I have one on order due in September. I asked my dealer for some comfort with respect to the security weaknesses which so often appear in the press. I live in London and it will be parked on a public street outside my house so I've been made pretty nervous with the spate of keyless thefts. Here is what they told me for others benefit and for any comments.

1. The service port has been moved. I don't know where from or to but my dealer suggests it is now a lot more difficult for thieves to access it. I'm not sure how much comfort this really implies as no doubt wherever it is can be easily figured out and thereafter accessed.

2. The Keyless Vehicle Module now prevents the coding of a 3rd key should thieves access the newly located service port.

According to my dealer there have been no thefts - one assumes they mean no thefts of the keyless flaw variety - of vehicles delivered new since July 2014?

That SOUNDS encouraging but what do I know......

There was a post on the Focus RS forum the other day of someone's RS having the window broken.. but that was as far as they'd gone in the end as they'd also moved their ODB port (they're being taken by the same ODB port method). Granted, this is merely "security by obscurity", but when someone is expecting to be able to do something within seconds and they don't want to be seen hanging about for too long, something like this in this game might be just enough.

Also, where it's been located to, might also be enough to trigger the alarm even if they found it, which again, might be enough to deter them from progressing any further as in the default position, most of the time the interior sensors don't even detect the motion AFAIA.



Cheers..

Ian

Apparently Julia Bradbury had her new RRS stolen a week or so ago.

I've learned from my dealer that the offending ports have been moved to an area behind the dashboard. It now requires a lot more time to get to them whereas previously I understand it was very easy?

He tells me that in billing or quoting for servicing matters which require access to the ports that LR are now adding up to 60 minutes labour to allow for the time to get to the ports and replace panels after they've finished their work.

Apparently you can no longer create copies of keys via the ports. I am told that if you lose one of the two keys you are supplied with you have two options. A) Hope to survive with one key or B) pay £1,000 to have TWO new keys made. No doubt the thieves will already be working out how to get their hands on whatever away from the car mechanism exists to make the new keys!

My dealer also tells me there is encryption of the signalling between the key and the car which makes it, quote, "impossible" for someone to pick it up whilst hiding nearby. I don't know if he was suggesting this was a new system or it was just something he was adding to his chat to make me feel more confident on the overall position.

I've certainly not moved from having fear of theft to having none but it seems that things have improved and I've seen in other posts and forums users recommending exactly the changes which it appears LR have implemented.

peanutbob wrote:

Apparently Julia Bradbury had her new RRS stolen a week or so ago.

Adding a secondary device that is harder to open would help - Discloc visible old fashioned non- electronic stuff that needs something more than a memory stick or smartphone to de-activate it like a hack saw! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW