AudisticS5

Sorry if this has been posted before... I heard a while back that thieves were targeting Audi's by using key fob repeaters. Is this still an ongoing problem? And does anyone know if Audi has acknowledged this or has anything to mitigate it?

2PUTT

don't the cars and remotes have rolling codes these days?

atc98092

Doesn't matter. When they use the radio tool, it's still your fob talking to the car, so it thinks everything is fine. The radio repeater is just a strong radio that can reach your fob inside the house and repeat it's signal so the car thinks the fob is right beside it.

bob m

This can't be Audi specific, right? What's the solution?

atc98092

Correct, not Audi-specific. The only sure-fire solution is to keep your fob within a Faraday cage when you are home. What's a Faraday cage? Basically, it's an RF shield that block the fob signal from being captured from any distance at all. The cheapest version would be to wrap your fob in tin foil. Of course, if your car is locked in a garage, it doesn't matter as the thief can't get close enough to the car to do anything. But if it's outside, then something to shield the fob would block them.

JT4

I wonder if keeping your fob in the foil bag that an EZ-PASS type transmitter comes in would work.

chingwodapigu

I've had my '07 Q7 broken into in front of my garage. Didn't take anything other than a roll of quarters, but made a mess. We now keep our keys for the Q7 and SQ5 in an old hot chocolate tin when we're at home. Haven't had any other issues since. This isn't an Audi specific issue...any car with keyless entry will have this issue, since most of the systems are made by the same companies. Don't be stupid and follow some of the dumb online recommendations where people tell you to keep the fob in the microwave or in the freezer. There are some stupid folks out there!

atc98092

That would likely work fine.

And there's nothing wrong with the suggestion to keep your fob in a microwave oven. That is a perfect example of a Faraday cage. Just don't power the oven up with the fob in there!

chingwodapigu

I know the microwave and freezer work fine as faraday cages but it only takes one sleepy morning or uninformed guest to fry your key in the microwave...better to just put it in a tin and not have to worry about it killing your $400 key fobs by accident.

pgi007

And why look for a more complicated solution when simpler ones exist? Even though my Q5 sleeps in the garage, it has me concerned enough that I will look for foil lined pouches or tins to be sure. I also imagine there is a risk at work depending on where you park. My wife works in a small building with street parking, so a foil pouch in her purse would be a good idea.