Credit Card type proximity key for a car

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#1061749 9-Jun-2014 12:54

nakedmolerat:
gundar:
Satch: I'm not interested in replacing any of the electronics in my car. I just wanted to replace my existing key with one shaped like a credit card.

These two points are in conflict.

Your press button uses a radio signal and receiver the smart card uses a chip that requires a reader. They are differnet types of technology and different hardware

You don't quite understand the OP.

OP car uses proximity keys. He doesn't like his current proximity key as it is bulky. He just want a new proximity key that is thin enough to be left in the wallet.

Thank you, thank you! I was starting to wonder if my skill of written English was failing me!

As blakamin said, the buttons on the key remote are simply to unlock it from a distance, otherwise both of my cars sense when their keys are close (50cms and closer or similar) and allow unlocking by just pressing a button on the car's door handle.

I always have my wallet on me when driving (need my drivers licence) so having something in my wallet would be uber convenient!

jonathan18

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#1061772 9-Jun-2014 13:50

Satch: I always have my wallet on me when driving (need my drivers licence) so having something in my wallet would be uber convenient!

But isn't the reality that you'll tend to need other keys like your house key? As soon as that's the case (even if only most of the time), surely the advantage of having a credit card-shaped "key" for your car is reduced?

Must say, though, I'm loving having a proximity key for our new car - biggest hassle with it though is when on holiday my wife regularly left her own keys in the car, meaning we had to hunt for them and take them with us to allow the car to be locked!

On related matters - with keyless starting, is it possible to switch the engine off but retain the AC power? It's frustrating to lose the car stereo, especially when listening via Bluetooth as it takes a while for the stereo to re-connect to the phone. Similarly, with start-stop technology, is it possible to switch the car off without re-engaging the motor (when it has 'stopped' itself)? It's irritating the motor starts up again just so switch it off.

Satch

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#1061773 9-Jun-2014 13:55

jonathan18:
Satch: I always have my wallet on me when driving (need my drivers licence) so having something in my wallet would be uber convenient!

But isn't the reality that you'll tend to need other keys like your house key? As soon as that's the case (even if only most of the time), surely the advantage of having a credit card-shaped "key" for your car is reduced?

Nope. My house is completely keyless. Numeric keypad access on both the front door and internal garage access door of my house mean I no longer need to carry old school keys. Hence why I want to take the last lazy step of having car keys situation in my wallet so I never really have to worry about keys ever again! :-)

1eStar

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#1061822 9-Jun-2014 15:08

clonemykey.com

bazzer

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#1061839 9-Jun-2014 15:32

jonathan18:
Satch: I always have my wallet on me when driving (need my drivers licence) so having something in my wallet would be uber convenient!

But isn't the reality that you'll tend to need other keys like your house key? As soon as that's the case (even if only most of the time), surely the advantage of having a credit card-shaped "key" for your car is reduced?

Must say, though, I'm loving having a proximity key for our new car - biggest hassle with it though is when on holiday my wife regularly left her own keys in the car, meaning we had to hunt for them and take them with us to allow the car to be locked!

On related matters - with keyless starting, is it possible to switch the engine off but retain the AC power? It's frustrating to lose the car stereo, especially when listening via Bluetooth as it takes a while for the stereo to re-connect to the phone. Similarly, with start-stop technology, is it possible to switch the car off without re-engaging the motor (when it has 'stopped' itself)? It's irritating the motor starts up again just so switch it off.

RTFM?

I don't have such a car, but my parents do. I don't use it enough to know how to do the things you ask, but I know it's possible because I've seen it done. It would be in the manual I guess, things like holding down the button or similar.

Satch

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#1062473 10-Jun-2014 11:56

1eStar: clonemykey.com

Yeah like that but for car keys. I don't think what I'm after is available so I will bin this dream for now.

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#1062768 10-Jun-2014 17:29

"Prox keys suck and this is why"

There's about a zillion comments on that page, vehemently arguing the supposed pros - yet obvious cons.
Hardly a mention of the ludicrous NZ$500 cost for replacement keys - which pays for a few cents worth of moulded plastic, a few dollars worth of components, and a few minutes to program in to your car.
They are a gimmick - along with the "start button", designed to appeal to - and thus make us prisoners of - the child within.

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#1062863 10-Jun-2014 21:02

When I am considering my next car I will make a point of asking the salesman how much a replacement key costs. I have to admit it wasn't something I even thought about last time I bought a car!

