is there any reason our cars shouldn't unlock and be startable just by having our cell phones (or wearable tech) nearby?

seems to me if cars have this function, and maybe a number pad for backup, there would no longer be any need for car keys / fobs.

a phone app could also be used to remote start the car, open the trunk, etc.

thoughts?

 

Sounds like yet another service that everybody will have to pay for though

A nice feature no doubt....let's let it remain optional. Although most of us here could afford the service, I know a lot of people who don't have that luxury. The only other way I see is for it to be done without cell if your phone had an IR blaster perhaps?

I'm still fine using a key on my Fusion, but a push-button start with proximity unlock would have been nice.

 

I think were on verge of doing so, sortof.

Hell you can start your Chevy Cruze with your smart phone from half way across the world (3G service)

The tech you are talking about exists and it can be implemented in the next model cycle w/o much investment.

But this creates new problems. How will you connect with your car? 3G/4G network? What if you are in the dessert? What if bad weather knocks down the cell network? Bluetooth? What if im technologically inept and can pair my stuff? I lost my phone now what?

I think both technologies have to be ran at the same time to smooth out the transition problem and to have a back up (like a spare )

 

What if you lost your phone? What if your phone gets hacked (that's pretty easily done nowadays)? What's going to happen then? No more car? There are a lot of issues with having a cellphone acting as your keyfob. I'm pretty sure it has been thought and been looked over. I would rather have like a card like some Lexus used to have. I know it can still be lost,hacked and whatever however it could use as a back-up plan. Just put it in your wallet and don't think about it anymore. At least, you would not have to worry about loosing 1 thing and loosing it all.

Damn I've answered too late. ^^explained all my thoughts about this.

 

The technology is certainly there to do it, but the problem is too much churn in the tech industry. People swap or lose their phones every year. The technology that's supported is constantly changing, and the car is likely to long outlast that. Security concerns, etc. Best to have a means of access that's proprietary and not some open standard, and tied exclusively to your car.

 

Lack of security has been and always will be my big issue with this. Having my car broken into by having my phone stolen or lost would be enough of a reason to not want to rely solely on this type of technology. Security will always be a concern no matter how advanced they get with it.

 

no doubt there has to be a backup for 'issues' that arise, and the connectivity-challenged.

about the cell network, yes, i wouldn't think that was optimal, preferring bluetooth or nfc instead.

agreed... allow all of the above, PLUS option when #phonefail.

no different than losing your keys.

for it to be hacked it has to be stolen, see above. although there is the risk of it being hacked 'remotely' and then being remotely given a command to open / start your car, but the criminal would still have to be close to take your car, that is until cars drive themselves in a few years and it just 'leaves'.

yes, a backup of some kind is necessary. could be a card, or could be a keypad on the car, or even voice recognition (car listens to your magic command to open it) or some other form of authentication (visual recognition, finger print, etc.).

well a proprietary key isn't really any more secure. but again, some means other than a phone should be provided for a backup. as for tech churn, it's a potential concern, but i don't see bluetooth going away any time soon for example, and car co's already have connected cars, so they will have to keep 'legacy' connectivity around for a looooong time.

 

The concept is nice, but I would still like to have the key fob so as not to have all my eggs in one basket.

With more of our life in our mobile the threat is increasing and I think at some point one will have to curtail the exploding level of information that's hackable on our mobile devices.

 

I think they should make a credit card sized key fob with RFID. You keep it in your wallet, and simply walk up to the car and it unlocks itself. Basically the same thing as the current comfort access keyfobs, but make it fit in your wallet.

 

Simple economic! The keys/fobs will be replaced once the alternatives are cheaper!

 

All of this new technology requires electrical power. But what happens when all the doors are locked and the car's battery is dead? Is the car dead and nothing but a huge paperweight? Can you get in to pop the hood and boost the battery? What if the only way to pop the hood is with the release lever inside the locked car?

Won't you still want a mechanical key and keyway that will allow you to unlock the doors the old-fashioned way? This is the same reason I would not want a completely fly-by-wire car that no longer has a mechanical connection between steering wheels and front wheels, or no more mechanical brakes. When the car's electrical power suddenly dies, I want to still be able to steer and brake the car; and I want to still be able to lock or unlock the doors mechanically.

 

What if your phone battery dies? I had to restore my iPhone last week because the battery was losing over 10% per hour--most of the times, this is a software issue, and not a hardware issue. But if you are somewhere that you cannot charge your phone and something like this is occurring, you would have no way to get into your car.

I would never want an app to completely replace a key.

 

FOBs are extra money too if you want an extra one or need a replacement. I don't see it any different than navigation offered by the automaker vs what's available. Sure aftermarket is better but if the automaker can charge $2000 more for their OEM system they will. Eventually everything can and probably will be streamlined for the individual and their phone/car/life.

Also Lexus has RES+ but they advertised it poorly. I've only ever seen it once on a RX. Lexus needs to get behind this and offer it for all their models

 

again, no one has said that a phone should be the ONLY way to get into a car.

 

that's exactly what i had with my '07 miata.