Possible Theft? 2015 GSW TDI

[mrfixit454]

2015 Golf SportWagen TDI

My daughter borrowed my car to go to an event at a local college, I was out of town. She caravanned with a few friends from her high school. One of the dads saw my car in the lot with the driver door open and the car running. This was several hours later as he was leaving earlier than everyone else. He called Campus Police and they came out and examined, shut the car off and left their card on the dash.

My daughter came out to find this card and proceeded to call me. I spoke with campus police to get more info which they gave me.. and I have an email into the Sergeant that turned off the car mostly to ask about theft at the school.

So, I have been reading and sounds like VW might have had vulnerabilities with the keyless ignition systems at one point in time? My daughter said she did not use the fob to lock the car, she presses the door handle button to do this. Nothing was missing form the car, the only other thing was they turned off the auto headlights to totally off. Is it possible for those nearby to scan the car as she drives up or are there devices out there to just hack the code and get the car running? I can’t figure out why they would not take the car if they got it running unless they were spooked.

Also, I have VCDS and am new to using it. Any way to see how long a car was idling on a given day? We have the time she got to school and when she called us to tell us about the problem… about 6 hours. So, if idling for just a few hours, then maybe a theft attempt.

Thanks in advance......

 

[Shoveltrev]

honestly if it was a theft attempt it would have been gone .

 

[mrfixit454]

Yes, probably. I'm waiting to see if the Campus Policy say they turned the auto lights off.

 

[JELLOWSUBMARINE]

Quite possibly they got spooked. The big thing now is a car with keyless start is either found in a large parking lot (mall, store etc,) or just located in a neighborhood. The perpetrator can be sitting cars away with a reader and within minutes have the code. They will then follow you to where the car is kept and when unattended steal it, get it to a shipping container or dismantle it. Its a Common thing now. More cars are stolen by organized crime now than anyone else. The keyless fob is ALWAYS signaling (much like certain people nowdays ) . Even your spare set in the safe is giving off a scanable signal 24/7 and can be read by a stranger parked nextdoor. Pushbutton start is the opposite of what was origanally thought of as theft proff.

This freaked me out when I found this out recently as I live in Ca., theft central. My (now ex) JSW wasn't push button but the wifes Prius is.

You can get a R.F.I.D. blocking pouch and put the fob in it when having the key on you. Ebay and Amazon sell these pouches and small boxes to put the keys in. They are basically Faraday cages. I got small pouches for personal use and a small box that work quite well. I tested the pouch by putting the fob in it to prove the car would not be able to read it and therfore not start. Same with the box. Its good for cell phones too... call me goofy, I dont really care. If the cell phone wont ring when its in the box you also know its blocking. I'll see if I can get the link if there is interest.

 

[Mike_04GolfTDI]

Any chance you have a dash cam that records when the car is running?

 

[mrfixit454]

Thanks so far everyone, no dash cam. Asked in an emial if Campus Police have cameras in the area (waiting still) and have heard about the transmitting 24/7 and Faraday devices. This was at one of the upper levels of Cal State Fullerton parking structure. She does not remember if anyone other than those she knew was around when she left the car.

This all had me thinking if it did get stolen if I wanted the same vehicle or not. Don't get me wrong, love the car but don't like the 10 gallon fill up and the 4 gal DEF tank taking up the main tank space. Love the lines of the 2015, like the mpg/range better on the 2014s

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Is this a big concern if you don’t live in a metro area? Even if you do?

 

[Nuje]

I first heard of this probably 7-8yrs ago when we first got our KESSY Mk7. And our first trip down I5 to SoCal, I was constantly looking out the window of our hotels....putting keys in the bar fridge (poor man's poor Faraday cage)....and then just forgot about it and our car wasn't stolen.

It's a possibility, and it *could* happen. If you live in a low-crime area (as opposed to SF or Manhattan), probably not a major concern.

 

[Nuje]

A couple of workarounds for the cautious:
* Actual Faraday-cage-esque pouch for KESSY keys.
* This post (Skoda-centric site, Skoda being a VW sub-brand) suggests that you just lock the car with the fob and then within 5sec. touch the door handle as if you were locking KESSY-locking it - disables KESSY unlock. Haven't tried to confirm, but sounds like a good solution if you're ever feeling a little uneasy.
Edit: Just went out and tried it - doesn't do anything. KESSY unlock continues to work. Tried both directions - KESSY then fob; fob then KESSY - car still unlocks with my reaching through the handle either way.

