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Going Keyless

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited October 2017 in Editorial
imageGoing Keyless

It's called push-button keyless start, and as its name suggests, it allows you to fire up your car's engine without the hassle of key insertion.

Read the full story here


Comments

  • gjoycegjoyce Member Posts: 1
    Just bought a Kia Sorento...and it has push button start as well
  • illkeepmykeysillkeepmykeys Member Posts: 1
    Some time ago, news reporters advised men not to store their cell phones in their pants pockets because "cell phone emissions are known to damage sperm cells". A short time later, a similar news broadcast noted that testicular cancer in the 18-30 age group was up a whopping 30% in the province in just a few short years. Of course, it is "just coincidence" that the group that has embraced cell phones most avidly falls into this same age category.

    Now, some moron has designed a device to emit RF energy that is intended to be kept by men in their pants pockets. It is a totally useless device, accomplishing nothing that an old fashion metal key doesn't. The claims of the marvelous security it offers are only descriptions of how it attempts to fill the security holes it itself creates. I can't help wondering if our misandrist press would adopt the same unquestioning attitude if the potential victims were female.

    No doubt the key fob uses RFID and only responds to a RFID reader (the vehicle) but it will activate when it receives a signal from the vehicle ... or any other device on the same frequency (including other cars). It also seems clear that the car has to be broadcasting continuously in order to "know" that the fob is present.

    When microwave ovens first appeared, there was a great deal of concern on the integrity of the seals because of possible escaping RF energy. Now we live in the microwave.

    Of course, no article on keyless ignition would be complete without the obligatory claim that it helps those so badly afflicted with arthritis that they would find handling a key difficult. Apparently, those same people will have zero trouble properly gripping the steering wheel or operating any of the car's other controls.

    There hasn't been a proper investigative journalist on the planet in the past decade; certainly not one with a brain. They mindlessly parrot the sales material provided by greedy corporations intent on selling some useless product or service. Why would one want to buy a $2 key when one could spend $300 on an electronic device to do the same thing???

    I do hope that when the health risks of this technology come to light that the corporations and their shills are held fully responsible and made to pay ... and pay ... and pay.
  • mooandmarleymooandmarley Member Posts: 1
    I've had this on my last 2 cars and love it. I have to rent cars for work on a regular basis, and it makes me realize how annoying it is to use a traditional metal key. I just wish Ford would utilize this on their cars-until then I'll stick with my Nissans.
  • big10kenbig10ken Member Posts: 0
    Are these devices equipped with engine shut off if the fob is removed the car or does the engine continue to run until the button is pushed?
    The failure to have some saftey shut off makes the device inherently dangerous.
  • dance2dance2 Member Posts: 1
    I will never buy a push button start car again! Last night while driving it's telling me "no Key". When I got home and switched off the car it wouldn't start again.
  • ksanger35ksanger35 Member Posts: 1
    Recently bought a 12 year old 2005 Cadillac STS. It came with one key fob. So I bought one off the internet and proceeded to erase all known fobs and reprogram the original and the new one as fobs 1 & 2. The "new" fob worked. The old fob would not program. So I bought another one off the internet from the same dealer. It would program but then not work. So I went to an "Auto Locksmith" where they said they would program it with the car using the sequence I just did twice. Which takes over 30 minutes. I went home. Called the Cadillac dealer. They couldn't program the original fob, nor the 2nd new fob. Bought a brand new one from the dealer, had them program the two working fobs and was happy. For one month. This week, both fobs will not work unless I place them in the programming pocket. Replaced both fob batteries and they still do not work. Replaced the car battery, just in case, and they still do not work. Made an appointment with the Cadillac dealer for next week. Expect it to cost about a grand to "fix" the car. I didn't try reprogramming the keys again using the 30 minute procedure because I didn't want to brick the car in the garage. Keyless entry is the stupidest idea I have ever seen on a new car. My 98 corvette has a push button start and uses a key. The 2005 Cadillac should too. Don't know how long the car would work if I just keep putting the keys in the programming pocket. I'ld live with that if I knew it would keep working. But everything I've read says replace the battery of the remote soon. Implying that it won't work forever. I have keyless "entry" on the vette. But if I use that the key fob battery lasts about 3 months. Dumb dumb dumb. Maybe I should be stock in Energizer. Its going to take people a while to realize that a used car with keyless entry is a costly used car. Then their resale value will reflect the issues keyless entry and start has. While I like the STS, $280 for new fobs with programming plus who knows what to replace the cars receiver is a lot of extra dough to cough up.
  • AcmorlenAcmorlen Member Posts: 1
    If you lose the fob, it is not good. 300+ to replace it. Had to have my car towed into the Nissan dealership. They where the only ones who could do the work.
  • Gigi1974Gigi1974 Member Posts: 1
    My son wasn't familiar with my keyless start and stop and inadvertently left the car running. He came into the restaurant with the fob. The other one was in my purse. When we left, the car was still running. Once home, my husband tested how far he could drive if no fobs were in the car. The car never shut off! How can that be?
  • I started the car and then drove away with the fob still in the house. Got downtown; stopped the vehicle and wasn’t able to start it again. The batteries are always dieing and when you fetch the spare it’s dead too; usually 15 minutes before an important appointment. Every time they move further away from good old fashioned key sense in order to fix a problem because of another problem it just takes more and more control out of the owners hands and into someone or something else’s. Entirely stupid set up, and the cost to the owner grows higher and higher in more ways than one,

