Smart Keyless Entry In A Car Explained- But What Are Its Pros & Cons?

We started out with a simple cars which came a long way to where they are now. Venturing beyond the usual necessity right into luxury and convenience, our beloved four-wheeler mover has come a long way, including everything that you can imagine, and one such thing is the 'Smart Keyless Entry' system. While the name itself is self-explanatory, we dive a little deeper into this now-becoming increasingly common feature in the higher trims of our mass-premium cars where we also cover the pros and cons of having this particular tech on board. But before moving ahead, make sure you are a part of our 91Wheels Whatsapp Channel, specifically curated for all avid petrolheads like us, to never miss out on any automotive updates.

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Smart Keyless Entry: What Is It

Smart Keyless Entry system is one of the most convenient ways of entering the vehicle along with some pretty nifty features attached. The key fob lets you lock, unlock, and start the car by remotely interacting with the car electronics via signals, making up for a very hassle-free user experience. You can start your engine, preset the cooling, or turn the windows up or down, all using your car's key fob. While this was something that was a premium feature in the past, these days, mid-range cars in their higher trims offer a smart keyless entry system, adding that sense of comfort and luxury at the same time.

However, in terms of getting to know what exactly this keyless entry system brings with it, we will go through its pros and cons to better understand its limitations and workings. So, here we go, discussing its upsides first.

Pros And Cons

Pros

1. Convenient

The Smart Keyless Entry system offers a lot more convenience as you can simply keep the key fob inside your pocket and lock, unlock and event start your car using the push start/strop button. The microcomputer inside the key transmits signals that the car electronics identify and then respond to the inputs. Certain models like the Honda City also have the option to remotely start the car and pre-condition the cabin for a more premium experience.

2. Heightened Security

Since the smart key uses and transmits signal frequencies that are paired to the car computer to identify and respond to, making the cars less prone to usual car theft measures. Modern car security systems employ advanced technologies to thwart theft, featuring encrypted communication and rolling codes that resist signal interception, while also integrating features that negate traditional methods like hot-wiring, furthermore, many systems provide remote locking, unlocking, and GPS tracking, enhancing both security and convenience for vehicle owners.

3. No Lockouts

While the traditional keys can be left inside the car and can leave you stranded outside the vehicle, the upside with a smart keyless entry system is that you will not be locked out as the car's computing senses the key inside the cabin and refuses to lock the vehicle, avoiding any accidental lockouts. And this is one of those features that you will find extremely useful on some occasions, when you forget your keys inside and slam the doors on your way out.

Cons

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1. Price

Since a smart keyless entry system uses complex chips and run on encrypted codes and other technical stuff that uses radio frequency, this is generally much more expensive than the traditional key route. While you will be paying a bit more when you buy the car, if this key is lost, the replacement charges outweighs the normal key by a big margin. This is something that you must keep in mind if keeping things safe isn't your forte.

2. Battery Dependent

Another downside to this system is the dependency on the battery. Now, as the car key comes with a battery, having it drained out in the middle of outskirts or in between your intercity runs will be a headache as you will not be able to lock/unlock or start your car. However, do keep in mind that the batteries run for a pretty long duration and the car system generally displays warning of low key battery well in advance and the keys also generally comes with a physical key hidden within the key remote to enter the car in case drain happens. However, still, even if you get in, you won't be able to turn on ignition, so make sure you replace those batteries on time as this system is pretty unforgiving!

3. Prone To Hacking

Now this may sound a little ironcial keeping in mind the high security point you just saw above, but stay with me, there are reasons for it. While the encryption and codes etc, do keep the lowly theifs at bay, giving them nighmares, it is the high-end tech savvy burglurs that reveals its vulnerability in other complex ways. Theives sometime use relay attacks or signal amplification using electronic amplifiers to mimics the key fob signal to gain access to the car and ignition and drive it away. Modern problems require modern solutions couldn't be anymore evident.

Bonus Tip- To counter this signal amplification, there are specialised boxes known as the Faraday Key Boxes and car key covers that cut out the signals from the car key, and hence thwart any attempts at this high security breach.