# What do you call that thing you boop to lock your car doors as you walk away? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2013, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516 "2013-07-03T08:03:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/1 "2013-07-03T08:03:07Z")
See subject. I don’t drive. That’s actually a funny question. I do know what a carburetor is, however. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/2 "2013-07-03T08:04:56Z")
I call it the lock remote. > **[Remote keyless system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_keyless_system)** > > A remote keyless system (RKS), also known as remote keyless entry (RKE) or remote central locking, is an electronic lock that controls access to a building or vehicle by using an electronic remote control (activated by a handheld device or automatically by proximity). RKS largely and quickly superseded keyless entry, a budding technology that restrictively bound locking and locking functions to vehicle-mounted keypads. > Widely used in automobiles, an RKS performs the functions of a standard ca... ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/3 "2013-07-03T08:06:13Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > See subject. I don’t drive. > > That’s actually a funny question. I do know what a carburetor is, however. A carbooperator. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/4 "2013-07-03T09:16:00Z")
I just call it the car key. Or key fob, I suppose. I don’t give a special word to the button bit. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/5 "2013-07-03T10:17:37Z")
“Central locker” ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/6 "2013-07-03T10:53:48Z")
I don’t have one because I’m low tech, but I hear “key fob” a lot. When I refer to one, I tend call it a “beepy thing” while holding my hand out to aim an imaginary one at an imaginary car and try to unlock it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/7 "2013-07-03T11:08:54Z")
Key. Or key fob, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/8 "2013-07-03T11:42:07Z")
[A racist’s best friend.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7flZEDMT6I&t=2m39s) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/9 "2013-07-03T11:48:02Z")
Clicker ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/10 "2013-07-03T11:49:09Z")
A key fob. A year or two ago, I remember reading that word in an old Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie book in reference to a key chain or bracelet charm or necklace pendent or something along those lines, so it’s not exactly a new term. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/11 "2013-07-03T12:11:23Z")
The car remote. I know people who call it “the beep-beep”. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/12 "2013-07-03T13:44:51Z")
A lock booper. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/13 "2013-07-03T14:21:13Z")
A remote, a keyless entry, a car remote, or a key fob. However, a ‘key fob’ sometimes specifically refers to only the little black ‘thing’ that newer cars have _instead of_ keys. IOW cars with push-button START/STOP, where the key fob just has to be in your pocket (i.e. within a short distance from the car). Although, I guess, this would now just be built into the keyless entry thing (I’ve never driven a car with just a START button) so it doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/14 "2013-07-03T15:51:35Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > A remote, a keyless entry, a car remote, or a key fob. However, a ‘key fob’ sometimes specifically refers to only the little black ‘thing’ that newer cars have _instead of_ keys. IOW cars with push-button START/STOP, where the key fob just has to be in your pocket (i.e. within a short distance from the car). Although, I guess, this would now just be built into the keyless entry thing (I’ve never driven a car with just a START button) so it doesn’t matter. [Key fob](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_fob#Key_fob) is a broader term than just a car remote, though. Also, FWIW, the official name for the key fob w/r/t my Mazda (which does have push-button start) is the “advanced key”. It also includes a real key stashed inside the fob, in case the keyless start system malfunctions. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/15 "2013-07-03T15:57:03Z")
I call it the remote or the key fob. A friend of mine referred to the chirping sound that his car made in response to the remote being pressed as “Japanese car farts”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/16 "2013-07-03T15:57:13Z")
The zapper. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/17 "2013-07-03T15:59:08Z")
A remote. More recent cars, with the remote integrated into a mechanical key as well, I refer to as a “keymote” (clever, eh?), but it’s not an official thing as far as I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/18 "2013-07-03T15:59:34Z")
Either the key fob or the remote. Remote is more accurate but fob is more euphonious. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/19 "2013-07-03T16:06:08Z")
I call it a “fob.” The wife calls it a “clicker.” ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516/20 "2013-07-03T16:07:20Z")
I call it “the key”. In our case, the buttons for locking and unlocking the car are built into the base of the key itself, rather than being in a separate device, so it’s an accurate description. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-that-thing-you-boop-to-lock-your-car-doors-as-you-walk-away/662516.md?page=2)