[Jon D]

I was recently speaking with a BMW salesman and I raised the issue of keys being cloned by a signal reader from outside the house - so called 'relay theft'.
He told me that, provided that your key is lying flat on a horizontal surface, it does not emit a signal and is therefore undetectable.
I suspect that this is yet another example of BMW sales guff but I'd be interested to know if anyone's heard anything similar...

[therealdb1]

Sounds to me like BMW bottom burps to try and convince owners not to worry!

If I place my comfort access key horizontally on the bench in the garage the car unlocks when I touch the door handle.

If the key is not transmitting how does the car know it is there?

Should I use a spirit level to see how horizontal the key is???

[rasa bmw]

was the sales man "horizontal" ha ha

[coleybmw335]

Hi, I read an summit on the net a few weeks ago about this, It listed all the cars that the key could be cloned, The only bmw on the list was 7 series.

[therealdb1]

Originally Posted by coleybmw335

Hi, I read an summit on the net a few weeks ago about this, It listed all the cars that the key could be cloned, The only bmw on the list was 7 series.

Is that for the current range only?

It seems strange that a 1 series (no disrespect) cannot be cloned but a 7 series can.

If the keys are programmed in the first place it will not be long before the low-life in society learn how to get around that little problem.

It seems that as vehicle security is improved through electronic immobilisation etc. and it seems that we are deemed incapable of physically putting a metal key into a lock to open the door and start the car, it is the drivers that need to be educated to appreciate that what they used to consider "just a key" is now much more than that and hanging on to your pride and joy can be dependent on how much care you take with the key.

I know many people, and you often see it in TV programmes, where drivers arrive home and leave the car key on a hall table just inside the front door, for example. Well that was daft in the days when the thief only needed a fishing rod through the letter box to steal your keys and drive away in your motor but apparently they no longer need contact with the key at all!

The same is true for the contactless credit cards, of course, and a whole industry has built up producing electrically screened wallets so that you are not fleased of £30 or whatever everytime an unscrupulous person brushes past you with a contactless card reader. Is it really that tough to put the card in a slot and key in a PIN?

This is progress in modern life!

Don't even mention mobile phone apps that can unlock and start your car! You have no way of knowing who is "listening in" on that little conversation between your unsmart phone and your vehicle.

[The0pportunist]

Can you get the salesman to put it in writing. I'll move my camera to my dining table to prove my key is in horizontal position at all times.

[coleybmw335]

It never said if it was current range or not, Bmw normally use the 7 series for new tech on cars, So probably new models.

It can not be hard for them to make your key fob to stop sending a signal out if its not moved for a while, But who know what car manufactures are thinking when they come up with these new tech ideas.


Half the bmw sales person don't know how there cars work.