Relay theft for 3 Series?

[Davey-Suffolk]

Being a newbie to BMW ownership, I wonder if the problem of thieves using a relay to use the key fob, inside the house, to unlock the car parked outside, is real. I know this is particularly bad for Range Rovers, but is it something I need to worry about, or have BMW got it successfully covered? Car is a 2017 320i.

[Greydog]

Morning David

Sadly no matter what manufacturers do to try and protect your investment there are those out there who will try to find away round it.

Just about any car that is equipped with "key less" go are vulnerable to this kind of theft. Going back to the early 2000's We had 2 attempts on my Mercedes fortunately they only gain entry not start the car before the dogs let us know they were there, open the door and let 5 dogs loose and they legged it CCTV footage supplied to the Police.

Now if they gain entry they  clone a key apparently. Mercedes offered a Farady bag to put the key into when not in use, as we had several cars at that time my solution was/is a small box lined with foil covered with cloth that all the keys are dropped into that does the same job. CCTV showed two more visits before they gave up on my car.

So if you want to keep your pride and joy safe either buy a Faraday bag or like me line a small wooden box with tin foil then cover the foil with a soft material so key fobs dont get marked and make sure all keys are in the box. 

Dave

[Davey-Suffolk]

2 hours ago, Greydog said:

Morning David

Sadly no matter what manufacturers do to try and protect your investment there are those out there who will try to find away round it.

Just about any car that is equipped with "key less" go are vulnerable to this kind of theft. Going back to the early 2000's We had 2 attempts on my Mercedes fortunately they only gain entry not start the car before the dogs let us know they were there, open the door and let 5 dogs loose and they legged it CCTV footage supplied to the Police.

Now if they gain entry they  clone a key apparently. Mercedes offered a Farady bag to put the key into when not in use, as we had several cars at that time my solution was/is a small box lined with foil covered with cloth that all the keys are dropped into that does the same job. CCTV showed two more visits before they gave up on my car.

So if you want to keep your pride and joy safe either buy a Faraday bag or like me line a small wooden box with tin foil then cover the foil with a soft material so key fobs dont get marked and make sure all keys are in the box. 

Dave

Many thanks for that. I had wondered about the Faraday box, but wasn't sure if foil would be enough to stop the signals. Now I will make one, today. It will also help me remember where my keys are!

Although I have CCTV, it still is no good once the car has been stolen, it's gone.

Cheers and thanks.

[Greydog]

Our CCTV didn't clearly show their faces and the car they turned up in was just out of shot so according to the Police so wasn't of any use? Seems they have to look at the camera and smile !! Second attempt they were called at the time (just after midnight)  a car turned up after eight in the morning ??? When they returned CCTV showed they were at our front door obviously trying to get a signal from the key with no joy.

So take the precautions yourself if they can't see the key on their scanner they they can't open the car, my son uses a crook lock on the steering wheel that also works as even if they are in the car it cant be driven.

 

[Davey-Suffolk]

13 minutes ago, Greydog said:

Our CCTV didn't clearly show their faces and the car they turned up in was just out of shot so according to the Police so wasn't of any use? Seems they have to look at the camera and smile !! Second attempt they were called at the time (just after midnight)  a car turned up after eight in the morning ??? When they returned CCTV showed they were at our front door obviously trying to get a signal from the key with no joy.

So take the precautions yourself if they can't see the key on their scanner they they can't open the car, my son uses a crook lock on the steering wheel that also works as even if they are in the car it cant be driven.

 

Thanks. I have always known that CCTV cannot be relied on, it just might help. I used to have a steering lock many years ago when I parked my Daimler SP250 in a Tube station car park, one day the car had been moved a couple of yards up to the point where the locked steering meant it could go no further. But I thought that they had declined in use recently, as the baddies just tended to cut them off or even break the steering wheel. But you can never be too sure.

Once, in Baltimore, MD, I stopped in a traffic light queue and looked at the car parked at the roadside next to me. The boot was so rusted that I could see the contents, but the car was safe, it had a steering lock.

Cheers.

[Davey-Suffolk]

15 hours ago, Davey-Suffolk said:

Many thanks for that. I had wondered about the Faraday box, but wasn't sure if foil would be enough to stop the signals. Now I will make one, today. It will also help me remember where my keys are!

Although I have CCTV, it still is no good once the car has been stolen, it's gone.

Cheers and thanks.

I had a foil food tray left over from yesterday's dinner, so I tried using that as a shield, holding it up between the key fob and the car, which was parked outside, maybe 20ft away. Whatever I did, the car locked and unlocked without hesitation. So I am now looking at real Faraday bags.

[Davey-Suffolk]

Update.
I took a plastic salad bowl, and covered it inside and out, with a lid, with foil. It did nothing to slow down the fob's signals, so I concluded that this was not really a viable solution to the remote signal jam problem.

So I now have a real Faraday Bag, which is where my keys live while they are in the house, and a steering wheel lock, the one preferred by Which?.

[Pompy]

Hi Dave I use a Faraday pouch. They are relatively cheap to buy. You can get different colours so if you have two vehicles they don’t get mixed up. I also use a locking steering wheel cover on occasion. I have seen krooklocks removed by cutting through steering wheel with bolt cutters and bending it. Determined car thieves are hard to beat. But every level of extra security you have. Locked gates, locking bollards etc. Takes time to be beaten. If you make it  a battle . They will probably move on to softer target.

[Greydog]

Hi Phil

I was using a Farady bag with my AMG's in the 90's still drop all our keys in the box though. In the 80's I had a Cosworth Sapphire that was stolen from a secure Hotel car park, the car was fitted with an after market immobiliser and alarm. Police turned up told them what the car was and the cop said "you won;t see that again" I told him about the immobiliser etc and he laughed and said they would have come with a transporter. Got a hire car driving back south on the A1M I passed a transporter with a Merc on the back with all it's hazards going.Makes you wonder/

Plus side for me the Lease company I dealt with couldn't get another Cossie due to Insurance costs so they got me a Lotus Carlton 🤣