IMO, a “smart key” that has push buttons to lock and unlock the car, but needs to be inserted into the ignition to start the vehicle impresses me as pretty much optimal technology. Do you think otherwise? What additional features do you desire/appreciate? Remote start? Keyless entry/start?
The folk we were discussing this with mentioned several odd situations. I did not attempt to verify any of these. But one couple said they had a device they kept in their pocket, which unlocked the car when they approached, and allowed you to start the car by pushing a button. The said they felt uncomfortable assuming the car locked when they left, because if they tested the door to ensure it was locked, it would open due to the device’s proximity. Another person related a story where 2 people got in for a drive. A started the car with the fob in their pocket. The drove to point 1, where A got out to run an errand, left the car running, and B drove to another location where she parked and went into a store. After shopping, B realized she could not start the car, because the fob was still in A’s pocket.
I think they gave a couple of other odd permutations. But made me wonder - how much do customers want these types of “keys” and what are your experiences good or bad with them?
We have keyless keys for both of our cars. No problems in few years we’ve had them. When my wife steps out of the car with the key while I’m behind the wheel, the car makes it very clear what has happened, and I just yell at her to come back and leave me the key
I love my keyless entry. The door doesn’t unlock at my approach - I have to put my hand on the handle and then it unlocks. No key jangling in the ignition. As for the problem of testing, the rear door doesn’t unlock when you touch it, so if I’m worried I can just test that - or hit the lock button again.
The only minor problem is if I hit unlock by mistake while fishing for something else in my pocket, but that is a remote control problem, not a keyless one.
And my car is smart enough to protest loudly if I leave the fob inside and leave - so that problem is pretty much solved also.
my Ranger still has an old-style ignition key and lock cylinder, but the Ranger was basically the same from 1995 through 2011.
a lot of modern cars which still use a regular key to start are really not much different from the pushbutton start. Most (if not all) are “Tip Start;” when you turn the key all it does is send a message to the PCM to operate the starter. when the PCM senses the engine has started running, it disengages the starter. Push-to-start setups work the same way. the only difference is you push a button instead of put a key in a slot and turn it.
I’ve read news stories about people who left the car running in the garage, forgetting that even though they carried the key into the house, the car would continue to run.
Don’t have one, don’t want one, will probably keep my current car longer because it seems more & more cars are coming with the ‘keyless’ fob.
I’ve had the battery die in my fob, no problem just push the button & the switchblade key pops out so I can manually unlock the door. Some/many/most of the new cars are coming without any keyhole.
As a runner & a cyclist, I have a (becoming harder & harder to find) chipless key. I leave the real key hidden & locked in the car & leave the old-fashioned, chipless key hidden somewhere outside. It will unlock the car door but not start the car. IF an opportunistic thief comes along & finds it, they can’t use that key to steal my car. If I tie the key into my shoelaces when I’m doing a trail run with creek crossings, oh well, the metal gets wet. Don’t try that with an electronic key.
My wife’s Volvo has a button on each door handle - when you get out of the car, you close the door, hit that button, and it locks the car. Never have to take the fob out of your pocket.
They are a solution in search of a problem to me. I have never owned a vehicle with the unlock on approach and push button to start features but I have used it plenty of times on rental cars and I did not like it one bit. The remote unlock button on my real key to my SUV works just fine and gives what I think is just the right amount of control. I never thought that inserting the key into the ignition to start it was some undue burden that should be engineered away either. I wouldn’t even especially care if I lost my main key and the remote unlock feature on it. It is nice enough especially when I am loading things into the back but I have owned vehicles that didn’t have any automatic locks at all and it didn’t bother me much.
I have it on one of my cars and love it. Car unlocks when I stick my hand through the handle, switches to my seat configuration versus my husband’s, unlocks all the doors (my husband only unlocks his maybe - doesn’t drive the kids). I don’t have to fish in my purse or pockets. It won’t let me lock the key in the car. I can lock the car when leaving just by touching the door. The car is smart enough to know that some of the doors are still open (kids again) and waits to lock until everyone is out, and then locks and beeps to let me know it’s done. I like this feature so much that when I use my other car I often have a moment like Scotty in ST IV (I believe), where he tries to get the computer running by talking to it. “Hello, computer?”
My car has every option available but one (an automatic transmission) so it has the keyless thing. It is convenient, but I see it as just a lazy man’s feature. Mine does have a key on the driver’s side door in case the battery dies. I got it in November '13 and I had to replace the battery in the fob last week. The key for my '08 Toyota is still going strong.
I wouldn’t buy a car that didn’t have keyholes at all. An electronic fob needs a battery, and that battery will die eventually. I’d rather my car still work after that happens.
Also, while an electronic key could be made to be extremely secure, I don’t trust that they actually are.
at least on Fords, there’s a “hidden” lock cylinder in the driver’s door handle; you pop off the end cap and use the mini key inside the fob to unlock the door and get in.
I never have to take the key out of my pocket for my car, and I love it. When I leave the house, I put the key in my pocket. When I get home, I take it out to unlock my house door.
My car locks/unlocks based on how I touch the handle. Push button start. There is a slot that I can put the fob in, for the dead-battery case.
I don’t have anyone else with a key to the car, so I don’t have any chance of one of us not having the key with us.
My fob has a simple metal key that slides out - I can use it to lock/unlock the door. I can leave the rest of the fob in the car (hidden) - it won’t allow lock/unlock features from there. The metal key is easy to carry and can get wet.
Adds expense and complexity that outweigh any benefits, IMHO.
Last I checked, the newer car keys cost a lot to replace or duplicate. I’d much rather have something simple and more reasonably priced. Cars, like many products, are marketed on feature of this type, and I often find their utility lacking on balance.
I just bought a new Mazda and the keyless fob conceals a back-up key that will unlock the door and even if the battery is dead if you press the physical fob against the keyless start button, the car will sense it and start. So you’re completely covered even with a dead fob battery.
Personally I really like it, but then I’m a lazy cuss. So being able to just walk up to my car, open the door ( or the trunk ) with a button press and just press a button to start, all without ever fumbling for keys presses my happy lazy button ;).
I’d say they are more convenient, but as someone who has somehow managed to lose my second key, I can vouch for the difficulty and expense involved in getting a replacement. Don’t be me and lose a key.
I have a proximity key. I don’t need to take it out of my pocket or purse to open, lock or start the car. And as Tamerlane said, you can pull it apart and touch the end of the ‘key’ to the door button or start button if something happens to the battery.
The one big advantage I can think of is that it’s impossible to lock yourself out of the car - if the key is inside and the ignition is off, you can’t lock the driver’s door again after you get out.
I have my car set to lock as I walk away, and it’s worked the whole two years I’ve had the car.