Keyless driving!

[Neil Ives]

I had to deliver items to two local addresses. My wife opened the car and put stuff in. I set off and then saw a big yellow message advising me that no wireless key was detected, (or something along those lines). I realised what had happened; I didn't have either of our keys with me! I remembered something I'd read here about this being possible and that if I turned the car off I would not be able to start it again. I had to leave the ignition on at both addresses, although the engine was not running. Same at the petrol station when I filled up;  I felt guilty about not turning off the ignition but I paid at the pump and it was not obvious that the car was still 'live'.

[123Drive!]

My friend last week left his CRV on whilst loading goods and a thef drove and stole his car! His key was still in his pocket!

I thought the car would stop without the key nearby? Unfortunately he can't claim his insurance.

[Lord Voltermore]

My friend last week left his CRV on whilst loading goods and a thef drove and stole his car! His key was still in his pocket!

I thought the car would stop without the key nearby? Unfortunately he can't claim his insurance.

Its always been the case that if you leave the engine running while you temporarily 'quit' the vehicle  and a thief jumps in and drives off it will be considered negligent  by insurers  . No real difference between keyless or  traditional keys  left in the ignition  .   Whats more if the car was left  on a public highway (and possibly also public places such as a car park)with its engine running its also an offence and you could be prosecuted.    Having said that.  If the car had been in silent EV mode when you left it, and started by  itself after you left it,  could there be a case for more lenience from the court or insurers?   Insurers will probably say you should have locked it anyway.   

Having the engine cut out when out of range  could be dangerous.  What if the car suddenly cut out on the motorway because it lost the signal from the key ?.This could  happen if the key battery is nearly flat, or if its moved or covered by something that blocks its signal.

[Nicksey]

Same thing happens with Renault keys, which we found out once with a Captur. I dropped the wife off in town and then went to find a parking space... only to find out she had the key.
The other thing I have noticed id with the Renault key, when you walked away the car would lock itself whereas the Jazz you have to manually lock it.
Also, and something I do miss is the anti-raid locking sytsem that Renault had i.e. once you hit 5mph the doors would lock themselves, thus foiling car jackers... which I assume isn't a big concern in Japan.

[Neil Ives]

Our previous car, a BMW had autolock/unlock and auto locking on pull away. That car had some good kit but in the end my wife and I decided it wasn't right for us;  we wanted a car that had indicators fitted as standard.

[Kremmen]

A friend has a 19 plate Audi A3 and that has auto lock at about 10mph.

I don't understand why Honda removed it in 2007.

If it's accident related then surely it could unlock when the airbags deploy.

[ColinS]

I could never get my head around the logic behind auto-locking.  Surely if someone was going to car jack you, they would do it while you were stopped.  By the time you got up to 5 or 10 mph, they would have the door open.

Obviously I am missing something. Would someone care to explain?

[Wivenhoe]

My last 6 cars had autoloc. It isn’t to prevent car jacking when you initially enter and drive away, it’s to protect against jacking on subsequent stops at junctions, light etc.

[ColinS]

My last 6 cars had autoloc. It isn’t to prevent car jacking when you initially enter and drive away, it’s to protect against jacking on subsequent stops at junctions, light etc.

So when you stop at junctions, lights etc. do they not unlock?

[kokkieblanda]

no, the unluck when you open the door from the inside. The same when you use the lock button in the Jazz

[Kremmen]

I could never get my head around the logic behind auto-locking.  Surely if someone was going to car jack you, they would do it while you were stopped.  By the time you got up to 5 or 10 mph, they would have the door open.

Obviously I am missing something. Would someone care to explain?

The last few cars I had with auto locking stayed locked until you used an internal door handle or switched it off via a door button. They certainly didn't unlock when you stopped.

[Nicksey]

I could never get my head around the logic behind auto-locking.  Surely if someone was going to car jack you, they would do it while you were stopped.  By the time you got up to 5 or 10 mph, they would have the door open.

Obviously I am missing something. Would someone care to explain?

The last few cars I had with auto locking stayed locked until you used an internal door handle or switched it off via a door button. They certainly didn't unlock when you stopped.

Same with Renault, they stay locked for the duration of that journey and you had to unlock internally at the end of it. As Wivenhoe says, its about the junction/traffic light stops that it is meant to protect you.

[Karoq]

Our previous car, a BMW had autolock/unlock and auto locking on pull away. That car had some good kit but in the end my wife and I decided it wasn't right for us;  we wanted a car that had indicators fitted as standard.

you probably didn't the stalk behind the steering Wheel. Most BMW drivers never notice it! :'(

[ColinS]

Thank you.  That makes more sense now.

[123Drive!]

My friend last week left his CRV on whilst loading goods and a thef drove and stole his car! His key was still in his pocket!

I thought the car would stop without the key nearby? Unfortunately he can't claim his insurance.

Its always been the case that if you leave the engine running while you temporarily 'quit' the vehicle  and a thief jumps in and drives off it will be considered negligent  by insurers  . No real difference between keyless or  traditional keys  left in the ignition  .   Whats more if the car was left  on a public highway (and possibly also public places such as a car park)with its engine running its also an offence and you could be prosecuted.    Having said that.  If the car had been in silent EV mode when you left it, and started by  itself after you left it,  could there be a case for more lenience from the court or insurers?   Insurers will probably say you should have locked it anyway.   

Having the engine cut out when out of range  could be dangerous.  What if the car suddenly cut out on the motorway because it lost the signal from the key ?.This could  happen if the key battery is nearly flat, or if its moved or covered by something that blocks its signal.

Good explanation, thanks. I wouldn't know as my 2009 Jazz only has a normal key...glad it is not keyless!