Keys open other cars?!?!

[Neo]

Was talking to my bro on MSN and he tried something out the other day. Him, my sis-in-law, and myself all have Mazda3\'s. 1 of each grade too.
So he tries his GT key on his girls car which is a base car. And the doors open!!!

He kinda freaked out... he tried to open my doors with his key but it didn\'t work.

So now he\'s calling up the dealership!

Seems the Mazda3 has the same issue as 2nd gen RX-7\'s!! LOL!!!

[TheProfessor]

I\'ll definately give this a shot tonight, hope it doesn\'t work!

[SIM SIMMA]

I opened some random person\'s Jeep Grand Cherokee once when I had one awhile back.

I was surprised.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Sounds like a fun game to play at the meets.

Actually years ago when I was like 8 or 9, I remember my family picking up my Gramma at the airport in Detroit, I was so bored, I grabbed her luggage and keys and made my way for her car to throw em in the trunk.

When I got outside, I couldn\'t remember the colour of her 1982 Buick so I tried the key in the one I guessed and it worked. So in went the luggage and I ran back inside.

5 minutes later, as we were finally leaving, I was confused to see we werent going towards the car I had suspected was hers.

Luckily the other car hadn\'t left yet... Anyhow, my small story.

[sharky]

I believe this is pretty common on most older cars - Not sure where I heard it but I was told that back in the 80\'s GM/Ford used to only make a few (10-12) different keys per model year - but haven\'t been able to find anything on the net to validate this?

Either way, no-one could start your car, as not only does the key have to fit, but the key also has to be \"programmed\" to work in your car. If you ever get a new key, or order that flipkey from flipman and do the programming you will see what I mean.

[bluntman]

I\'m going to jamb a toothpick in the keyhole and break it off so no one can enter my car. I saw that in movie, I don\'t remember which one.

I have said that I am bored?

[3GFX]

Originally posted by bluntman


I\'m going to jamb a toothpick in the keyhole and break it off so no one can enter my car.

Put a spud in your tailpipe and a banana in your gas tank, no one will go anywhere with your car then!!! :hoho

[bluntman]

Originally posted by 3GFX

Put a spud in your tailpipe and a banana in your gas tank, no one will go anywhere with your car then!!! :hoho



Where\'s Broli when you need him?

[FLIPDADY]

Not at all surprised. Every vehicle manufacturer has this issue.

There are only so many key #\'s each car can have. I\'ve actually cut keys for different customers before that have had the same key code.

[TheProfessor]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED
There are only so many key #\'s each car can have. I\'ve actually cut keys for different customers before that have had the same key code.

Really? So there could technically be another Mazda owner in T.O. that has the exact same key as myself?

[bluntman]

Could be Broli.

Scary thought, huh?

[TheProfessor]

Originally posted by bluntman


Could be Broli.

Scary thought, huh?

It is now!

[FLIPDADY]

I think this phenomenon only occurs on orange 3\'s.:p

[Neo]

Yes, this could pose a problem... but this will only get you in the car. So even though this will be enough for someone to get in the car, he/she won\'t be able to drive it away... unless of course they have a tow truck...

The only problem is having to leave valuables in your car... Thankfully I never leave anything in my car to warrant someone to come and take a look...

[TheProfessor]

Yeah, but many of us have aftermarket stereo\'s which could be a problem. Also, aren\'t airbags one of the most stolen items from a car?

[Redhouse]

I just looked at the key and i\'m guessing there are about 11 different pin locations, and for each location a possible 6 pin heights. that would give 6^11 combinations ~360M combos.
say 75% of those are no good because they make inserting the key difficult or whatever. that still gives a huge number (90M)
a more conservative estimate of 75% combos of 11 pins with 4 positions still gives 1Mil combos.
very unlikely that you should have a hit on the same car.
so what is the deal? why are there matches at all in the same city.

[bluntman]

If a dealer can cut a key by just knowing your VIN, I don\'t think they\'re using one million combinations.

[Redhouse]

Originally posted by bluntman


If a dealer can cut a key by just knowing your VIN, I don\'t think they\'re using one million combinations.
why\'s that? i\'m saying that the key could be cut in millions of ways, so why restrict the key pattern to even less.

[bluntman]

The reason is money...their bottom line.

Look at the first post of this thread and ask yourself what are the odds of that happening? It is rare but it does happen. If all manufacturers used RFID technology, a true keyless entry system similar to that on the BMW 7 series or the Suzuki Grand Vitara (????), then this sort of thing wouldn\'t happen.

What does this mean for sedan owners? Can their trunks be opened by different keys or is it just the doors?

[Redhouse]

I just can\'t see that it would be so expensive for the lock and keys to be manufactured automatically according to a code and the parts sorted for each vehicle as they must do now. The automatic sorting of pins, and the cutting of keys is trivial with modern manufacturing equipment. I don\'t know if mazda cuts the keys themselves and manufactures the bolts etc but it would be nice to know why they\'d cheap out on this.

I\'d like to see some results from any further tests.

[FLIPDADY]

Originally posted by Neo


Was talking to my bro on MSN and he tried something out the other day. Him, my sis-in-law, and myself all have Mazda3\'s. 1 of each grade too.
So he tries his GT key on his girls car which is a base car. And the doors open!!!

He kinda freaked out... he tried to open my doors with his key but it didn\'t work.

So now he\'s calling up the dealership!

Seems the Mazda3 has the same issue as 2nd gen RX-7\'s!! LOL!!!
I bet you those two cars have the same key number it\'s the only way that this could have happend.

[MazdaTree]

Hey Joe, I know with the GT model, when you open the door while the cars stock alarm is armed it will go off... Now say the alarm is armed and you open your door with the key will it disarm the alarm?

[Skarbro]

Originally posted by MazdaTree


Hey Joe, I know with the GT model, when you open the door while the cars stock alarm is armed it will go off... Now say the alarm is armed and you open your door with the key will it disarm the alarm?
No. There are only 2 ways to disarm the alarm - hit a remote button or put the key in the ignition and turn. I don\'t know if that key\'s transponder has to recognized though to disarm the alarm.

[Redhouse]

Originally posted by Skarbro



Originally posted by MazdaTree


Hey Joe, I know with the GT model, when you open the door while the cars stock alarm is armed it will go off... Now say the alarm is armed and you open your door with the key will it disarm the alarm?
No. There are only 2 ways to disarm the alarm - hit a remote button or put the key in the ignition and turn. I don\'t know if that key\'s transponder has to recognized though to disarm the alarm.
I had my alarm go off once when I accidentally clicked lock on the remote before I exited. I couldn\'t remember how to turn it off, so I tried turning the key in the ignition to no avail. It finally worked when I pressed the unlock button. it was a bit embarassing.