A little paranoia there. If this was true, why aren't all cars/bikes being stolen out of every parking lot?
On the new BMW motorcycles, the key fob actually goes to sleep and you have to shake it to wake it up and communicate with the bike. I've seen that this past week on a 1300 GS. My 1250 might actually do that too but since I always have it in my jacket, I wake it up putting that on. I need to test that. BRB
I was hoping some manufacturer would come up with an easier work around then putting the fob to sleep manually.
It is BECAUSE vehicles were so easy to steal that BMW did that. Fortunately, many of us can turn our vehicles off remotely, track them, etc. that many vehicles are NOT stolen.
But lets look at the numbers.
In the US, Over 850,000 total motor vehicles were stolen, with roughly 60% (~510,000+ cars) linked to keyless and electronic theft techniques. [
1,
2]
In England and Wales, out of 129,159 total vehicle thefts recorded in a recent annual period, 60% to 70% (about 77,500 to 90,400 cars) were keyless. [
1]
But the problem is now much worse...they are even using CAN bus injection
Keyless car theft in North America is surging. Read how OEMs, insurers, and owners, in the USA & Canada can stop CAN injection and relay attacks.
plaxidityx.com
In this article, you will read how automakers are being sued left and right, in the US and other countries, for not coming up with a better system
So am I paranoid? I think not. In Spokane, the car theft capital of the Pacific NW, ethnic gangs from Europe are experts but they steal cars for other reasons. Simple shaved keys get them a car for doing drug deals, then abandon. In other cases, expensive parts can be had quickly through theft.
I hope the law suits against the OEMs bear fruit. Whether or not you have to shake the fob or wake it up with a button push is a good first step. Before the keyless fob, the theif really had to want the car, using smashing techniques to get around the chipped keys. Draws attention. With a couple of small cheep boxes, the attention is eliminated. I also have a bright yellow steering wheel lock the detectives at work gave me.