[Brian.]

So, either I'm being blind and missing this info in the car settings, the manual and uterly failing at finding info with several different search terms, or the info is otherwise escaping me. My wife came home today and said that work (state gov low security mental detention center) had issued a warning about an uptick in theft of cars with "keyless entry/start" features. Doing a quick google shows that it's getting more common, equipment more available, cheaper, etc...

So, any way to disable the proximity door locks while retaining the physical buttons on the fob (so it works as a remote entry ONLY when pushing the fob button)? Or are we investing in Faraday-cage type sleeves for the keyfob?

To stem this off a little, the car is parked in a locked garage when at home. It's parks in a controlled entry parking lot at work (again, it's a facility to house/treat non-violent criminals deemed unfit to be in court), but we travel to different cities and otherwise leave the car parked for hours on end in locations with no security. So the risk, while being low, is greater than zero and worth the Tiny loss in convenience if it can be disabled.

Cheers

 

[MrBen]

Criminals are using RF boosters eg. (front door and hoping the keys are hung close) and the repeater is near the vehicle. RFID passport/wallet could reduce the 3ft range.

 

[sc489]

I don't believe you can disable this feature. Keep your keys in a Faraday pouch and check you are unable to open the car with the keys in the pouch placed close to the car. Many of these RF pouches are ineffective Faraday Cages - I had to line mine with an extra layer of tick overlapped foil.

 

[hawaiiguy]

a couple of weeks ago, I started wrapping my key fob in aluminum foil (since I had been watching YouTube videos about these thefts). It is very protective and even wrapped in just one layer, the door button will not operate and one can't get into the car. Other videos say another alternative is to place it an metal container, so I bought a small 5 inch diameter danish cookie container after Christmas (with the cookies inside) for 75 cents, as I thought this would be better and retains it shape unlike aluminum foil.

I had too much confidence in this container and showed it off to my son and his girlfriend touting how protective it was against RF signals...well, I was WRONG.They could continually open up by pressing the door's buttons..YIKES.

So I went back to using just aluminum foil for wrapping the key fob while at home and at work.

 

[sc489]

a couple of weeks ago, I started wrapping my key fob in aluminum foil (since I had been watching YouTube videos about these thefts). It is very protective and even wrapped in just one layer, the door button will not operate and one can't get into the car. Other videos say another alternative is to place it an metal container, so I bought a small 5 inch diameter danish cookie container after Christmas (with the cookies inside) for 75 cents, as I thought this would be better and retains it shape unlike aluminum foil.

I had too much confidence in this container and showed it off to my son and his girlfriend touting how protective it was against RF signals...well, I was WRONG.They could continually open up by pressing the door's buttons..YIKES.

So I went back to using just aluminum foil for wrapping the key fob while at home and at work.

You have discovered building an effective Faraday Cage isn't so simple. Many of the cheap RF protection pouches are ineffective.

 

[MrBen]

This is bulky, but has some specs.

Do Faraday Bags Work? - Preppers Survive

 

[3withthreepedals]

If a thief truly wants your car, they will get it.

 

[Midnightsky228]

So, either I'm being blind and missing this info in the car settings, the manual and uterly failing at finding info with several different search terms, or the info is otherwise escaping me. My wife came home today and said that work (state gov low security mental detention center) had issued a warning about an uptick in theft of cars with "keyless entry/start" features. Doing a quick google shows that it's getting more common, equipment more available, cheaper, etc...

So, any way to disable the proximity door locks while retaining the physical buttons on the fob (so it works as a remote entry ONLY when pushing the fob button)? Or are we investing in Faraday-cage type sleeves for the keyfob?

To stem this off a little, the car is parked in a locked garage when at home. It's parks in a controlled entry parking lot at work (again, it's a facility to house/treat non-violent criminals deemed unfit to be in court), but we travel to different cities and otherwise leave the car parked for hours on end in locations with no security. So the risk, while being low, is greater than zero and worth the Tiny loss in convenience if it can be disabled.

Cheers

Are you talking about the button on the driver/passenger door? Or the walk up to the car and it unlocks? I currently have the walk-up unlock feature disabled on my 2017 Mazda 3 so that can be done. I use the button on the front 2 door handles to unlock/lock my doors or my key fob buttons. Let me know if that's what your looking for and I will pop thru the menus and find it again.

 

[Mike C]

I use the aluminium box Swissair give you for their night goggles, earplugs etc. With the key in it the car won't operate -even if you hold the box to the dashboard .

 

[2017mazda3]

Brian...I've researched this extensively and commented on here many times along with other issues about the keyless entry feature. The short answer to your specific question is there is no way as far as I know to disable on the Mazda...even in the hidden backend.

The issue is widespread on ALL cars which have this feature and the manufacturers continue to disregard. To date I don't understand why the manufacturers don't update the firmware requiring that that the fob physically be within a few feet for the doors to be unlocked...it seems like it could be a simple firmware update since there is already a proximity feature with the fob. The fact is you can only amp up the fob to unlock the doors, not to start the car, so technically there is already a proximity feature of the fob as it relates to it's limits.

