Locked Out!

[RamDiver]

While I can appreciate the simplicity of a keyed ignition, I decided that I wanted the start button feature for various reasons.

I wasn't aware of the security risk at the time but thanks to Jeff from JW2 Innovations and his No splice kill switch harness, I'm not too concerned and happy with my choice.

Ordering a No Splice Kill Switch Harness

Hello Ram Forum Members! New website for the No Splice Kill Switch Harness is now available at: LINK Accepting Paypal, Credit cards, G-Pay, etc. Update: 1/7/2023 - A new search tool for finding a kill switch harness is now up on the website. If you're looking for a kill switch solution...

www.ramforum.com

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[Tulecreeper]

Either keyfob style does not need the battery installed to start the truck. With the pushbutton ignition you use the keyfob to push the button to start the vehicle. This feature is to allow starting the vehicle in case the battery dies in the fob the owner isn't stranded.

Then leaving the extra fob in the truck is self-defeating. So we're back to, how to start the truck if you lose the fob and only have an extra hide-a-key.

 

[Tulecreeper]

TuleCreeper
that person has to pay a monthly fee for that service

say your better half misplaced their FOB
with this service, your other half can call you,
you can press in a code & sometime within an 30 minutes
the code goes through the system & the truck starts & the door unlocks

I have never heard what happens, when your better half gets where they are going & they still have not located the lost FOB

I guess everyone should just carry an APPLE TAG, so they can't lose their FOB

I had to look up what that is, too.

 

[crash68]

Then leaving the extra fob in the truck is self-defeating.

Not following the logic. Pulling the battery allows the fob to be hidden inside the truck without the wireless aspect working.
Use the hide-a-key to enter the truck then grab the battery-less fob from the hiding spot inside the cab and push the start button with it to start the vehicle.

 

[Farmer Fran]

Maybe just tow a 2nd vehicle incase all the above failed.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Not following the logic. Pulling the battery allows the fob to be hidden inside the truck without the wireless aspect working.
Use the hide-a-key to enter the truck then grab the battery-less fob from the hiding spot inside the cab and push the start button with it to start the vehicle.

You said, "Either keyfob style does not need the battery installed to start the truck. With the pushbutton ignition you use the keyfob to push the button to start the vehicle."

That means even with the battery removed, someone breaking into the vehicle can still use it to start the truck. Or are you simply relying on the thief not finding the fob after they break in? I think I could find a spot in the cab where it wouldn't be found, or it would take so long looking for it that the thief would give up and go elsewhere under normal circumstances, but I'm not sure I would rely on that. We live really rural, with our closest neighbors about 1/2 mile away. If my wife and I go out of state for a week to visit relatives and take her Jeep to the airport, my truck will be sitting in the driveway unattended for days. A thief would have enough time to literally strip out the front to find the fob. In fact, he would have enough time to completely comb the underside of the truck and find the hide-a-key.

 

[crash68]

Or are you simply relying on the thief not finding the fob after they break in? I think I could find a spot in the cab where it wouldn't be found, or it would take so long looking for it that the thief would give up and go elsewhere

Exactly, thieves don't stick around long to look for something unless they know it's there. Chances are if someone does break into the truck you'll find broke glass, the radio missing, wheels removed and no battery under the hood. Being from Detroit and working around police departments, I've seen what thieves do a couple of times.
There's lots of places you could bury a fob and it would take either dumb luck or hours to find. Make yourself a note where you hid the fob and stick in in your wallet because of it's hidden good enough you'll forget where it's at when you need it... LOL

 

[Wild one]

You said, "Either keyfob style does not need the battery installed to start the truck. With the pushbutton ignition you use the keyfob to push the button to start the vehicle."

That means even with the battery removed, someone breaking into the vehicle can still use it to start the truck. Or are you simply relying on the thief not finding the fob after they break in? I think I could find a spot in the cab where it wouldn't be found, or it would take so long looking for it that the thief would give up and go elsewhere under normal circumstances, but I'm not sure I would rely on that. We live really rural, with our closest neighbors about 1/2 mile away. If my wife and I go out of state for a week to visit relatives and take her Jeep to the airport, my truck will be sitting in the driveway unattended for days. A thief would have enough time to literally strip out the front to find the fob. In fact, he would have enough time to completely comb the underside of the truck and find the hide-a-key.

If you're going out of town for a week,and the truck is left outside on a driveway,why wouldn't you remove the hidden fob,then put it back in the truck on your return. Seems to be the simplest answer to me.

 

[06 Dodge]

If your worried about the hidden FOB allowing someone to start the truck even with the battery removed you can always put the spare FOB in a Faraday bag, it will 100% stop the FOB from allowing the truck to start, I know first hand it will prevent the truck from starting when its in the Faraday bag.....

 

[Tulecreeper]

If you're going out of town for a week,and the truck is left outside on a driveway,why wouldn't you remove the hidden fob,then put it back in the truck on your return. Seems to be the simplest answer to me.

Just one more thing to have to do that wouldn't be required if there was a keyed ignition.

 

[Wild one]

Just one more thing to have to do that wouldn't be required if there was a keyed ignition.

I highly doubt that,keyed ignitions are very easy to hotwire.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I highly doubt that,keyed ignitions are very easy to hotwire.

Not since the 1990's.

 

[crash68]

Not since the 1990's.

That's about the time they started embedding chips into the keys. That was the early versions of the RFID chips used nowadays.

The GM keys that had the visible chip in the metal part of the key was not RFID, it was a precision resistor(tolerance was something less than 1 ohm).

 

[GTyankee]

Just a stupid thought

If your Ram is going to be staying home, while you are leaving town ........

2 screws hold on knee panel under the steering column
If you remove the screws, just drop the panel.
Then 4 screws hold the ignition in place, so remove them
push the ignition box back & that should give you access to the electrical pigtail.
Unplug the ignition & put it in the house.

I am going to put a bright blue flashing LED, that can easily be seen, in my Ram.
The average thief will glance at the flashing light & think about a alarm going off.

 

[corneileous]

First post.
I locked myself out of my 2019 RAM. First time ever, 14 years, 3rd RAM. I unlocked the doors with the driver door hand sensor, opened the back door only, and threw my jacket (with key fob in pocket) on the back seat. I closed the door without opening the driver door and all doors re-locked with keys inside.
Anyone know how to disable this re-lock nightmare ?

Um, I guess I should probably read through the discussion before I post but if you have the passive entry system, which means you probably have the push button start and when you say hand sensor, I’m assuming you’re talking about the doorhandles that have the touch sensor on the inside of them and the lock button on the outside? If you do, your truck shouldn’t have locked itself if the key is inside the cab as the proximity sensor should’ve sensed it was in there.

 

[corneileous]

That is why you keep a spare fob, with the battery removed, inside the pickup. If you leave the battery in the fob it doesn't allow the vehicle to go to sleep properly and will flatten the battery over a couple of weeks. It also means anyone that breaks in can start the vehicle without even finding the fob.

Never heard of this practice. I guess this just adds one more reason why I continue paying what I pay every year to be able to lock, unlock, sound the panic alarm and remote start my truck from an app on my phone.

 

[Dean2]

Never heard of this practice. I guess this just adds one more reason why I continue paying what I pay every year to be able to lock, unlock, sound the panic alarm and remote start my truck from an app on my phone.

Phone app is great for locking, unlocking but if you lose your FOB you are still fukaed, you still can't start the truck. If you remote start it you still need the FOB to drive it. Stashing an inactive fob in your truck solves that problem

 

[corneileous]

Phone app is great for locking, unlocking but if you lose your FOB you are still fukaed, you still can't start the truck. If you remote start it you still need the FOB to drive it. Stashing an inactive fob in your truck solves that problem

Well, yeah, but like with the case of the OP, who somehow his truck still locked even though it should’ve sensed the key fob and not locked, if this was ever something that happened to me, I wouldn’t need to keep a key in the glove box, I would just use the app to unlock my truck.