I know I’m likely in the minority saying this, but I enjoy looking through the owner’s manual when I buy or drive a new (to me) car. I find the little technical illustrations very endearing and cute (awww, they made the car, but small), and there is almost guaranteed to be at least one hidden feature that I would never have known about had I not actually looked inside the manual. I work at a Subaru dealership and have a personal interest in unique car features, but even I did not know about the feature I’m going to share with you today: Subarus can be unlocked by inputting a 5-digit numerical passcode using a special trunk button.
What I particularly enjoy about this feature is that it’s just convoluted enough to be a bit funny. The steps that you have to go through in order to set it up are reminiscent of inputting old video game cheat codes; anyone remember up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start and you’ll get 30 extra lives?
The feature is intended for the very specific use case of leaving your key, purposefully disabled, inside the car so you won’t risk losing it while embarking on an outdoor Subaru-owner-esque activity like hiking running or canoeing. Then once you return to your car, you can input the code, unlock your doors, and reactivate your key fob, which is safe and sound and not at the bottom of a lake! 
Since I work at a Subaru dealership as mentioned previously, I knew I had to try this out for myself. The instructions as printed in the owners’ manual are a bit needlessly confusing, so I’ve tried to reproduce what I did here in more of a plain-English way.
To begin the process of setting up the trunk PIN code, I made sure the ignition was off and all doors were closed. Then, I simultaneously held down the key fob LOCK button and the button on the right side of the trunk handle until I heard the Subaru chirp several times in a row.
Next, I pressed the UNLOCK button on the key fob. According to the manual, I could then input my new PIN code. To do this, I pressed this special trunk button (which, as far as I can tell, exists specifically for this feature) the same number of times as the digit I wanted, then waited to hear the car chirp. After I entered all 5 digits and the car had chirped to register each one, I entered the same 5 digits again to confirm. After I’d done this a second time, I was all set! I opted to input “12121” as my test code like you’ll see in a few tutorial videos online, because it’s easy to remember and requires relatively few total button presses.
To delete a PIN code, you have to go through that same registration process but enter “22222.” Then there will be no PIN code access until you register a new one. If you make an error during the process, simply pressing the UNLOCK or TRUNK RELEASE buttons on your key fob will cancel it, and you’ll have to start over from step 1.
Lastly, since this is intended for situations in which you’d want to leave your key fob locked inside the car, the PIN code vehicle-unlocking function can only be performed while the key is disabled, which you can do by rotating the driver’s door lock lever forward to lock the car manually, then pressing and holding the LOCK and TRUNK RELEASE buttons on the key fob simultaneously for 5 or more seconds. Once the Subaru chirps, your key fob has now been disabled, and it can be locked inside the car. So you better hope you remember that PIN code.
According to the owner’s manual you can also disable the key by opening and closing the driver’s door in a specific pattern and hitting the UNLOCK button inside the door at certain points during the pattern. It’s so silly!:
Imagine, someone’s sitting inside their 2015+ Subaru, flapping their driver door open and closed a bunch of times just so that they can lock their key in their car, and then returning to the car after a jog or bike excursion and having to stand by the trunk hatch for a minute or so while they tap a hidden button a bunch of times just to get back in there. It’s delightfully endearing that it exists at all!
I always appreciate a practical and creative feature that’s useful, even if a bit convoluted. It kind of reminds me of using the paperclip method to read OBD-I codes on my 1992 Previa — using a paperclip or other metal wire to connect two ports in a diagnostic connector together, then putting the car in accessory mode and counting the number of Check Engine light flashes. That stuff always makes me feel a little bit like a CIA agent solving puzzles and decoding ciphers to gather intelligence. [Ed Note: On my OBDI Jeeps, I just turn the key on, off, on, off, on. Then the check engine light flashes to tell me the code, which I match up to a list to figure out what’s wrong. -DT].
Interestingly, during my brief research on this topic, I did not find any other car manufacturers that offered a code entry system that didn’t use a numerical keypad. Ford’s SecuriCode is by far the most commonly known code-based entry system on passenger vehicles, as well as one of the simplest — a small keypad with 5 buttons and 10 digits (two per button) allows you to preset a PIN code and use that code to lock or unlock the vehicle without getting out your key.
It’s super useful, but it’s not as fun as this hidden Subaru feature, which uses a tiny dedicated trunk button in a really primitive way to create a PIN to access the car. I love that it exists, and I love how ridiculous it is.
