*** Car Rental SECURITY WARNING ***
Jul 8, 2008, 2:57 pm
#1
Original Poster
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*** Car Rental SECURITY WARNING ***
I have an important warning for everyone. PLEASE READ! (Moderator: can you be sure this post gets prominence?)
I got an upgrade this week on my rental car to a Cadillac STS. We're on a family vacation and are making many sightseeing stops. We're security conscious so we put all our valuables in the trunk when leaving the car.
Three days into our trip I noticed my son open the truck AFTER I had locked the car. We tried re-locking the car and he could still open it by simply pressing the button on the outside of the trunk. I could not find any way to keep the trunk locked.
I called the car rental company and they told me to call the renting location. Their cust svc rep could not figure out what was causing the problem. I told him that we even tested moving the key fob far from the car, just in case there was some automatic unlocking feature if the fob is nearby.
Well, my comment triggered a disconcerting possibility. He sheepishly admitted that they hide the spare fob in the trunk of the rental cars. I pulled back the covering over the spare tire to find the user's manuals and spare fob. I took the spare fob 20 yards from the car and voila...the trunk stays locked.
Cadillac has a proximity sensor which unlocks the truck when the fob is near. I don't know which other cars have this feature. The only way to test for this problem is to lock the car, take the fob a distance away from the car and test if the trunk stays locked. The rental car companies should immediately stop hiding the spare fob in the vehicle. An unsuspecting traveler could lose their valuables and--since the thief has access to the hidden keys/fob--the car itself!
I got an upgrade this week on my rental car to a Cadillac STS. We're on a family vacation and are making many sightseeing stops. We're security conscious so we put all our valuables in the trunk when leaving the car.
Three days into our trip I noticed my son open the truck AFTER I had locked the car. We tried re-locking the car and he could still open it by simply pressing the button on the outside of the trunk. I could not find any way to keep the trunk locked.
I called the car rental company and they told me to call the renting location. Their cust svc rep could not figure out what was causing the problem. I told him that we even tested moving the key fob far from the car, just in case there was some automatic unlocking feature if the fob is nearby.
Well, my comment triggered a disconcerting possibility. He sheepishly admitted that they hide the spare fob in the trunk of the rental cars. I pulled back the covering over the spare tire to find the user's manuals and spare fob. I took the spare fob 20 yards from the car and voila...the trunk stays locked.
Cadillac has a proximity sensor which unlocks the truck when the fob is near. I don't know which other cars have this feature. The only way to test for this problem is to lock the car, take the fob a distance away from the car and test if the trunk stays locked. The rental car companies should immediately stop hiding the spare fob in the vehicle. An unsuspecting traveler could lose their valuables and--since the thief has access to the hidden keys/fob--the car itself!
Jul 8, 2008, 5:27 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,905
Its actually not just Caddy, as I've seen this occur in several other GM models as well. It should be noted that the newer the vehicle (or more correctly, the less mileage on the vehicle), the more likely these spare key fobs haven't been removed. In SUV's they're often located under the middle or back seats (if they flip), and some GM's do have the spare fob in the glove box!
Last edited by Ritz; Jul 9, 2008 at 7:28 am
Jul 11, 2008, 6:57 am
#8
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 10
Ironic really, the newer the car (which should make it more secure) the easier it is to break in to.
On a similar subject I know someone who had two VWs in their family, and they had a spare plastic key. It worked for both cars - one was a Polo and one was a Bora. So, theoretically, if you had a spare plastic key you could steal, very easily any VW in a fleet.
On a similar subject I know someone who had two VWs in their family, and they had a spare plastic key. It worked for both cars - one was a Polo and one was a Bora. So, theoretically, if you had a spare plastic key you could steal, very easily any VW in a fleet.
Jul 17, 2008, 3:06 pm
#12
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I wonder what the insurance company thinks...
...about the practice of leaving the spare fob in the trunk? If the car were stolen and they "hid" the spare fob in the trunk without your knowledge who would be responsible for the loss?
Jul 17, 2008, 3:24 pm
#13
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IANAL, but the phrase 'contributory negligence' comes to mind.
Ironic twist that the rental company could find itself as a defendant against it's own insurer (and yours).
/.
Ironic twist that the rental company could find itself as a defendant against it's own insurer (and yours).
/.
Jul 22, 2008, 10:02 am
#14
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Thanks for posting this. I ended up with a CTS this week and made sure to check the spare tire well for the extra fob, and found it there. It's now with me, along with the fob that they gave me at the counter when I picked up the car. It's pretty scary to think that with that key fob in the trunk someone could not only open the car, but sit down in the driver's seat, push the start button, and drive it off.
BTW, I've had several Nissans and Infinitis at National licensee locations at smaller airports where this is a potential issue as well. I imagine it's also a potential problem with the Toyota Prius.
National needs to change their practice of hiding the extra key fob in the car on these newer cars that have fully keyless entry and push-button start.
BTW, I've had several Nissans and Infinitis at National licensee locations at smaller airports where this is a potential issue as well. I imagine it's also a potential problem with the Toyota Prius.
National needs to change their practice of hiding the extra key fob in the car on these newer cars that have fully keyless entry and push-button start.
Aug 1, 2008, 1:24 pm
#15
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Interesting. Does the STS allow you to program the 'personality' and is there a feature about how the trunk lock behaves?
I had another issues with a S40 this week - I couldn't open the trunk.
Searching and searching led me to the hidden touch pad to open the trunk. Which led to the next problem, it stayed unlocked until the car itself was locked. Pressing the unlock button on the fob only unlocks the trunk. Pressing the car unlock unlocks the doors and trunk. The trunk remains unlocked until the car is physically locked again.
So lock the car, pop the trunk and toss something in and leave, the trunk remains in an unlocked, albeit latched, state.
I had another issues with a S40 this week - I couldn't open the trunk.
Searching and searching led me to the hidden touch pad to open the trunk. Which led to the next problem, it stayed unlocked until the car itself was locked. Pressing the unlock button on the fob only unlocks the trunk. Pressing the car unlock unlocks the doors and trunk. The trunk remains unlocked until the car is physically locked again.
So lock the car, pop the trunk and toss something in and leave, the trunk remains in an unlocked, albeit latched, state.