Key Less unlock , but no Driving

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EVMan

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2017
Messages
340
Location
USA, DC
I had the opportunity or circumstance , where i needed to drive the car , when i forgot my keys.
As i learned it the hard way , u can only unlock the car with the phone , but cannot drive it. I know in Tesla , u can drive it too.
I even called the support , and they said , German laws dictate, gas cars cannot be remote started. That was not help full, applicable legally in USA , or common sense wise or even applicable to EV's. In very cold countries , its a valid requirement too.

Is their any way to drive it too ? Keep a hidden shielded spare key some where in the car ?

I was curious , whats the thinking , when they actually charge money for the connected drive feature , but not make it useful.
 
I don't know of any way to make the car run without the fob. If there were a way, it would open up BMW and any other manufacturer to liability.

FWIW, if you don't have at least one paired fob for the car, you'll need to replace the computer in the car as well as new fobs to make it work again.

In theory, if you put a fob in the car and it was in an RF shielded enclosure, you could probably lock the car with another fob or the key. If it was not shielded well enough, you couldn't lock the car.
 
ok.
Actually some car sharing services,( i think including zipdrive) give the ability to unlock the car with phone and drive it. I never used them , so I do not know , if they keep a shielded key inside, or if they don't need a key at all.

Keeping a shielded key in known location is obviously not a safe idea.
 
jadnashuanh said:
I don't know of any way to make the car run without the fob. If there were a way, it would open up BMW and any other manufacturer to liability.

FWIW, if you don't have at least one paired fob for the car, you'll need to replace the computer in the car as well as new fobs to make it work again.

In theory, if you put a fob in the car and it was in an RF shielded enclosure, you could probably lock the car with another fob or the key. If it was not shielded well enough, you couldn't lock the car.

Another option I have considered is removing the battery from a key fob and hiding it inside the car. Then if you were lost your keys you could get the car unlocked (app or even AAA). Then use the hidden key fob RFID feature to start the car. As an aside, be sure to secure your car keys when riding on a roller coaster, they are expensive and annoying to replace.
 
jadnashuanh said:
I don't know of any way to make the car run without the fob. If there were a way, it would open up BMW and any other manufacturer to liability.

FWIW, if you don't have at least one paired fob for the car, you'll need to replace the computer in the car as well as new fobs to make it work again.

In theory, if you put a fob in the car and it was in an RF shielded enclosure, you could probably lock the car with another fob or the key. If it was not shielded well enough, you couldn't lock the car.

Can you have 3 or 4 keys working with the same car concurrently......? Any limitations ?
On the day when you are stuck, if you need this feature then you do need this feature.
My dealer sold me key replacement insurance provided i use it at least 2 times, to get 2 replacement keys.
 
As I understand it, the computer in the i3 can handle two fobs. Adding a third, removes one of the others. Someone said that an add-on board can then allow another two to be remembered. I do not know if that information is correct.

One thing to keep in mind is that to add in a new fob, you MUST have a working one. If you've lost or damaged both of them, the only way to make the car whole again is to replace the control module with two new fobs. The fobs are costly, but throwing in a new control module makes it even more so.
 
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