What Are Automotive Smart Keys and How Do They Work?

By Lili Gomes @_roselili

Automotive smart keys denies or permits access to a vehicle from just a single push of a button on the ‘remote locking key fob’ of your vehicle. It doesn’t require to turn the metal car key manually in the door lock. It is a remote keyless entry system that takes the comfort of driver one step ahead & allows you to lock & unlock your car as well as start the engine without needing to take out the key of your handbag or pocket. Although introduced more than twenty years ago in the automotive industry, this system is used by a lot of manufacturers of  luxury cars nowadays, each one of them giving the keyless entry system their own distinctive name.

How Do Smart Keys Work?
The smart key enables the driver to keep the key fob pocketed when locking, unlocking and starting the engine of the vehicle. It is identified through one of many antennas in the vehicle’s bodywork & a  radio pulse generator in key housing. Basing on the system, the car is unlocked automatically when a sensor or button on the trunk release or door handle is pressed. Automobiles with such a remote keyless entry system contains a mechanical chip in form of a spare key blade supplied with the car.

Automobiles having a smart key system may disengage the immobiliser & activate the ignition without  inserting the key in ignition, but for this to happen the driver needs to have the key inside the vehicle. On most cars, this is usually done by twisting the ignition switch or pressing the starter button.

However, the vehicle can get locked by walking away from the car, pressing the button on any of the door handles or touching a capacitive area on door handle. The locking method varies between the models.

Some automobiles automatically adjust the settings based on the proximity keys – user preferences like preset seat, steering wheel position, as well as radio, climate control and exterior mirror settings are popular adjustments.

If you think you had enough of tuning keys & pressing buttons or are simply fed up with rummaging through your handbag for digging out your vehicle key, get in touch with an automotive locksmith in Sydney for your smart key.

Automotive locksmiths in Sydney make advanced car key systems for the following makes:

  • Audi
  • BMW
  • Daihatsu
  • Ford
  • Holden
  • Honda
  • Jeep
  • Chrysler
  • Hyundai
  • Isuzu
  • Kia
  • Lexus
  • Mazda
  • Mitsubishi
  • Nissan
  • Subaru
  • Suzuki
  • Toyota
  • VW