prevent the theft, but the subsequent repair was quite labor intensive - more than I could tackle myself, and more expensive than I could afford to pay someone to do it properly. So rather than have a switch dangle on the floor, I bought an $8 generic ignition switch and installed it into a hole already drilled into dashboard panel where an alarm system key lived. (Obviously the alarm didn’t work either.) I wired the ignition up to that, and everything worked off of that switch rather than the original one. The only issue was that if I forgot to tell a shop about this when I dropped it off, they wouldn’t be able to start the car.

This level of inconvenience was well worth it for the security that prevented the car from being stolen before I could buy it. I’m not sure if the correct repair might have been covered under the previous owner’s insurance, or if the 320i was unregistered/uninsured at the time of the attempted theft. But being somewhat mechanically inclined, I was able to arrange a workaround to the inconvenient repair that worked and added only a little bit to the car’s uniqueness.

Of course, modern cars can’t be stolen by hotwiring them because of microchips in the keys, without which the car will refuse to start. The convenience of going to the hardware store to pay $5 for a copy of your car key is gone, as modern chip keys are far more expensive, but also far more secure. Also, a key isn’t just a key anymore - it’s a remote control. Door locks, trunks and hatchbacks, and windows can be opened and shut by pushing buttons on your key. And let’s not forget the PANIC button, which flashes your lights, honks your horn, and annoys your entire neighborhood when you bend over to pick something up and another key in your pocket presses the button by accident. (Sorry, neighborhood. I’ve since used !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to disable this function on my car, so please call off the lynch mob.)

Sometimes, a key gets lost. My wife’s key to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! disappeared during our move in December, and we only just got around to replacing it. At $239.95 for a replacement key plus a $50 programming charge, we wanted to avoid this until we gave up completely on finding her old key. Three months later, we bit the bullet, and I ordered one from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! at the same time I got my 30k mile service. I’d hoped to just go in and pick it up after it came in, but it wasn’t that easy. Not nearly. Not only did they need a good chunk of time to bring the car into the shop to electronically match the key to the car, I needed to bring in ALL of my keys for recoding. Obviously I still had my own key, but I hadn’t seen my valet key since it got packed for the move. If I couldn’t find it, it would no longer work, and we’d still be down to two keys.

Fortunately, in a last ditch effort of digging through yet to be unpacked boxes, I found a baggie with stuff from my old “junk drawer,” and the valet key was inside, attached ironically to a Scion keyring. I went to my appointment with both remaining keys, handed them over, and waited. And waited. And waited some more. It took nearly two hours for them to do the job. If I’d known it would take that long I would’ve dropped the car off the night before and picked it up when it was ready. In fairness, the job wasn’t supposed to take nearly that long. They told me they had problems with the laptop that handles their key coding that caused the delay. They also didn’t charge me the $50 programming fee, and washed and vacuumed my car. Apology accepted.

Still, I think this experience crossed the line of where convenience becomes more important than added security. On every other car I’ve seen, a chip key could be programmed to work with a car either based on the VIN or by cloning the code off an existing key. That’s how my wife replaced a lost key for her old Jeep Liberty. And she was able to save a bit of money by buying the key from a dealer, then taking it to a locksmith to program, who charged far less for the service. I doubt that Joe the Locksmith down the street has a laptop with Subaru’s (and every other manufacturer’s) special key programming software. Gathering up all of the keys to add a new one can be a major chore, too. I almost didn’t find the valet key in time. If you have a kid far away at college who has a key to your car, getting the key back would be a real pain. I understand the security advantage of disabling any formerly functional keys. This way a lost key can be disabled to no longer work with your car if someone finds it and tries to take it. This would be an effective way to deny the kid at college access to your car after failing Chemistry without having to take the key back. But is it worth the hassle involved? Even taking the two hour wait I had out of the equation, I still say no, it isn’t.

So what about keyless entry and ignition? It’s super convenient. No more hassle with keys - as long as you have it somewhere on you, you can let yourself into the car, push a button to start the engine, and drive away as though there’s no security involved at all. The best security is both secure and invisible, and this is it. Not only does it not add any inconvenience, it actually make things even more convenient. I enjoyed this feature more than I thought I would on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I had for a week last fall. And it’s not exclusive to high end cars, either. Had I opted for the BRZ Limited, my car would’ve had it, too.

What could possibly go wrong? Well, many things, actually. Jeremy Clarkson demonstrates one of them in Richard Hammond’s Dodge Challenger, starting at 3:15.