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#1062922 10-Jun-2014 21:47

Fred99: "Prox keys suck and this is why"

There's about a zillion comments on that page, vehemently arguing the supposed pros - yet obvious cons.
Hardly a mention of the ludicrous NZ$500 cost for replacement keys - which pays for a few cents worth of moulded plastic, a few dollars worth of components, and a few minutes to program in to your car.
They are a gimmick - along with the "start button", designed to appeal to - and thus make us prisoners of - the child within.

Totally disagree about prox keys being a gimmick. I've had a car with prox keys for about 3 months and they are an absolute lifesaver when you have young children in car parks. Walk up to the car while holding hands with a 2 1/2 year old, touch the door and it opens without having to fumble for keys (which are inevitably in the other pocket) etc.

A normal remote key for a Corolla was around $300 when I had to buy one three years ago so comparatively it's in the ball park.

You could make the argument about the cost of any electronic device being a few cents worth of components. It really come down to what it's worth you.

jonathan18

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#1063276 11-Jun-2014 11:35

bazzer:
jonathan18: On related matters - with keyless starting, is it possible to switch the engine off but retain the AC power? It's frustrating to lose the car stereo, especially when listening via Bluetooth as it takes a while for the stereo to re-connect to the phone. Similarly, with start-stop technology, is it possible to switch the car off without re-engaging the motor (when it has 'stopped' itself)? It's irritating the motor starts up again just so switch it off.

RTFM?

I don't have such a car, but my parents do. I don't use it enough to know how to do the things you ask, but I know it's possible because I've seen it done. It would be in the manual I guess, things like holding down the button or similar.

Doh! Why didn't I think to RTFM??!!

As it happens, I'm a thorough reader of manuals, and have read nearly all of the one that came with the car (as long and boring as it is). I've also checked in the manual for answers to these specific questions but had no luck, hence raising them here. Guess I'll check with the dealership when it's in for its next service...

bazzer

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#1063284 11-Jun-2014 11:48

jonathan18:
bazzer:
jonathan18: On related matters - with keyless starting, is it possible to switch the engine off but retain the AC power? It's frustrating to lose the car stereo, especially when listening via Bluetooth as it takes a while for the stereo to re-connect to the phone. Similarly, with start-stop technology, is it possible to switch the car off without re-engaging the motor (when it has 'stopped' itself)? It's irritating the motor starts up again just so switch it off.

RTFM?

I don't have such a car, but my parents do. I don't use it enough to know how to do the things you ask, but I know it's possible because I've seen it done. It would be in the manual I guess, things like holding down the button or similar.

Doh! Why didn't I think to RTFM??!!

As it happens, I'm a thorough reader of manuals, and have read nearly all of the one that came with the car (as long and boring as it is). I've also checked in the manual for answers to these specific questions but had no luck, hence raising them here. Guess I'll check with the dealership when it's in for its next service...

Sorry, no offence intended. I guess if it's not in the manual it's maybe not possible. I doubt it's an undocumented feature. Could be dependant on make/model. What do you have?

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jonathan18

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#1063341 11-Jun-2014 13:11

bazzer:
jonathan18:
bazzer:
jonathan18: On related matters - with keyless starting, is it possible to switch the engine off but retain the AC power? It's frustrating to lose the car stereo, especially when listening via Bluetooth as it takes a while for the stereo to re-connect to the phone. Similarly, with start-stop technology, is it possible to switch the car off without re-engaging the motor (when it has 'stopped' itself)? It's irritating the motor starts up again just so switch it off.

RTFM?

I don't have such a car, but my parents do. I don't use it enough to know how to do the things you ask, but I know it's possible because I've seen it done. It would be in the manual I guess, things like holding down the button or similar.

Doh! Why didn't I think to RTFM??!!

As it happens, I'm a thorough reader of manuals, and have read nearly all of the one that came with the car (as long and boring as it is). I've also checked in the manual for answers to these specific questions but had no luck, hence raising them here. Guess I'll check with the dealership when it's in for its next service...

Sorry, no offence intended. I guess if it's not in the manual it's maybe not possible. I doubt it's an undocumented feature. Could be dependant on make/model. What do you have?

No problems - it's probably true that many wouldn't bother reading the manual, so a fair question! But given the amount of technology in the car (adaptive cruise control, start/stop engine management, blind-spot monitoring etc) I thought it was important to read it. It's a 2013 Mazda 6 Ltd. The start/stop isn't working all the time as I'd expect so will take up this and my other questions (including when the @#$@# are they going to sort the terrible iPod integration!) with the local dealer...