Top credits: Subaru; Konami/Nintendo
Thank you for not calling it a PIN number.
Just don’t enter your PIN number into the ATM machine while a stranger you don’t know can visually see it.
I bought a small, clear, watertight case at Walmart. I put my phone, wallet, keys, and a snack in it, tie it to my kayak seat or put in pack if looks like wetness will prevail. But do fear locking key in Impreza, so will check this out. My previous cars I was able to acquire a smaller, flat key for just the door locks that I kept in my wallet.
Remembering the PIN wouldn’t be that hard but remember all the steps to disable the key and set the PIN and then reenable the key are next to impossible.
My niece figured that out somehow when she was about 12. My sister had no idea her Subaru was capable. Practical feature especially if you are selling an adventure based vehicle that’s actually hot garbage.
This is absolutely genius, especially as it doesn’t hurt those who ignore it or hate it.
I love it. I wish I had it on my cars.
This blog speaks to me as a former Previa, current Subaru owner. I have used the paper clip trick in a Previa a few times. I also use that button frequently, but not for PIN access. I use it to lock the car. I often close the door while walking away from the car and just tap the button to lock it while walking past the trunk.
Once i saw this feature existed on my Crosstrek I immediately decided to ignore it forever. I hate electronics that use only one button (the power button!) for every setting.
You can absolutely ignore it, but why not at least set it up? It’s better than sitting around waiting for a locksmith if you lock your keys in the car.
I think it’s pretty damn smart to use an existing button for such a feature. Why add additional cost/complexity for a secondary feature?
Is it an existing button? The article isn’t exactly clear on that.
My car has a button to open the hatch that doubles as the unlock button. It seems like this is adding this button just for this feature.
Although I do agree it would be nice if I could do some morse code on the unlock button on the driver’s door to get in.
Yes, it’s an existing button – there are two on the rear hatch panel, the standard “open” button in the middle under the logo, and a second “lock” button on the right side of that panel. The morse code unlock uses the lock button.
Makes sense. So it’s more like the doors on my car, which have a button to lock/unlock and then you open the door with the actual handle.
I never take my keys out of my pocket in this car. You don’t have to. And I always have the app that unlocks it. And it won’t lock by touching the outside handle if the key fob is inside the vehicle.
Good for you – open your imagination and see if you can come up with reasons this might exist for other people, such as going for a swim/run/orgy in the woods. You can lock your phone and keys in the car and be able to get back in.
Your lack of personal use for something does not make a feature useless. And since it’s tacked onto an existing button, you don’t need to even think about it! Hooray!
I didn’t say it was useless. I said I was ignoring it.
I set the code on my 2024 OBW. Wasn’t that hard, and it came in handy a few times. Was a neat feature I have to say…
Yeah, it wasn’t that complicated to set up, and it’s certainly easy to use once done.
The biggest problem I had was realizing there was a separate lock button back there!
40 years later, in my adult life, when nothing else is working, I try up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start.
Oh, I always pull the cartridge out, blow in it, and put it back in.
If things get really dire, I push the first cartridge all the way down and then jam another one right in on top of it. Its science!????
What’s kinda funny about the blowing on the hot Nitendo cartridges is that we All did this!
Intuitively we knew that game counsol was getting way too hot and causing havoc.
Just like countless kids independently ‘inventing’the floor is lava game
My audi A2 had a small, flat plastic keychain key that would serve the same purpose. I don’t remember this was able to turn the car on, but I suppose you could stash your real, electronic, aquaphobic key in your car the same way.
“What’s dad doing back there?” “Tickling the car’s g-spot so we can go home.”
I sort of wish I still had my 2022 Outback Touring XT, so I could test this out. I admit I never did crack open the owner’s handbook for that specific car.
I will now attempt to steal snacks from all the lazy Subaru owners with 12121 codes
Hope you like granola bars.
COTD right there. Even though you are a bot
Does Subaru realize that any Ford patents on their number keypad expired long ago?
Indeed. Ford’s patent was limited in scope and mostly was about the specific way the thing functioned and a very discrete interface. Ford did not have a patent preventing other automakers from making number-button keyless entry systems, and such patents existed before Ford’s 1977 patent of its own system.
