I have some pretty mixed feelings about modern proximity keys/key fobs/smart keys/whatever. Complex feelings. On the one hand, they’re fantastic; they allow you to just approach your car and it recognizes the key somewhere in your pocket or handbag or underpants, and the door opens, you can get the car started and go without having to dig out at key or anything. For many people, for safety and convenience reasons, this is incredibly important.
On the other hand or flipper, these keys also allow all manner of sort-of-absurd problems and disasters to happen, because the fob doesn’t require a physical connection to the car. This means one can do exciting things like leaving the key on the outside of a car, where it can fall off, which is exactly what our own Mercedes Streeter did this summer, leading to days and days of expensive trouble.
There’s other, easy ways to screw up with proximity keys, of course; switching drivers but not keys, which can allow you to keep driving before the car realizes the key is gone, compounding the trouble, and of course there’s simply losing keys, which of course you can do with any sort of key (or really, any objects, like socks or grapefruit).
But proximity keys and fobs don’t have to be subject to the limitations of crude old metal keys! Our own Pete asked the question that got me thinking, and should get us all thinking:
This is an extremely reasonable question: can you track a lost key fob? And, in keeping with ancient rabbinical traditions of answering questions with questions, the only reasonable response to this is this question: why the hell not?
Doing a little bit of research, it doesn’t seem like any major OEMs are making key fobs that can be tracked like AirTags or similar sorts of Bluetooth-based tracking devices. I mean, there may be some out there that do that, and of course Teslas and some other cars use phones in place of keys, but the fundamental truth is that all modern key fobs should have the electronics built into them so they can be tracked if lost.
I mean, these key fobs are already halfway there; they have wireless radios and some manner of power source and little antennae; really, how much harder would it be to include BlueTooth hardware to make these things trackable via a phone app?
The more I think about this, the more obvious it seems to be. As soon as cheap BlueTooth trackers like AirTags hit the market, you’d think carmakers would be itching to incorporate such tech into their smart keys, right?
I mean, sure, you can get keychains that hold these tracking tags, and many people use those, but, again, this seems like something that should be built into all modern key fobs. Just because.
I suppose there are some security concerns, like there are with any tracker; there would need to be means for the owner to turn off tracking if desired, say if they were loaning their car to a friend, or something like that. But beyond that, it’s your car key; is there any reason to not know where it is at all times?
Are there downsides here? I mean, sure, there’s likely a bit more cost involved, but compared to what modern cars already have built into them, it’s pretty trivial. If we have the technology to allow you to find a misplaced car keys, then that feels like something that you shouldn’t even have to ask for; it should just be part of modern key fobs from the get-go.
So there.
While they’re at it they should add that feature to the car so you can share the location of where you parked with your wife.
The replacement key fob industry would like a word with you Jason. Preferably in a dark alley in that non kosher area of town you mentioned in the Book Club article. Say around midnight
Put me down for a “nah” on this.
I’ll admit I’m very much an edge case; but for security reasons I can’t have any transmitting devices (phones, bluetooth, AirTags, Tiles, etc.) at my work. For years, proximity keys were included in the list of prohibited items and is why I still have separate key rings for my daily and my truck, and my wife’s car (proximity key). The thought of leaving my key’s in an unlocked locker in an unsecured area all day was never particularly appealing, particularly when anyone can grab a key and find the corresponding key with the touch of a button.
Any kind of proximity locator would put keys back onto the prohibited items list, and is why I can’t do an AirTag keyring and have to rely on routine and eidetic memory to not lose my keys.
Why SCIFs don’t have drop-in junk lockers outside them instead of just a box people all put their stuff in is something I will not understand. If I were setting up a SCIF I would definitely put a bay of various sized electronic drop-in lockboxes outside so people could keep their stuff secured. Yes, you should be able to trust all the people who can even come up to the SCIF, but it’s just such an easy way to keep things more secure and give people more peace of mind.
I’ve seen a lot of the kind you’re taking about, even ones where just about anyone had easy access to the cubbies. Ours at least have separate small lockable lockers, but that would require carrying either a combo lock or a lock with another key to keep track of now that it can’t be on the keyring with a location tag…
I’m with you on thinking you should be able to trust people in a SCIF, but the snack bars also have pilfering issues so…
I’ve used newer lockers outside SCIFs with built-in resettable combination locks, which I think adequately resolves this issue. Though it seems like most folks there would rather leave them unlocked than set a new combo every day.