 

[turbobrick240]

Sounds like someone was being a prankster. No car thief would take the time to mess with headlight settings.

 

[mrfixit454]

Is this a big concern if you don’t live in a metro area? Even if you do?

Sorry, been a busy week.... I came from a 2002 Jetta TDI 5spd so I was used to 450 and 600 mile fills ups city and freeway. That car had a bigger tank and better MPG. Drove that about 14 years, my son has it now. I go about 300 to 350 for city on the golf. Don't have many all highway trips recorded but one I have is 450 miles. So not really a big concern it was just nice filling up once a month.

 

[mrfixit454]

A couple of workarounds for the cautious:
* Actual Faraday-cage-esque pouch for KESSY keys.
Edit: Just went out and tried it - doesn't do anything. KESSY unlock continues to work. Tried both directions - KESSY then fob; fob then KESSY - car still unlocks with my reaching through the handle either way.

Thanks for checking that out. And as for pranksters', who know. I am going to email VCDS folks to see if I can download any data from that day. Not sure if that tool is that sophiscated or not.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

If I can average 45 mpg or so I’ll be ok.

 

[Cuzoe]

I've done 600 a couple times in my Golf all highway of course, one of those I drove at least 5 miles after zero range indicated. The other was right around zero. Cruise control at 65 for the vast majority of both those tanks.

All highway I've had no problem doing 550 right around 12 gallons though. If I had a trip of that distance planned, and knew I could leave at a time that avoided traffic I wouldn't even think about needing to stop for fuel on the way.

 

[mrfixit454]

Cuzoe, correct.. 65 gets good MPG I have done the 550 one or twice.... My wifes Atlas (Me driving ) can get 34 (2.0T) going from CA to AZ at the speed limits and maybe a little slower and hand calculated which brings up another point for my next post.

 

[mrfixit454]

If I can average 45 mpg or so I’ll be ok.

@Mass. Wine Guy , your 45MPG brings up another point. My Golf reads about 3-4 MPG higher than I actually get, consistently. My Atlas and other gas vehicles (jettas) are within .5 mpg of actual. My 2006 Dodge Ram Diesel used to be pretty spot on but is now also about the same.. computer says higher than actual. Not sure if VW did not re-calibrate this after Diesel-gate or if the B20 in my area is throwing this off for both vehicles.

Sorry we have gotten way from the main topic. Lets just say my kids left te car running. Appreciate everyones input.

Fixit

 

[pedroYUL]

...lets just say my kids left te car running...

Wait, just to confirm, there was no snooping of the RFID signal done then?

I don't live in an area where I would be worried, but your post got me thinking about the possibility.

 

[mrfixit454]

Wait, just to confirm, there was no snooping of the RFID signal done then?

It still has me thinking and I am not sure. Another data point is my daughter borrowed the car a few days later while I had hers troubleshooting some issues. I always check the cars out front before I go to bed and she had left mine unlocked. When I questioned her she said she thought she locked it so this is why I revert back to she probably left the car running. I just singed up for Ross-Tech Forums to ask about idle time being pulled out for a particular day. My police friends also say if someone got it running they would have taken it.

 

[pedroYUL]

VCDS can't pull that data, because I don't believe the ECU stores that data, I'm afraid.

 

[mrfixit454]

OK, thank you. Kind of what I thought but that tool does so much that I don't know how to operate I was hopeful.

 

[CleverUserName]

Wait, so she left the door open with it running in the parking lot? For hours?

Leaving the doors unlocked vs. running in a parking lot with the door open are both airhead moves but the latter is pretty extreme. How incredibly irresponsible of her if true. I understand it’s your daughter but that’s not something I’d let her get away with.

It still has me thinking and I am not sure. Another data point is my daughter borrowed the car a few days later while I had hers troubleshooting some issues. I always check the cars out front before I go to bed and she had left mine unlocked. When I questioned her she said she thought she locked it so this is why I revert back to she probably left the car running. I just singed up for Ross-Tech Forums to ask about idle time being pulled out for a particular day. My police friends also say if someone got it running they would have taken it.