mystery break in

kaptainmarc · 19 Apr 2017 at 09:18

got to my car this morning open my door and everything in my car was on my drivers seat

log book
key fob for work
snotty tissues

nothing exciting

but no signs of forced entry, luckily I have nothing of value nor interest in my car.

now I am 99% sure the car was locked, as I got my shopping out the car and then went back out to the car to make sure I had locked it.

I am a bit confused and baffled as to how this has happened. icing on the cake after getting keyed 3 weeks back -_-

anyone any ideas on how this could have happened?

Janesy B · 19 Apr 2017 at 09:21

Did you try the handle or see the lights flash? It's possible someone could have used a jammer, and then went back to the car.

Six6siX · 19 Apr 2017 at 10:16

My dad had this happen the other week - said he went to the car and it was unlocked and the glove box and center armrest had been rifled through - sat nav was stolen. No damage and no forced entry.

The car has an auto lock feature (and he swore he locked it via the fob anyway).

I could understand a jammer type method but the auto lock would surely prevent that!

Firestar_3x · 19 Apr 2017 at 10:22

Six6siX said:
I could understand a jammer type method but the auto lock would surely prevent that!

Auto lock based on what parameters?

grudas · 19 Apr 2017 at 10:24

auto lock usually works in this way -;

unlock on keyfob
do not open either door
car locks it self after certain time, for e.g. 30s on my mazda, 2mins on my bmw.

if you open the door etc it will not auto-lock.

Firestar_3x · 19 Apr 2017 at 10:27

Indeed, perhaps he is talking about the fob being out of range or something.

MooMoo444 · 19 Apr 2017 at 10:34

When the fob is no longer detected in close proximity the vehicle will auto lock. This is honestly two steps away from the vehicle on mine so 30 seconds seems really high, 2 mins is crazy.

chilipeppersc · 19 Apr 2017 at 10:41

I'm sure there is plenty of tech out there that can either jam, record, intercept your fobs signal and then open your car doors. Who has it is just a matter of access. It's hardly a safe way to lock something, not these days anyway. You can just check YouTube or any "car thief" documentary to see how it works. If it was broken into, then this is my guess

Six6siX · 19 Apr 2017 at 10:41

Yes ^^ that sort of thing. Not in ignition and no activity/doors opened within a period of time.
This was on an Octavia which I believe is around 30 seconds? (not totally sure)

Nasher · 19 Apr 2017 at 10:55

This jammer nonsense is why I like the way my gt86 locks. You don't need to touch the fob at all to lock it, you physically touch a spot on the handle and it locks. So locking cannot be jammed since theres no wireless signal to do it. Then to unlock by touching it you need to be less than 2ft away from the door.

You can also use the fob buttons, but there's no point.

Diagro · 19 Apr 2017 at 11:06

I always press the button on the handle on my Mazda for this reason.
when i first got it i found that when at work the fob wouldn't work. So just got into a habit of pressing the button.

kaptainmarc · 19 Apr 2017 at 11:15

I checked my auto lock feature and its as stated above.

locks again within 30 seconds if the door hasn't been opened. if you open it, it will stay open.

I am going to ask my neighbors who I park next to if they noticed anything weird.
not a very nice feeling knowing people have been through your stuff. Just happy I never keep anything of value in there

Howard · 19 Apr 2017 at 11:16

Nasher said:
This jammer nonsense is why I like the way my gt86 locks. You don't need to touch the fob at all to lock it, you physically touch a spot on the handle and it locks. So locking cannot be jammed since theres no wireless signal to do it. Then to unlock by touching it you need to be less than 2ft away from the door.

You can also use the fob buttons, but there's no point.

Well you could in theory 'jam' keyless entry since there will be communication between the proximity sensors and the fob but as you said, you're right next to the car, so you'd be a bit silly to notice it not locking.

Semple · 19 Apr 2017 at 12:52

Do you physically pull on the handle after locking it to verify?

I don't know why, but i've always done this, so now seems to just be a habit.

theone8181 · 19 Apr 2017 at 13:15

Semple said:
Do you physically pull on the handle after locking it to verify?

I don't know why, but i've always done this, so now seems to just be a habit.

Try that with keyless entry

.

Semple · 19 Apr 2017 at 13:20

theone8181 said:
Try that with keyless entry.

You could have someone stay behind whilst you walk out of range (or vice versa)

Nasher · 19 Apr 2017 at 13:48

Howard said:
Well you could in theory 'jam' keyless entry since there will be communication between the proximity sensors and the fob but as you said, you're right next to the car, so you'd be a bit silly to notice it not locking.

Nope, you only need to fob nearby to unlock it. It's always lockable via the handle. So a jammer would only stop someone opening it, but then you also have a physical key inside the fob as well (in case you ever get caught out with a flat battery and can't open the door).

acemastr · 19 Apr 2017 at 13:49

Nasher said:
This jammer nonsense is why I like the way my gt86 locks. You don't need to touch the fob at all to lock it, you physically touch a spot on the handle and it locks. So locking cannot be jammed since theres no wireless signal to do it. Then to unlock by touching it you need to be less than 2ft away from the door.

You can also use the fob buttons, but there's no point.

There's a constant signal when you're within range, I have the same as you and the car actively hunts for the fob at all times

Howard · 19 Apr 2017 at 13:53

Nasher said:
Nope, you only need to fob nearby to unlock it. It's always lockable via the handle. So a jammer would only stop someone opening it, but then you also have a physical key inside the fob as well (in case you ever get caught out with a flat battery and can't open the door).

I think you'll find the car needs presence of the fob (and to make sure it's not inside the car) before it'll lock. Certainly this is the case with both my car, and my girlfriend's Toyota Auris.

acemastr said:
There's a constant signal when you're within range, I have the same as you and the car actively hunts for the fob at all times

Indeed.

Nasher · 19 Apr 2017 at 13:54

acemastr said:
There's a constant signal when you're within range, I have the same as you and the car actively hunts for the fob at all times

Yea, that does make it vulnerable to someone trying to boost the signal. But that's a lot harder to do than simply having a £50 jammer in your pocket.

But I need to do some more testing

If I need to park mine up for a long period I just unplug the start button and pull the OBD2 fuse (you can leave the fuse out permanently TBH), which takes maybe 30 seconds to do. Simple but not an easy one for someone with limited time to figure out