.Since Hammond was sitting inside the restaurant close to where he parked the car, his proximity key was proximate enough for Clarkson to relocate his car to an annoying location - in the middle of the road. I would’ve been interested to see how far he could’ve gotten before the car shut itself down, though. I may have to test that with my next press car. That’s not the only issue with this system, either. What if you lock your car, leave your interior light on overnight, and kill the battery? Without at least one manual door lock, you can’t open the car, pop the hood, and attach a booster pack or jumper cables. There’s usually a manual lock around somewhere, but it isn’t always obvious. On the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , for instance, you need to manually open the trunk, then pull a handle to yank on a cable to release the door. Lexus hides a manual door lock !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . But none of this is obvious or intuitive. You’d have to read the owner’s manual to learn how to get in. And the manual is probably locked inside the car you can’t get into.

But at least no one can copy the keyless key, right? Well, not exactly. For every electronic measure, there are electronic countermeasures. A frequency counter can scan and detect what radio frequency your key operates on. Once tuned in, other scanners can decode your codes. Then it’s just a matter of duplicating and transmitting the same codes as your key, and your car is gone in 60 milliseconds. Hmm, that would make a good movie - one part Hackers , one part Gone in 60 Seconds .

The movies are pretty much the only place where such measures are actually feasible, though. Nobody’s going to invest thousands of dollars and hours of time into acquiring and setting up such equipment just to steal your BRZ. It would be cheaper and easier to just buy a BRZ, and do away with that whole going to jail part, too. It would be easier to tow the car to a secret shop and either strip it for parts or replace the ECU with one you can program to your own specs. It would be easier to mug you and steal your keys.

No security system is ever completely secure. Until recently, the more sophisticated security measures have gotten, the more inconvenient they’ve become. My recent situation with my BRZ keys is probably, and hopefully, the pinnacle of inconvenience for the sake of security. The latest and greatest proximity keys are reversing this trend, though. As the technology continues to trickle down to less expensive models, we can have both convenience and security. Ben Franklin would be rolling in his grave if he’d actually said those words.

(Photo credits: NetCarShow.com, Mr.choppers / Wikipedia, Allison Feldhusen, Challenger Talk)

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Dusty Ventures > Justin Hughes 04/04/2016 at 21:21

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Honestly I’m highly suspicious that Top Gear bit was legit. If it were pretty much any Chrysler parked alongside or in front of a house could probably be made off with. If that were true I suspect the news would have had a field day with it years ago. As for how far you can drive a car without the key, I’ve driven four different cars for over half an hour without the key in the car. They chimed a lot, but so long as I didn’t turn them off I could keep driving them.

Justin Hughes > Dusty Ventures 04/04/2016 at 21:30

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That would suck if you left your key at home, started your car, drove all the way to work, then couldn’t start your car again to drive home.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Justin Hughes 04/04/2016 at 21:31

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Remote start with keyless entry would indeed be a fairly dangerous thing.

Perhaps the car should have a shift lock that requires the key to be present inside the car.

bob and john > Justin Hughes 04/04/2016 at 21:34

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most ‘keyless’ systems DO have a metal key and a lock built into them. its just hidden as a back up.

our lexus IS250 is like that. the lock is right next to the door handle, cover by a small bit of plastic, and the metal key is built into the fob, witht he keyring attacked to the metal part.

its a pretty good system IMO. and the car tells us when the keys battery is getting low.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Justin Hughes 04/04/2016 at 21:35

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I’m surprised more car thefts aren’t done this way:

Kutanks > Justin Hughes 04/04/2016 at 21:45

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Have you guys ever actually driven a car with a keyless start? I had a 2004 Prius and if you didn’t have the key on you/ left it in say the center console then you couldn’t turn off the car if it was on. The key had to be in the car and relatively near the drivers seat. Because that car was so quiet and shut the engine off when parked there were several times where i trie dot get out and lock my car (still running) it wouldn't lock with the smart button on the door even if you had the keys or they were inside. The only way you could lock it while it was running was to take out the small metal backup key and manually lock the door from the outside.

pjhusa > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/04/2016 at 21:53

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Inconvenience.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Justin Hughes 04/04/2016 at 21:59

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I am certainly in the never lock my Miata category! I actually pulled the fuse to my power locks and the passenger door keyhole doesnt even match my key anyways. I never leave anything of value in the car and I figure my top is the most expensive thing in the car really. Unless someone is going to steal the whole car but then locking it wouldnt do a whole lot to prevent that one. I would follow the same line of reasoning with any other car too, the windows are far more expensive to replace than my floor mats or loose change under the seats that someone could find.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Justin Hughes 04/04/2016 at 22:03

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Laser keys are the best keys. Each key has to be coded by the dealer to my car and I have the only two keys for my car in the world. Plus, no iffy radio codes.

