Can keyless entry be hacked?

A month ago I bought a keyless remote for my '01 OBW and the service manager was kind enough to program it for me. Last night my car was "prowled", as the sheriff's office put it. No damage to the car or apparent attempt to steal it, but stuff on the inside, including the glove box, was thrown around and a pair of binoculars was missing. There was no sign of forced entry

I have no clear memory of locking the car yesterday evening. I also have no clear memory of brushing my teeth last night, but I'm sure I did since I always do; it's a deeply ingrained habit. So is my locking the car.

I'm wondering if I just forgot to lock it, or if the keyless entry can be hacked. Is it possible/easy to do? Of course it shouldn't be, but I think I read once that General Motors, at one point in its history, used only 35 key shapes for all of its cars. Thus, if you wanted to steal a GM car and had a key for one, you only had to try on average 35 GM cars before you could get into one.

Thanks,

Reply to
John Rethorst
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Don't know if GM only had 35 key shapes, but keys would fit different cars. I once opened a 55' Chevy with a 62' key, and a friend just told me, after out drinking, he woke up and the buckets seats in his 62' Chevy had become bench seats. He drove home in someone elses car that his key unlocked.

Recently heard that theives can intercept the wireless signal from a keyless remote when you lock the car, and transmit it back later to unlock it. They say it is happeing in mall lots.

VF

Reply to
houndman

Keyless entry but no alarm? Well, due to the frameless window, it can be easy to slip a rod in and push the unlock button on many soobs. Closely inspect the door gasketing for signs of this on driver and pass side.

Carl

Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Like so many consumer items, rush to market functionality trumps sanity and security almost every time.

There are keyless entry systems that used a fixed code and are very vulnerable to replay attacks.

Dunno if yours is one of them, but as Carl correctly says, frameless windows require far less of a hardware investment and are equally effective.

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA
Reply to
Todd H.

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 11:23:45 -0700, John Rethorst wrote

Probably. Check out "a practical attack on KeeLoq" .

-- Mikula Stein

Reply to
Mikula Stein

Reply to
Rod Spade

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