Satch

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#1063423 11-Jun-2014 15:15

Fred99: "Prox keys suck and this is why"

There's about a zillion comments on that page, vehemently arguing the supposed pros - yet obvious cons.
Hardly a mention of the ludicrous NZ$500 cost for replacement keys - which pays for a few cents worth of moulded plastic, a few dollars worth of components, and a few minutes to program in to your car.
They are a gimmick - along with the "start button", designed to appeal to - and thus make us prisoners of - the child within.

Are you serious???

The article you linked to is a crock of (family show) in my opinion. Sure the author of that document, being a car reviewer, had issues when several of them were reviewing multiple of the same car (although he made it sound like there were dozens of cars which I'm sure there weren't), but this is not a real world scenario and not worth even mentioning.

Modern car keys are expensive, rightly or wrongly, but this is not limited to just proximity keys. Any car key which has a chip in it to disable the immobiliser tends to be expensive. Gone are the days of rocking up to the local key cutter and getting a cheap copy of your car key. This should be seen as a positive as it makes cars harder to steal (I said harder, not impossible). Just be careful with your possessions and try not to lose them!

As for stranding a passenger with no keys to the car, I find it hard to take this one too seriously. When I am being dropped off somewhere I don't normally have the key - my driver does. If I do drive and know I am going to exit the car and someone else will take the car with them, I use that thing called common sense again and make sure they have the key from the start or before I leave the car. Both of my cars with proximity keys beep loudly when the key leaves the cabin, so jumping out of the car while it is still running will never happen.

Overall I think the article is just petty. Proximity keys are very useful in my eyes. It's not like you have much choice anyway unless you specifically try to only buy cars without them. In future I would imagine this will become harder and harder to do...

graemeh

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#1063448 11-Jun-2014 15:41

Satch:
Fred99: "Prox keys suck and this is why"

There's about a zillion comments on that page, vehemently arguing the supposed pros - yet obvious cons.
Hardly a mention of the ludicrous NZ$500 cost for replacement keys - which pays for a few cents worth of moulded plastic, a few dollars worth of components, and a few minutes to program in to your car.
They are a gimmick - along with the "start button", designed to appeal to - and thus make us prisoners of - the child within.

Are you serious???

The article you linked to is a crock of (family show) in my opinion. Sure the author of that document, being a car reviewer, had issues when several of them were reviewing multiple of the same car (although he made it sound like there were dozens of cars which I'm sure there weren't), but this is not a real world scenario and not worth even mentioning.

Modern car keys are expensive, rightly or wrongly, but this is not limited to just proximity keys. Any car key which has a chip in it to disable the immobiliser tends to be expensive. Gone are the days of rocking up to the local key cutter and getting a cheap copy of your car key. This should be seen as a positive as it makes cars harder to steal (I said harder, not impossible). Just be careful with your possessions and try not to lose them!

As for stranding a passenger with no keys to the car, I find it hard to take this one too seriously. When I am being dropped off somewhere I don't normally have the key - my driver does. If I do drive and know I am going to exit the car and someone else will take the car with them, I use that thing called common sense again and make sure they have the key from the start or before I leave the car. Both of my cars with proximity keys beep loudly when the key leaves the cabin, so jumping out of the car while it is still running will never happen.

Overall I think the article is just petty. Proximity keys are very useful in my eyes. It's not like you have much choice anyway unless you specifically try to only buy cars without them. In future I would imagine this will become harder and harder to do...

This is real, my ex-boss had this exact scenario happen to him.

He and his wife got in the car. He thought he had his keys with him but after dropping her off he parked the car and at that point realised he did not have his keys with him.

This was a while ago though and perhaps this exact scenario is why your proximity keys beep when leaving the cabin.

A proximity key will not be a deciding factor for me with my next car and I won't actively avoid it but I won't be seeking it out either.

blakamin

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#1063619 11-Jun-2014 20:15

jonathan18: <snip>
No problems - it's probably true that many wouldn't bother reading the manual, so a fair question! But given the amount of technology in the car (adaptive cruise control, start/stop engine management, blind-spot monitoring etc) I thought it was important to read it. It's a 2013 Mazda 6 Ltd. The start/stop isn't working all the time as I'd expect so will take up this and my other questions (including when the @#$@# are they going to sort the terrible iPod integration!) with the local dealer...

With Toyotas you turn the car off without being in park and the radio keeps going. No idea with a Mazda, but might be worth a shot. Or, if the engine is off, press start without your foot on the brake.

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