Same issue. Both for security and interference with work currently being conducted in the lab.
“Now standard with all 2026 models – the FindMe Keyfob. Simple and easy to use. Just Install MyManufacturer App on your phone from the App Store, create your personal profile, create a 4 digit pin to confirm it’s actually you looking for the fob, and you’ll see a difficult to understand graphic that shows you where your fob is within 25 feet of your current location. The FindMe Keyfob service is only $9.99 a month for up to 4 uses. Upgrade to FindMe Keyfob+ for only $24.99 for unlimited usage.”
Why would manufacturers want to help you keep track of a key fob, when they’ll gladly sell you a new one, programmed to your vehicle for the low, low price of $475.
Every day we try to build a better mouse trap than the traditional key, and every day we add needless complexity to our lives.
Traditional key with remote, then just make dealer keychains or key holders that can accept an airtag if you want that.
absolutely not
I would go beyond – if I’m already forced to carry a crappy phone/tablet in my car at all times, let me use it as an alternate means of authentication. My phone takes PIN, pattern, fingerprint and iris scanner as redundant authentication. Why should cars have just hardware keys, especially when you are already inside? My phone even let’s me unlock it by proximity with my watch, why can’t we do the same with cars (since manufacturers are so hell bent into turning them into “devices” anyway)?
Take the ordeal Mercedes went through. The car was on and unlocked. Say the car would accept a pin as proof of ownership, and at least let her limp the rig out of harm’s way. The car could’ve even started to log GPS position and signal her phone, but it would’ve sorted the immediate issue of being stranded because of the dumb keys.
Battery drain would probably be a fairly big downside. AirTag batteries last about a year. Fob batteries last a lot longer than that.
I don’t know how it is possible but I never changed the battery in my remote for my 2002 car that I bought new.
I’m guessing your 2002 has a physical key or at least a fob that gets inserted into a key socket type thing.
Those aren’t smart keys that are constantly broadcasting their code, which the car listens for. That’s why so many modern cars can be stolen simply by scanning for a fob, copying the broadcasted code, and rebroadcasting said code to trick the vehicle into thinking the key is present.
The constant transmitting key fobs are problematic in a modern world of thieves with technology.
Its just a fob that locks and unlocks the door. But I’ve had batteries that gone bad just sitting in a box in a shorter period than that.
Not sure what your daily is, but BMW fobs from that era actually recharged themselves while inserted into the push-to-start slot.
I’m sure the manufacturer would be happy to sell you a key fob charger. 😉
We have had some key fobs that ping Bluetooth at work and they are notorious battery killers!
AirTag is always transmitting. A fob battery only drains during operation, or from excessive old age.
Yeah, this. And also TVs should have had a button on them that makes the remote beep like the cordless phones from the 80s.
I think there have been a few but painfully limited given how easy it would be. Even today.
I guess it comes down to the few clamoring for these features but seems like it should have already happened. Instead they just want to move glove compartment opening to a screen control button. All new features to benefit the procurement guys I guess.
My Roku Ultra has a button on the side of the puck that makes the remote beep. Why not a button in your car that makes your fob beep and flash? If you drop your fob near your car at night this would really be helpful.
I’ve always loved this feature of Rokus, but there’s one hitch. If the batteries in the remote aren’t fairly fresh but not low enough to trigger a low battery notification (say under about 50% charge) that feature doesn’t work on either of my Roku Ultras. Care to guess when I always get to learn the batteries are below that threshold?
Ha! Thanks for the heads up. I’m new to Roku.
Carmakers: TrackMyKey, a convenient, subscription based service for only $19.99 a month when you download the app and give us access to all your location data.
And subscribers will receive a 25% discount on their seat heater subscriptions!
Dude. I get it. Having to lift/probably remove the hood of your 2CV and wrap a cord around the crank and pull is a pain in the ass. But get with the times! You can have a crank off the front of the motor to start it. Just remember to put an airtag on the crank handle in case you misplace it .