  • RobineggRobinegg Member Posts: 1
    I don’t see the appeal of keyless ignition. Added to the above commenters’ concerns: Keyless ignition actually seems more complicated, seems to cause more problems than it solves. At least with a key you have a visual reminder and you know where it is when the car is in operation. A relative I know started the keyless car for his wife. She hops in and drives away, but doesn’t have the keyless fob with her. Then she parks the car at her destination. When she tries to restart, the car won’t turn on because the fob is back with her husband at the house. You can imagine the hassle of phone calls and getting someone to get the fob and drive it over to her and the stranded car.... yeesh!
  • SharaShara Member Posts: 1
    edited November 2019
    I'd like to know who was in the boardroom responsible for launching this terrible modern technology! I have been STRANDED multiple times, I cannot get a clear answer through YouTube, the PDF manual, or a live person on what to do when I can't get the car started. Even more issues started after the fob battery was changed. Then the fob connection was rechecked and cleaned only to have, "key not detected " messages, again leaving me stranded! Absolutely nowhere to insert an emergency key! HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?!
    Call me a dinosaur but I'm car shopping for a physical key ignition start. Do they still exist in 2019?!!!!
  • BABSBABS Member Posts: 1
    I love my keyless entry...It's all about just common sense and habit. I keep the manual key(from inside the fob) inside my purse for emergencies and I grab my keys every time I leave. To lock the house door and keys for work. I use my door lock instead of fob if I am out in a shopping area so my car can't be targeted with hackers.
  • JayDiddleJayDiddle Member Posts: 1
    Everyone commenting that they’ve been stranded because of a dead remote hasn’t a.) read this article, or b.) read their owner’s manual for their vehicle. Keyless start vehicles have safeguards for this purpose. When the remote dies, it simply can’t transmit the signal from the fob to the car anymore, but that doesn’t mean the car can’t read it anymore. Generally, when this happens, there’s is a designated spot to put the key fob, which is located near the receiver for the keyless fob, most often under the front or drive side cup holder, so placing your dead fob there allows the vehicle to grab the signal from the fob directly, much the same way badges work to open doors in office buildings without batteries. Another common spot is a slot in the glove compartment.
    As for those having issues with “Key not found” or other similar issues, I’d say to stop buying GM (or other brands that have this common issue), as I’ve seen a lot of GM vehicles have this issue, even before keyless start, back when it was just a coded ignition key. I don’t buy GM anymore for other reasons, t that alone would have me disinterested.
    Those who state that someone entered the vehicle and drove away without the fob with them, I’d also say to look at other brands. If the manufacturer isn’t willing to put in place a safeguard for this, then that’s not a manufacturer I’d be interested in giving money to. For instance, I drive a 2017 Kia Niro, which has keyless start. If I start the vehicle and then take the key out of the vehicle, a loud and long beep (heard inside and outside the vehicle) warns me that the key has been taken out of the vehicle. If I were to then get back in the vehicle without the fob, there is a picture of the key fob on the instrument cluster, with the words “Key Not In Vehicle” displayed. Once you move the gear shift out of park, the loud beep returns, while continuing to display the message about the missing key. In short, make sure these safeguards are in place before purchasing.
    My only gripe about keyless start on my vehicle is that, because my vehicle is a hybrid, the engine isn’t always running when I put the vehicle in park, and I’ve often sat for a few minutes to check phone messages or whatever and then gotten out of the vehicle and forgotten to stop the engine. However, I have that loud audible tone once I get out of the vehicle with the fob to remind me to turn off the engine. Leaving the fob in the vehicle isn’t an option, either, because I always use the buttons on the door handles to lock the vehicle, and it simply will not lock with the fob left in the cabin.
  • LatayLatay Member Posts: 1
    Can I drive the car forever with the key fob inserted or will I do damage to the car.. I have the remote key not detected message on my dashboard and it wont re-connect or go off.. It is a 2012 Chevy cruz
  • TaggartTaggart Member Posts: 1
    To address some of the other comments here - if your fob is not being detected, you probably need to change the battery in it. If you are stranded due to a "dead" fob then you didn't read your manual - all cars with keyless start have a way to read the fob and start the car when the battery is dead or missing. Using this method does not damage the fob or the car. Most vehicles also have a setting to make it impossible to drive the car away without the fob in the car. And the fob in your pocket is not constantly radiating a radio signal - it only sends a reply signal when the vehicle is started and sends a query signal.
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