I remember Nissan having a built-in key pad on versions of the Maxima between 1989 and 1994, which could also operate the sunroof and trunk. Later on, in the aughts, Nissan released a key pad as a dealer accessory that could be added to all Nissan and Infiniti cars with keyless entry. It was basically tied to the keyless entry system and was itself functionally another remote, but it took a numeric code as an input before it would lock or unlock the car. A customer could stick it wherever they wanted, such as on the B-pillar, next to the door handle, or even concealed behind the fuel door if that wasn’t tied to the central locking.
Ford offers something like that, too, a wireless pair-able key pad that can be stuck anywhere.
Going back to Ford, another big revolution was the capacitative version of the key pad that debuted in the new-for-2009 Lincoln MKS. It was hidden behind the glossy B-pillar and lit up/activated when touched.
Nissan used the system when they had a JV with Ford for the Quest/Villager so the Maxima and Quest had a Ford module controlling all of it. The nice thing they did was put it on both sides and add that sunroof control too.
GM did offer it on a couple Buick models and have the stick on remote version that works on at least some models as my friend’s Colorado came with one.
Now that is news to me! Thanks for sharing!
Nissan used a keypad system well before the Quest/Villager JV. My grandparents owned an ’87 Maxima with a keypad on both the driver and passenger doors. Since it could also be used to control all the windows and even the sunroof I doubt it was a Ford module. Even the first-gen Maxima had it as an option (1984 only).
Back in ye olden days when cars had metal keys…
VWs and Audis, I think Mercedes, BMWs and Porsches too (Im sure other car brands as well, as this was probably a system from a 3nd tier supplier probably Bosch), if you turned the key to the right in the door and held it (turned right), it would roll down the driver’s door windows.
If you turned it to the right, let the key go back to the nutural position and turned and held it in the door lock to the right again, All the windows and the moon roof (if it had one) would open
Turn the key in the door lock to the left you could get the windows + moon roof to close & turn it left again and all doors + the fuel filler door would lock
Metal key? What is that?
Seriously I had heard about that system but the only US spec cars I heard about it being used on were Mercedes.
Im probably not describing it well enough
As an example of a ‘smart key that has a slim metal emergency back up key built in’…
Here’s an example of a key for the 2017 Prius Prime
That thin metal blade with the plastic ‘nub’ at the end is the metal emergency backup ‘key’ that is built in to the cars smart key, that you would use to unlock the door if your smart key was completely dead.
If your smart key was completely dead, you would than hold the smart key against the ‘push to start’ button on the dash, the cars computer will recognize you are ‘authorized to start the car & away you go.
Now if you loose the smart key that has the emergency metal key attached And if you dont have the backnup smart key…. then you are SOL until you get and program a new smart key to the car by a locksmith (or a dealership)
https://www.locksmithkeyless.com/products/2017-toyota-prius-prime-smart-key-4-buttons-fcc-hyq14fbe?currency=USD&country=US&variant=43739543535850&stkn=5b898185e931&msclkid=64de33827495129ccb7b593cfdefa578
I know what a metal key is and being an old fart the majority of my cars haven’t had anything more than 1 or 2 keys.
I also know about current key systems. Note with the majority of Ford products that use a “chip key” or proximity key you can program an additional key yourself as long as you still have 2 working keys, which is why I have 3 for all of my cars so equipped. Of course you still need to have the key cut but I haven’t done that for some of the emergency keys.
I have actually had to use those emergency keys before when one of our cars had its battery die due to sitting unused for so long during the pandemic.
Those of us who mastered texting 25+ years ago have no problem with this!
We were just discussing the old school 10-key texting today!
That OBDI Previa paperclip procedure sounds just like the one on my OBDI Geo Tracker! I was using it to diagnose the brake warning light a while back, and it sure did feel cool to cross-reference the flash code with the factory service manual! Were it a year newer with OBDII, I expect I would have to actually buy a scan tool to get that kind of information! (Though I totally would, and probably will one day when I own an OBDII car)
Yep. I remember doing this on my first car, as well, a 1990 Honda Accord EX Sedan.
I feel like this is a solved problem with phone apps nowadays, unless you’re locking your phone in the car too, but then how to record all your wildlife shenanigans?
Another option would be a conventional chipped key on one of those wrist coil keychain things, but that’s like crazytown bananas thinking, regular keys and locks and such, this is much simpler.