Several of my Triumph TRs had a hole in the grille and a crank handle in the tool kit. I believe it was intended for static timing and setting valve clearances and never tried to crank start it. Though there were several instances when that would have been handy, I left the crank in the toolbox and traveled light.
I don’t know if this is true, but supposedly Peugeot cars are all named something-o-something (505, 206, etc) because originally the 0 adorned a crank start hole.
I, absolutely under no circumstances, feel a need to have a tracking device forced onto me. I need to carry my keys with me, I don’t need to be tracked. All trackers can be hacked or their signal emissions detected.
It is not the car company’s job to keep me from losing my keys. That’s my responsibility, not theirs. It isn’t ATT’s job to track my phone, nor the bank’s job to track my wallet.
Anyone who wants a tracking device can buy an optional 3rd party option.
Scientific Method holds great promise to better the human condition, and can’t be over applied. Technology has great promise as well, but is vulnerable to abuse, misapplication, and overuse. My 2010 cars fob has remote features, but requires insertion to start, and is locked into the receiver while running. A few years ago, a customer dropped off their car at the shop, left it running, and went home with their husband. Only after pulling it into the bay and shutting it off, did I realize the fob was not there! I see the convenience of a car unlocking as you approach, but once you are in, the damn key needs to physically attach to start, run to keep Mercedes and me from looking foolish.
Hard metal keys were better and probably no less secure.
Foolishness these days can put you in a world of “key not detected” DOSed by your own car.
Like manual transmission cars, there will likely be a point that car thieves don’t know how to deal with a car with an all mechanical door lock. They’ll just leave it alone and walk up to the next one.
You’re asking for more functionality, I’m still hoping for less. I didn’t like the proximity keys I had with my last car. I was never sure it was locked when I walked away, and just because the key doesn’t go into the ignition doesn’t mean I don’t have to put it somewhere when I take it out of my pocket.
I don’t understand why we can’t at least get smaller keys. The simple metal key for my last project car was so much nicer than the bulky keyfobs of modern cars.
The actual hardware in an automotive key is much slimmer and smaller than the keyfob it’s packaged into, people make 3D printed kits to slim them down a little, but the factory could do it better. These days it’s probably possible to fit the hardware into something about the size of a house key. It’d be more expensive and have to be something sturdier than plastic, but that seems like a (relatively) cheap way to make your brand unique in a truly useful way.
There are two way fobs that connect to vehicles that have cellular data and apps most of those fobs emit some noise so it should be technically possibly that way. If oems went Bluetooth then I’m sure they would ditch the current 433mhz systems and fobs for phone as key and maybe give you a nfc tag or card or Bluetooth fob.
Flashlight. Even just a little 50 – 100 lumen LED would be great. Add a second 2025 button cell just for the light if the bean counters don’t want to pop for a USB rechargeable battery.
I’d even pay extra for it as an “enhanced” FOB, if it had to be an optional upgrade.
Manufacturers, are you listening? (One-time fee, of course – don’t get any stupid ideas about a subscription for this).
Unfortunately, that flashlight would drop battery life from years to weeks or months. Those button cell batteries have very very low current capacity. Lithium ion batteries degrade from the moment they’re manufactured – not just charge/discharge cycles – so you’re still on a timeline if you put a chonky Li-Ion battery in a fob. To be small enough to fit in a fob, you’re just about back where you started. The flashlight would be more like the backlight on your TV remote (/whatever simile is appropriate) than a useful light source :/
That’s why I suggested a separate battery for the light source. You wouldn’t want the light function to kill the FOB’s primary function.
Perhaps a AAAA instead of a button cell?
I’ll follow you further down this cursed path and suggest a 1/2 AA, which I didn’t know was a thing until this year.
Oh! But NFC tags have non volatile memory and could at least let you in and start the car irrespective of battery status. So. There are ways!
The more I think about it the more I think the hardest part will be getting manufacturers to just seal the thing up with regular screws so you can actually change the damn battery.
My 1991 E30 keys had this feature. And it was even still working 30 years later.
https://www.gutenparts.com/product/genuine-bmw-illuminated-key-e30-e24-e28-e23-33009
That would be perfect for getting the key into the keyhole in low/no light conditions.
