Car broken in to - how?

[fnegroni]

I just pull the rear passenger door handle to check I’ve locked the car.

The Kia app sends you a notification if the car has been left unlocked but not started for several minutes. Wish ISMART did same.

 

[Rolfe]

I always check by looking at the mirrors, but this doesn't help SE owners.

I check by looking to see that the lights are off.

 

[MGFour]

Something's nagging the back of my mind that someone else here had an issue with doors not locking reliably - they had to press the fob button twice as I recall. I think it was linked to the setting for unlocking doors being set to Driver's Door Only rather than All Doors; changing to All Doors resolved the issue.

(I may be doing a Hilary Clinton and "misremembering" but the above rings a bell).

I seem to remember someone having an issue with boot not locking correctly. Another thing does the horn give a beep if boot not closed correctly like it does the doors if they aren't fully closed when trying to lock. They could have got in that way if seat down as you said.

 

[Griffian]

I lock with the handle button and stick the key in a faraday pouch before moving away from the vehicle, checking lights are off and mirrors folded in.

 

[Big Ears]

Not found a Faraday bag big enough to have the whole bunch in yet.

 

[nexia201]

If you keep both keys in Faraday pouches then it wasn't opened by a relay attack, and if there is no damage to the locks or doors then it's starting to look like the car wasn't locked or a window was left open.

Now you can keep whatever in faraday pouch , they dont need that anymore they just connect car and code it and they are off

 

[DerekH]

Not sure you can scan the MG4 keyfob transmissions. I have tried all methods with a flipper device and can't grab, replay MG4 key transmit. Not sure if it uses a changing pattern or frequency. Not able to record but don't think the MG4 is one of the easier cars to hijack the key signal.

 

[DYWLC]

Yes the mirrors are my confirmation too. It's a pity they didn't take it. I'm always hoping mine will get taken away then I can get a proper car.

 

[securespark]

I'm quite fond of ours, despite "His Lordship" intruding multiple times each journey. Will miss the Trophy's 360 cam. I can't see our next car (unless it's another MG) having one for the same budget as the 4.

 

[Spinynorman]

I have a Gen 1 ZSEV and have always had a ‘problem’ with the boot - if I lock the doors, the boot can still be opened, until I either put my fob in the Faraday pouch or move out of range. It’s a good test of the pouch’s integrity too - apart from putting a mobile phone in it and calling it !
It’s just strange that the boot doesn’t lock when the doors do and makes the unlock boot key button a bit redundant…

 

[Big Ears]

I have a Gen 1 ZSEV and have always had a ‘problem’ with the boot - if I lock the doors, the boot can still be opened, until I either put my fob in the Faraday pouch or move out of range. It’s a good test of the pouch’s integrity too - apart from putting a mobile phone in it and calling it !
It’s just strange that the boot doesn’t lock when the doors do and makes the unlock boot key button a bit redundant…

Yes very stupid IMHO as are a lot of the ideas they used.

 

[Julybaby]

Very easy with keyless entry etc
Alll they need is a lap top and other bits then sit in another car nearby and when you lock the car they hijack the signal code and reopen the car ,
They can even fool the. Immobiliser
Best deterrent now is the good old steering wheel lock

I guess they weren't going to steal the car though...?

 

[Ciaranire]

I posted the exact same question in regards to my MG4 LR this time last year.

I’ve never worked out how it happened. But I don’t believe they relayed the signal because they smashed windows on every other car on the street with the exception of mine.

The only possible answer we came up with, and I actually don’t think this happened either, was if the car is unlocked the front lights stay on, but if you open a door/boot and then close them the front lights go off even though the car isn’t locked. So you COULD leave the car unlocked without noticing.

Again, I don’t think that’s what happened but it was the only possible thing we came up with.

The doors can also be opened if the fob is close to the car, but it has to be within 1m or so. Ours would have been 7-8m from the car.

 

[Audiofan]

MG4 Car broken in to - how?

Hi - our MG4 Long range was broken into recently, locked and in an open off street car park. Car wasn't taken but back seat down, glove box open - looking for something valuable to take. They did take the Octopus charging card which has credit on, but haven't used it yet so I can cancel and get a new one.

Any idea on how they did this? Cloned key/app?

all thoughts welcome

A friend of mine saw a couple of scallies with a laptop open his Range Rover in less than 2 minutes. They also disabled 3 ring cameras near to his car. Apparently any keyless car can be opened and driven away - old fashion steering wheel lock is unfortunate the only answer.

 

[MelanieMoxon]

Does the keyless button on the drivers door work properly; mine stopped working properly after 20 months. If it has started to fail you might have pressed it but found it didn't lock, though unless its noisy you would probably have realised that as you won't have heard it lock followed by the window motors.

However, its more likely that some scallies have used a laptop to spoof the key, there isn't much on an EV to steal (cats and the like) so its likely they were just rummaging for easy to fence valuables.

 

[Big Ears]

I don't understand why the boot doesn't lock with the doors but only after the kays are a distance from it.

 

[Martinonline]

I have a Gen 1 ZSEV and have always had a ‘problem’ with the boot - if I lock the doors, the boot can still be opened, until I either put my fob in the Faraday pouch or move out of range. It’s a good test of the pouch’s integrity too - apart from putting a mobile phone in it and calling it !
It’s just strange that the boot doesn’t lock when the doors do and makes the unlock boot key button a bit redundant…

The boot does lock. And, as with the doors, you need to be present with the key fob to open it. In either case you are pushing a button to open. Try opening any door/boot with the key fob away from the car.

 

[FrancisM]

The boot does lock. And, as with the doors, you need to be present with the key fob to open it. In either case you are pushing a button to open. Try opening any door/boot with the key fob away from the car.

The boot locking is different to the doors on my MG4 SE LR (R16 software). The boot locks/unlocks buttonless with proximity of the fob. The doors require pressing a buttom on the fob to lock/unlock.
So when I exit the car, I button press the fob to lock the doors, BUT the boot remains unlocked until I move some 20 feet away. I think I'll invest in a Faraday pouch, otherwise I will need to keep watching the car until I am 20 feet away to be sure the boot is secure.

EDIT: Ok, just looking at the manual again regarding keyless unlocking applying to the doors too. Think I'll get a Faraday pouch.

 

[siteguru]

I don't understand why the boot doesn't lock with the doors but only after the kays are a distance from it.

As per above - it does. If the key is on you (or within range) then you simply need to press the hatch button to open the boot. When you close the boot again it will lock. Try opening the boot with the keys in the house and it won't work.

Opening the boot only does not unlock the main car doors.

 

[Martinonline]

@FrancisM, as you have found out there are 2 ways to gain access to the car/boot ignoring the App. Buttons on the key fob operate over a long distance whereas the door and boot buttons will only work if the key fob is within a sort distance if the car - tested to 1 metre in my car. As @siteguru says all access points are locked whenever the car is locked using whatever method.

I always carry my primary key in a Faraday Pouch, just in case, and test the efficacy of the pouch by trying to open the car using the door buttons when next to the car. As a result of testing, my original pouch houses my spare key and is wrapped in tinfoil because the pouch failed over time.