A big chunk of the use case here is (A) going to worry about whatever event caused them to not want to bring their key with them to also potentially not have the user’s phone available, and (B) in some app cases a data connection is required, which may also not be available.
I hang out with a lot of Subie owners and do outdoorsy things in the desert with them, and there are times when we’re running car shuttles or the like and need to hunt down each other’s key fobs near the cars. I won’t have somebody else’s phone with me, but it’s easy for the other person to say “The key fob will be buried under a big rock 20 feet to the north.”
Interesting, so this may be a case of Subaru listening to their customers and coming up with a fairly low cost solution, 1 button and some software. A car company listening to their customers…that’s crazytown bananas! 😀
Probably, but at least on my Subaru they want to charge an annual fee for phone access, so this is surprisingly relevant to my interests.
Maybe it’s cause I’ve accepted my fate of getting a Mitsubishi without remote start on the fob so am stuck with the app, but it lets me lock/unlock and other things. There’s 3rd party options but they cost a couple grand, and so I’m like, that’s the same cost as just having the app for like 10 years so I’ll go with that.
This would be great for watersports. When I was young I would just put my key (non electric) in my wetsuit when surfing, but with keys which contain electronics I’m not tempted to do that.
These days I typically bring my phone and keys in a dry bag for watersports (where I have more storage) or in my pocket/bag for mountain biking, but I never bring my phone while running and I dislike having to carry the keyfob.
But I also don’t want a Subaru.
Every smart key I can think of* for cars has a physical thin metal key built in that is specifically for opening the door.
*though some evs like Tesla and maybe Rivian and Lucid? Don’t have Any physical keys to insert in to a door lock, I dont think
“…anyone remember up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start and you’ll get 30 extra lives?”
The Deftones do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZyrUO42J8M
Honey, what are you fumbling around with back there?
Sorry, sometimes it’s hard to find the button when you’ve got your hands full!
Phrasing!
Are we still doing phrasing?
So it’s a lazy/cheap Ford’s securicode? I would be worried about the battery dying while I was away with this system and somehow borking the fob.
How is this lazy? This is a freaking ton of work to implement and use compared to Ford’s. Even that instruction is twice as long.
It’s lazy on Subaru’s part, not the owners.
Instead of designing setting up a wiring system with a keypad that is easy to use and accessable, they did a software system that is so complicated that it is practically worthless.
My son’s 1997 Town Car is laughing at you, Subaru.
Meanwhile, Hyundai/Kia – wait, so it’s a feature not a bug? Why didn’t marketing think of this?
The 2019 2.0i does not have this feature.
I should have specified, this only works with Subarus that have the keyless entry system. So, the fob with push-button start, not the key that you turn in the ignition.
Wow, now I know what the keypad on my Ford is good for. I could never think of a reason I’d need it, but I do go kayaking and stuff where it might be nice to leave the key in the car.
The Subaru system is waaay too complex, but it’s nice that it’s there. Thanks for the article.
We use the Ford keypad all the time! When we are skiing someone without the key can get in and grab whatever they need. And it is sometimes handy to lock the fob inside the car too. It’s a shame they are phasing they keypads out
We use them on our cars fairly frequently.
Ford did discontinue it across the board for one year and it quickly returned due to customer and dealer backlash.
Oh I hadn’t realized that. I remember they were going to change it to a dealer add-on. That is great news that they are keeping it, I think they keypad is underappreciated but really useful
It was for the 98 model year, recently they had switched some vehicles to add-on only which unfortunately is considered a disposable item as they claim the battery is not replaceable, though at least on some of the versions you can replace it if you know what you are doing.
I know I could just look it up, but does the Ford system require this ridiculous door dance to disable the keyfob?
There is no procedure to disable the Fob for Fords. Not sure the exact reason why they do that on Subaru, other than maybe they don’t have a full complement of antennas and can’t tell whether the key is inside or outside of the vehicle and thus someone grabbing the door handle would open a car with the fob in it. Fords have 4 or 5 sensors and is smart enough to know which Fob came in which door so it sets the driver seat and mirrors to the person entering from that door. Or leaves it where it was at if the only Fob enters through the passenger side.
My Toyota won’t let me lock any keys in the car, even if I’m locking the car from outside the car with the other key fob. It just beeps at me a lot and stays unlocked. It’s very annoying when we go somewhere and my wife wants to leave her bag (with her keys in it) in the car.
