matthewr87

We will be travelling up to the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) for the upcoming July holidays. However with the amount of key fob spoofing car thefts that happen there it might as well be GTA (Grand Theft Auto). Unfortunately we will be parking the Cayenne on the in-laws' driveway. Is there a way for me to minimize the risk? Can I temporarily disable the keyless access features? Will that even help with a key fob spoofing device? Thanks for any advice.

Just trying to prevent the Cayenne from ending up like this Cullinan

https://www.reddit.com/r/maybemaybem...e_maybe_maybe/

mc-pgts

you can temporarily disable the key by holding the lock and unlock buttons simultaneously. (learned that here on Rennlist). The Porsche emblem will light up and then go off. Re-enable by pressing either of those buttons again.

mc-pgts

Also in the PCM (may depend on version) under Settings/ Car/ Vehicle Locking Systems/ Comfort Access - uncheck to disable.

ThomasWShea

@matthewr87 can you post a link that describes the specific methods you are referring to?

a quick search i did on this was referring to fobs sending unlock signals via button press. is this the method ur concerned about?

or is there a method to allow a device to emulate the fob to allow the “keyless” functionality where u walk up and pull the door handle w ur key in your pocket?

TXshaggy

You can get a faraday pouch explicitly designed to prevent this. Once in the pouch signal is contained.

I wouldn’t just worry about it parked at a house.

My buddy got his new Ford F250 lifted from one of the best steak houses in San Antonio.

There was a guy at the bar with a computer…capturing and boosting to his buddy.

Get the pouch

rdboxster

Agree…faraday pouch. Several on Amazon. We carry a couple with us while traveling for the fobs while in a hotel room. Don’t like the restaurant theft. .

matthewr87

Yup, the second one emulating keyless functionality. It is an epidemic in the GTA apparently.

https://www.cp24.com/lifestyle/techn...efts-1.6889284

And this is what the police are doing about it:

https://www.blogto.com/city/2024/03/...ice-car-theft/

matthewr87

Okay I'll get the pouch.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TorontoDriv...ton_last_week/

Woofman

If you get a faraday pouch, verify that it works. Some have been found not to work very well if at all.

Disabling your fobs with the button push method should be enough. You can verify its effectiveness by trying to enter your locked Cayenne or start the engine with the fob disabled.

I disabled my wife's Cayenne fob since she'll probably never drive it or any other vehicle again due to health issues. I disable my fob to preserve its battery when I know I'm not going to drive the Cayenne very soon. The Cayenne sucks for carrying a wheel chair. Hard to believe that the cargo space in our Prius is far larger and much easier to load.

Here's an interesting video from the zany Motormouth couple that discusses the auto theft problem in eastern Canada and how stolen vehicles can be on a boat and out to sea within a few hours after being taken.

rdboxster

Interesting. Idea Woofman, thanks for posting. I wonder if the Porsche fob goes to sleep like the Toyota one does?

matthewr87

Tested the Faraday box and pouches that I ordered from Amazon and they work. Thanks for the ideas.

Woofman

I don't know how to tell for certain but a Cayenne fob is "dead to the world (i.e. to our Cayenne)" after I disable it. IIRC, recent Toyota fobs have a motion sensor that causes them to go into sleep mode and stop transmitting and receiving after a certain period of not moving - after only four minutes of not moving if I believe what I'm reading on the Internet. I've never read anything about Porsche fobs having a motion sensor.

retom

Here is smart solution: https://www.youtube.com/@smartkeylessprotector
BTW, I have to check if new Cayenne key has a sleeping mode. BMW has it. I will let you know.

Electric Lizard

Details below:

retom

I checked. The car key falls asleep after 5-10 minutes. I put the key on the chair next to the car and locked the car. After 10 minutes I came back and tried to open the car by pulling the door handle (keyless function). The car didn't open. Interestingly, the LED in the key was blinking when the door handle was pulled, but the car did not open. Only when I moved the key the key woke up and the car opened normally after pulling the handle. I did this experiment 3 times with the same results.
Please note that my car is a MY2024 in EU specification. You need to do the same experiment with US spec cars.