Coming soon to a car near you...

Something interesting came into the materials testing lab where I work today. If you have a late-model car, you probably have a remote control that locks/unlocks the doors, and maybe opens the trunk. What came into the lab are a bunch of keys that have the remote integrated into the key’s head. Instead of having a separate remote on a little keychain, you’d just push a button on the key itself to unlock your doors. They look pretty cool, but they’re kinda bulky.

These are labeled for Dodge, but I’m sure that everyone will have them soon. What do you think? Good idea or not?

My Commodore has one of those - it’s a 1996 model. The top of the key is a large black plastic thing with buttons to unlock and lock the doors. They key also contains some sort of micro computer thing which talks to the engine immobiliser. It’s bitch when the thing breaks though, the new key is expensive and has to be programmed to talk to the car’s computer.

Doh - forgot to say I like it as in theory it helps to reduce car theft (all that fancy computer immobiliser stuff). And its one thing on the key chain instead of two.

Why do we need the actual keys anymore? Why not have a button on the remote that starts the engine?

Doesn’t one of the European models have a keyless start? Renault rings a bell, and I think that it has a security card you put in a slot (about the size of a credit card) and you just push a button.

I saw an ad for a car in a magazine somewhere, and they mentioned it. I know no more about it than that, sorry.

<hijack>
leechbabe, did you know that turning the key backwards in the door lock acts as a deadlock? Even if they break the windows, they still cannot unlock any of the doors, and the immobilizer will stay on as well. If you lose your keys though, you are totally screwed.
</hijack>

Know about that one Khadro my husband has a habit of always deadlocking the car, sadly he also has a habit of misplacing his keys. :smack: Makes life fun.

I had heard that using the deadlock to often can damage the key mechanism don’t know if that is an UL or actual fact.

Well, I do not know how often would count towards “too often”, but I’ve been using it almost every day for a year now, and no ill effects.

My car is parked on the street, outside a train station, for 10-11 hours of the day, in one of the worst areas for car theft in the state. I think I’ll risk the deadlock :slight_smile:

And just to keep this little thing somehow related to the OP, I found, from http://www.carkeys.co.uk/launch/LA000170.htm this little tidbit.