Keyless unlock security is not resolved. 23 cars out of 500 passed the test

The so-called Relay attack is nothing new, according to ADAC, it has been known in the world for ten years, yet a number of manufacturers have responded to it only very lukewarmly. Its principle is simple. The thieves work in pairs, one with a signal amplifier approaches, for example, the front door of the house, behind which he expects car keys, the other with a receiver in his hand pulls the handle of a car parked in front of the house, gets on, starts and leaves. Similarly, they can work in a shopping center, for example.

According to ADAC, the necessary equipment can be built for 2,500 crowns from components purchased in an electrical store, and a started car, even without a key in the interior, will run until it runs out of fuel.

Cars with keyless unlocking were often easy to identify, with special touch pads, grooves or buttons on the handles. The carmakers are struggling with this, for example, with the new Octavia, the handle looks the same in both cases today.

The car club tests the resistance of cars to this attack (you can find complete results here), tested the first cars in 2016, and it was not until 2018 that the first thoroughly secured models appeared. These were the cars of the Jaguar Land Rover, Range Rover and Range Rover model year 2018 and the then novelties, the Jaguar E-Pace and the electric i-Pace.

The magic of Jaguar and Land Rover security lies in the use of Ultra-wideband, UWB technology. In addition, it allows you to measure the distance that the radio waves from the key to the receiver in the key had to travel when transmitting the signal. If an amplifier is used, the distance is too great and the lock will not unlock when the handle is pulled.

Other manufacturers have recently switched to UWB. Škoda offers it, for example, for the Octavia and Enyaq models, ie the most modern types in its offer. Volkswagen, which has the UWB in the eighth generation of the Golf or the purely electric ID family, is similar. Seat has the best security for the Leon and Cupra Formentor.

You can’t even rely on premium brands. For example, BMW offers UWB only on the latest iX electric SUV, on Mercedes according to ADAC’s findings you will find the best type of security for the S-class, on Audi on the A3 model.

According to ADAC, the use of a motion sensor is a less reliable protection. In this case, there is an accelerometer in the key. If it does not detect movement for some time, it turns off the transmitter and the signal extender has nothing to extend. “This protection will not help if thieves watch their victim on foot or break into a car shortly after it was parked,” the ADAC warns.

Today, the motion sensor is relatively common in keys, especially in new cars of German concerns. It is widely offered by Škoda, Volkswagen, Seaty or BMW. According to ADAC, this even allows the technology to be added to older compatible cars. After all, you can also buy third-party products on the Internet, which add the necessary accelerometer to the key.

Unfortunately, other manufacturers are only now discovering this weaker security. For example, Peugeot will use it for the first time with the new 308, Opel with the new Astra, and similarly with the Toyota, the Yaris and RAV4 models are secured with motion sensors. “As the individual model years, facelifts and new generations come, the system will be gradually deployed in them as well,” says Jitka Jechová from the Czech representation of the brand.

If you are unsure about the security of your car, the car always offers the option of deactivating keyless unlocking. For example, in the case of the new Škoda Octavia, this is done by locking the car with a button on the key and touching the sensor on the outer handle within five seconds. After ten seconds, just pull the handle and check that the system is really inactive. The system also goes off by instructions via the on-board system. “With the option to deactivate keyless unlocking, the dealer can also retrofit cars of older model years at the customer’s request,” points out Pavel Jína from the Czech Škoda Representation.

ADAC also recommends not leaving car keys at the perimeter walls of the house or just outside the door, unless you are parking behind a fence or in a garage, but in a freely accessible front garden, as is the case with terraced houses, for example.

Representatives of the car club, on the other hand, warn against grandmother’s advice, such as wrapping the key in foil or closing it in a metal box. Such measures may not be 100%, the foil may rupture if the box with the key inside cannot be properly closed, nor will the transmitted signal block.

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