So the other issue you are asking about is the proximity of the fob to the car. So the risk increases the closer the fob is to the car. So when you go to these other places you mention and say you park in city garage, but are a couple of blocks away from the car, then the fob can't communicate. But if you park in a lot at a low rise office structure and you can see your car from the window and/or there are minimal wall structure within the building to your car then the fob can be "amped up" to unlock your doors.

I'm with you on the convenience vs. the theft factor.

 

[MrBen]

Keyless start can also be bypass by the OBD2 port.... they can start the car and turn off the factory alarm

 

[Haldon]

I bought this:
[ame]https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anti-Lost-Electromagnetic-Blocking-Shielding-Double-Layer/dp/B079ZY13XM[/ame]

It works great.

 

[vulcanben]

I know it defeats the original design but after all the bad publicity why don't manufacturers put an on/off (lock) switch on the fob?

 

[Brian.]

Yes, locks only keep honest people honest and nothing is "theft-proof". The point is to make it Harder to steal your *whatever* than the next one down. Order comes in for a 2018 Mazda 3 GT and the thief can't use their $500 RF repeater on your car, they're not going to keep on banging their head against that specific vehicle, they're going to just find another one. Kinda why it's also in a locked garage at night, and the interior is spotlessly clean (nothing in it to steal)... it's simply mitigating the risks as much as possible.

We have "walk-up unlock" turned off too, I was referring to the buttons on the doors/hatch that unlock the car. The simple solutions I see are a on/off toggle for those proximity sensors that communicate with the key ~ if they're not on, doesn't matter if the key is broadcasting. The second is a switch on the key itself that disables the radio signal, as mentioned above. The key thing is a bit more cumbersome as you need signal for the car to start (easily), I doubt there are 2 different signals for doors/start. From the manual (picture), there are 3 antenna on the car that I'd like to disable if possible... from the asbuilt side would be great, else I'll have to start pouring over wiring diagrams and see if simply disconnecting the dang things makes the car mad.

In the mean time, I'm getting some RF fabric to sew up a couple pouches.

 

[sc489]

Yes, locks only keep honest people honest and nothing is "theft-proof". The point is to make it Harder to steal your *whatever* than the next one down. Order comes in for a 2018 Mazda 3 GT and the thief can't use their $500 RF repeater on your car, they're not going to keep on banging their head against that specific vehicle, they're going to just find another one. Kinda why it's also in a locked garage at night, and the interior is spotlessly clean (nothing in it to steal)... it's simply mitigating the risks as much as possible.

We have "walk-up unlock" turned off too, I was referring to the buttons on the doors/hatch that unlock the car. The simple solutions I see are a on/off toggle for those proximity sensors that communicate with the key ~ if they're not on, doesn't matter if the key is broadcasting. The second is a switch on the key itself that disables the radio signal, as mentioned above. The key thing is a bit more cumbersome as you need signal for the car to start (easily), I doubt there are 2 different signals for doors/start. From the manual (picture), there are 3 antenna on the car that I'd like to disable if possible... from the asbuilt side would be great, else I'll have to start pouring over wiring diagrams and see if simply disconnecting the dang things makes the car mad.

In the mean time, I'm getting some RF fabric to sew up a couple pouches.

Another fix is for the car's software to measure the handshaking time delay between the key fob and the car's receiver. If the propagation delay exceeds the the time taken for the signal to propagate over say 5m (about 20 nano seconds) then the key unlock request should be denied to prevent relay theft.

 

[Lanny]

If security outweighs convenience for you, remove the fob battery. Use the metal key to unlock the door, then press the start button with the fob. It's no more bother than futzing with a tinfoil hat...er...pouch.

 

[sc489]

If security outweighs convenience for you, remove the fob battery. Use the metal key to unlock the door, then press the start button with the fob. It's no more bother than futzing with a tinfoil hat...er...pouch.

The alarm sounds on my UK Mazda 3 if you unlock the car with the mechanical key and the alarm only stops when you press the key fob against the start button.

 

[dogla]

If it would be possible to rig the keyfob with some kind of very small on/off pushbutton that connects/disconnects the fob battery then you could just turn the fob "on" when near the car. Might be something for a tinkerer like me but for the average user not really a solution....

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Jared2000]

So I have to ask, has anyone wired in a kill switch? I have a manual transmission, so presumably I can get in series with the switch on the clutch pedal. When I was in high school I had a truck that had a relay on the parking lights that required you to turn on the parking lights to start the vehicle. I must admit that I strongly hesitate to start cutting wires on my 2017 Mazda 3.

 

[sc489]

My simple solution is to keep the key in screw top metal tin which is a far more effective Faraday Cage than using a RF pouch which is prone to leak RF.