-this space for rent- > Justin Hughes 04/04/2016 at 22:21

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I bought extra keys on eBay and programmed the immobilizer and the keyless entry in about 10 minutes. 15 year old Toyotas ftw.

Of course the fobs started eating batteries within a few months, Chinese junk always bites you eventually...

Dusty Ventures > Justin Hughes 04/04/2016 at 22:47

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Guess I should have clarified. The car had to initially be started with the key inside the car. Then the owner got out, I got in, he warned me not to turn the car off, and I drove it. You can’t forget the key in the morning because the car needs to sense the key inside to start.

Dusty Ventures > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 04/04/2016 at 22:47

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They already do

jmgadget > Dusty Ventures 04/04/2016 at 22:52

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I fully agree with your thoughts on the TG segment. I know my ‘13 300 and ‘16 Charger won’t even go into ACC mode unless the key is IN the car. I could be standing in the open doorway and reach over and push the button to start or turn on ACC and it won’t do it. It chimes win “No Fob”.

I’m not sure if the Challenger used the old Mercedes style key though and if that was different.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > jmgadget 04/05/2016 at 00:27

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Chrysler used very similar hardware for some things, like keys and ignition switches, but that is where the similarity ends. The latest Chrysler-key-that-looks-like-a-mercedes-key is more similar to the system Mercedes usedin the late 90's.

Justin Hughes > bob and john 04/05/2016 at 09:05

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Yes, that’s exactly what I saw in the Lexus video I watched. It’s a pretty cool system and still looks good. The only hitch is if you’re locked out and don’t know it’s there. It’s the owner’s responsibility to know these things before they need to, but the average driver (in other words, people who aren’t reading Oppo :) ) generally doesn’t.

Justin Hughes > Kutanks 04/05/2016 at 09:07

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I had a Mustang press car with keyless start last fall. It was pretty cool, but I wasn’t thinking about such security features at the time so I didn’t test them this way. Good that the Prius is smart about it, especially since the gas motor doesn’t always run to alert you that the car is on.

Justin Hughes > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 04/05/2016 at 09:08

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Yeah, but you saw how easily they got copies in Gone In 60 Seconds . Because movies are so realistic. :)

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Justin Hughes 04/05/2016 at 09:39

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Considering how smart my FoST is about where my key is, it isn’t even possible to lock your keys in the car without knowing the exact combination. If the fob battery dies, there’s a physical key inside and a spot to stick the dead fob where it can be read and will still allow you to drive.

The only problem I see with the system is the dependence on the battery. I may have to make it a service item on my schedule as opposed to my usual method of replacing it after it dies, since locks and ignition are completely dependent on it. I have never even tried to bump start it even though it should technically be possible since it is a manual. The process is not obvious like in a car with a key... If I simply turn it on, it will start when I push the clutch, so I don’t know how to turn it “on” to do it without it attempting to start. I’ve bump-started a couple cars with automatic transmissions before and that was far more intuitive a process than starting this car.

The frustrating part about modern keys is that you cannot get them copied without a lot of effort. Long gone are the days of me walking into a home store, finding the right blank, reading the directions, and walking out with a perfect copy for a buck or two.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Justin Hughes 04/05/2016 at 09:49

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Yep. They also jumped a mustang 100 ft in that movie... Not exactly a bastion of realisim lol...

Justin Hughes > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 04/05/2016 at 09:59

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Actually they didn’t - the Eleanor jump was CGI. Thus proving your point further!

bob and john > Justin Hughes 04/05/2016 at 12:22

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its pretty hard to miss the little lever on the key.

and anyone who does, frankly, deserves it

ateamfan42 > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 04/08/2016 at 10:51

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The frustrating part about modern keys is that you cannot get them copied without a lot of effort.

A lot of effort, and EXPENSE! The dealerships make a mint on extra keys.

My (used) Miata came with only one key, and I wanted a spare. Of course, the local dealers want too much for a key, so I did some research. Found a genunine OEM blank on Amazon, had it cut, and looked up how to program it myself. All you need is the secret pass code for the immobilizer unit in the car, which can be looked up by VIN and immobilizer serial number. Naturally, Mazda refused to help me there, and directed me to the dealership network. Dealers can request the code from Mazda, but none would— they all insisted on pulling the code themselves with their diagnostic computers, for a lovely $100 fee. Instead I found an independent locksmith who provided me the code for $50.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > ateamfan42 04/08/2016 at 11:47

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Cost is rarely higher than the value of the effort, I’ve found. Still, I hate spending hundreds on a new key.