My Si was stolen. How???

[warsaws]

Just a mention here: the range of the key fob is limited, probably ~2 feet long. So the only way someone could boost your key fob signal is if you let it right behind the font door / near a window as they will have to be within 2 feet of it. Otherwise, it's kinda impossible, they will need to get into the house and get closer to it.

Next you’re going to tell me that I don’t need to wear my foil hat anymore!

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[Robotaz]

Just a mention here: the range of the key fob is limited, probably ~2 feet long. So the only way someone could boost your key fob signal is if you let it right behind the font door / near a window as they will have to be within 2 feet of it. Otherwise, it's kinda impossible, they will need to get into the house and get closer to it.

I wonder if the 2' distance is just for the car receiving the signal due to its limitations. If you have sensitive enough electronics you may be able to detect the signal from much further than the car is able.

 

[NoKz]

Just a mention here: the range of the key fob is limited, probably ~2 feet long.

I can confirm this. I've literally walked from the driver door to the trunk alongside the vehicle and had it auto-lock. My first response was "Damn that range is short".

 

[typemismatch]

I believe the range is a setting in the car.

 

[Design]

They can use a repeater in conjunction with a signal booster to fool the system into thinking the FOB is right next to the car. If the booster's internals are sensitive enough, they can be much further than a few feet from the key. And it's code can be transmitted up to an 1/8 mile between the two devices.

More about it here:
https://www.wired.com/2017/04/just-pair-11-radio-gadgets-can-steal-car/

 

[BogdanM]

It would have been better if you also carefully read the article..”One hacker holds a device a few feet from the victim's key, while a thief holds the other near the target car. The device near the car spoofs a signal from the key.”. That’s a quote from the article presented above.
As I said above, when inside the house, don’t keep the key near the extremities of the house where someone outside the house can be in close proximity of it.

 

[Design]

Hence the following stipulation:

If the booster's internals are sensitive enough, they can be much further than a few feet from the key.

True, more sensitive configurations cost far more than $30. But my point was simply to say that a $15-20 investment can deter even the most astute thieves.

 

[BogdanM]

You are forgetting something: if the source is weak (has a limited range), it does not really matter how powerfull is the booster (which decodes and retransmits the signal emitted by the source) if the booster is outside the range of the source (in this case the key). You need to get signal from the source in order to be able to mess with it. No signal => nothing to mess with.
I seriously doubt that honda’s key has a range bigger than ~2 feet.

 

[Design]

Well... everything is communicated in wavelengths. Waves diminish but don't stop as they travel away from the source or repeater. And as you probably know, FOB systems measure the strength of the wave being received as a way to determine proximity (they do the same to determine whether the key is inside vs outside the car, using multiple receivers).

Boosters can amplify the wavelength and fool the system into thinking it's closer than it really is. That can be further extended by the two-way receivers as outlined in the above article. I know some manufacturers counter this by measuring response time between units. But I'm unsure what failsafe Honda uses in the Civic.

Hope that helps.

 

[caspar21]

i work in technology with plenty of training in radio frequency etc.
i was able to pick up the signal from my key fob from the driveway when the fob was in the house 30 feet away. it was weak but plenty strong enough to rebroadcast strong wnough for the car to think i was beside it.

i love the microwave idea except i have kids...

 

[Gruber]

Just a mention here: the range of the key fob is limited, probably ~2 feet long. So the only way someone could boost your key fob signal is if you let it right behind the font door / near a window as they will have to be within 2 feet of it. Otherwise, it's kinda impossible, they will need to get into the house and get closer to it.

Unfortunately, the car ignoring the fob when it's more than a couple feet away doesn't mean that some thief receiver won't read it at much longer distance. A simpler way than to use metal boxes would be for Honda to put a switch on it that turns it off.

 

[NoelPR]

So easy.

 

[Skate1530]

Seems like this is the end of my CIVICX profile. My Civic SI Coupe was stolen last Friday. Woke up around 8:30am and the car was gone. Police do not find it in any sort database. I live in a good area in Miami, Florida. The only suspicion from the night before was a blacked out Truck that tailed me and drove by slowly when I went inside my house. I have both keys in my bedroom. How in the hell was my Si stolen? Doesn't push-button not turn on if the key isn't near the car???

Friendly reminder that Hondas' are known to be the easiest cars to steal. Atleast that's what the police officer told me.

You think the extra 1k I spent at Honda for theft perfection will prevent? If it disables engine like it says that don’t matter if they just tow it? Man scary to think my 18 CTR could be gone with no noise

 

[MTBhatch]

I attended this birthday party once and during that day, we had discussions about car. There were 2 hondas stolen around that neighborhood recently. A civic and a hrv. The only similar on these hondas are both of them came from the same dealership. It could also be inside job.

 

[camzben]

I heard a metal can to keep your keys in or tin foil also works to keep people from cloning your FOB.

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