I’d like something with a bit more output, for more general use.
That’s still very impressive, though.
It’s just “fob.” It’s a regular word, not an acronym.
Hah!
I keep meaning to comment on David’s similar capitalization of SMOG – it’s just a portmanteau, no all-caps needed.
I’ve refrained from making that very comment because I’m enough of a nag about spelling as it is.
Sniff
My
Outside
Gasses
My pet peeve is “then” vs “than”. Screwing that up is ridiculously pervasive today, and it drives me nuts. I even see it in news articles on major news sites, supposedly curated by professional editors.
I can’t tell you how many of my inspectors–the professionals entrusted with confirming that everything everywhere is built to precise standards, expertly navigating (if not outright memorizing) thousands of pages of codes to ensure safe construction and operability–don’t know “its” from “it’s.”
Now that you mention it, have you perused the comments sections in Bring a Trailer? I’m supposed to bid hundreds of thousands of dollars on a car whose condition is described by a dealer who thinks “Ferrari’s” is plural?! Sure, I trust you to be thorough and address the details, right.
rant over
I’m in the middle of working through paperwork on a construction loan. Today on the phone the banker said something or other about “the money we’re going to borrow you”. No, dipwad, I’m going to borrow the money – you’re going to loan it to me.
Should I be terrified of his fundamental lack of understanding of the industry in which he works?
Maybe not terrified, but I’d take an extra pass at proofing the paperwork, and I’d definitely correct him! But then again, I can be kind of an ass. Good luck with the project!
I’m sure a bunch of little boxes pop up in front of him on his computer screen, of which he’s prompted to fill out in some logical order, when he’s completing the application for the loan. It oversees and very likely eliminates the possibility of the minimum wage worker making any stupid mistakes.
Any chance the banker is German? German uses the same word for lend and borrow. Kind of like English uses the same word for renting as a tenant or a landlord.
THANK YOU. Just kidding. I do appreciate the correction.
FOB is actually a thing – it stands for Fractional Orbital Bombardment, but yeah, not at all relevant here. 🙂
It also stands for Foam On Bottle, which is a thing in the brewery/bottling industry and not relevant here either.
It’s a good idea. Also, I’d like to keyfob to tell me if I locked the car. Seems like simple enough tech. I often don’t remember if I locked the door
As you mention, trackers use Bluetooth which is a completely different transceiver than what the fobs use. Fobs use the ~40-50MHz range (or something like that) while BT is 2.4 GHz. So pretty much no overlap in the radio hardware. Accordingly, a second BT transceiver would need to be added, along with an appropriate antenna. Certainly doable but knowing the ridiculous levels of bean counting at most OEMs, unlikely to happen without a lot of noise from customers.
I have 2 key fobs and once I forgot the spare one in my backpack, which was inside my car, at the train station all day. Anyone could have walked up to the car, opened the door that had not auto-locked as I walked away, and driven away with my car. If they knew how to drive stick, that is. Pretty sure the only reason no one stole David T.’s truck when he left the key in the door is no one knew how to drive it.
My car yells at me if I leave the fob inside.
I’d be happy if they built in a repeating alarm that responds to a whistle.
I’m more interested in a low-tech fob question today – why does Jeep NOT put a little compass, or a multitool, or something like that in its fobs? Seems such an easy on-brand thing to do that fits with its love of outdoor whimsy.
Aren’t the fobs already shaped like ducks?
They’d just end up having to recall their fobs.
Ouch. That was good stab.
Were you arguing with Peter about this and that’s why you have two almost-competing key-fob-related items 38 minutes apart? 😀
I’m disappointed we’re not getting to see the rest of the crew’s keychains. Like I imagine Mercedes has a Kramer-like setup where every fob and key is on a single giant ring.
7 of the keys are for Smart cars, so the has to try them all until one works, like a prisoner who’s just stolen a guards giant key ring. Except the high stakes are “it’s cold and raining and her wife is annoyed standing next to the car while this all occurs”.
a little?
Woohoo, Tales From The Slack!!!
😀
I’m sure they would do it if they thought they could monetise it. Say, a subscription to key location services through the automaker’s app.
I’m sure there are some privacy concerns, but we’re all being tracked on our phones 24-7 anyway.