I can’t remember if my Mazda does the same. I think it beeps a lot to let you know the keys are in it, then lets you override it and lock the car. But I don’t think it lets me lock the doors from inside then close the locked door with the keys in it.
Both are smart enough to tell which door you’re at and whether the key is actually inside or not.
I guess it makes sense that Ford would allow that, since you can always use the keypad to get back in.
Yeah you can’t lock the proximity fobs or conventional keys on a car that is running and an open door on many Fords. To lock the Fob in the car you have to use the keypad to lock it. Try to do it from the door switch and it will lock and immediately unlock.
Subaru does have interior key detection antennas (antennae?) for the push-button start system. As such, the car does not let you lock the key in the car if it detects the key fob present inside the car. Thus, the need for the disable feature if you WANT to lock the key in the car.
It would make sense to not allow you to lock the doors through normal means with the fob in the car, and that is true for many cars. However, in the manual pages pictured above it does suggest that you should set a code in case you lock the key in the car on accident.
With Fords you have to use the keypad to lock it with a fob in the car or if the engine is running and it wasn’t a remote start. So the assumption is that you have to at least have some basic awareness of the system to know how to lock with the keypad. Of course that doesn’t mean you’ll remember the code, though you can set a custom code in addition to the factory code. I’ve done that on a lot of ours so the wife only has to remember one code. There was a long time when we had a couple of cars that had the custom code that was the factory code for her car that we had replaced years prior.
The passive key system seems to be able to detect the presence of the key if the key is located anywhere in the interior of the car. However, if you had a weak key battery, it might be possible to leave the key in the interior but the system may not detect the key. So maybe that’s why the owner’s manual indicates that it would be wise to program a PIN code ahead of that need.
Not that I’m aware of, but I honestly haven’t used the keypad before.
I have never once used the keypad on my Maverick, I sort of never understood what the point of it was, as it can only unlock the doors, not start the car, so it’s not really a backup if you lose the key or anything. I guess that “I’m going adventuring and don’t want to risk losing the key so I’ll lock it in the car” is the intended use case, which I suppose could be handy, but seems awfully niche to implement a feature across virtually their entire lineup of cars for decades. I’d expect that to be some little doodad buried in the accessories catalog.
Same here.
It all depends, personally I don’t carry all my vehicle keys all the time so I find it useful to be able to open a car with out having to go back in the house or open up the app on my phone. For my wife who’s keys are burried in a zippered pocket inside her purse she doesn’t need to dig out a fob or drag her purse along when she just needs to go grab something out of the car. It was also very nice when the kids were young and at home and would leave something in the car and could go out and get it on their own. Back before proximity keys it was also nice when you approached the car with an arm full or stuff or while holding your small child’s hand in a busy parking lot.
It can also lock the doors which is also convenient when they didn’t have the proximity key.
Ford did discontinue it across the board in 98 as the vehicles that had been equipped with all had remotes now too and Ford considered it redundant. It came back for 99 because a lot of diehard fans and dealers complained very loudly.
It’s the thing I miss most about my Explorer. I really liked that I could lock the key in the car and go on the river or whatever, and it was convenient even at home. If my keys aren’t in my pocket, but I want to grab something from the car or put something in, that’s no problem.
Modern versions of Ford securicode are so invisibly hidden in the b pillar trim (much less visible than a tesla b pillar camera). Most loaded Focus STs had it. I imagine whatever big blobby crossovers/suvs they sell now do too.
I love the detail you included, such a process is like 25 steps too many for the typical motorist. For car nerds, such a cool hidden thing to include even if you do have to get the book out to set it up.
I’d never set this up for someone else though, the whole needing to go through steps to disable the key each time makes it way too “intentional” and people would expect to be able to use it if the car accidentally allows you to lock the key inside.
The first FoMoCo car with the hidden keypad was the 2009 Lincoln MKS.
There is the part about suggesting that you set a code in case of accidental locking the keys in the car. It also gives instructions for canceling a code so I’m pretty sure it sticks and will still work w/o disabling the key.
Reading the owners manual is the first thing I do when I get a new to me car home. Then I go sit in the car and dink around with all the new things I learned.
I didn’t own a car for 36 years I lived in Manhattan, so when I got a car when I retired and moved, I read every page for fun.