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How to lock fob in car

6K views 26 replies 17 participants last post by  Chickenmuffn 
#1 ·
Hi folks. I'm new here - just bought a 2013 Titanium hatch and still figuring it out. All in all, very happy with my new car.

I've know this was discussed before, but I've never seen a good answer. What I want to do is lock the fob inside the car and leave the emergency key in a magnetic holder somewhere on the undercarriage. That way I can canoe down the Colorado, trek the Himalayas, or go diving in Bimini without worrying my fob will be damaged, lost, or stolen.

I know I can lock it inside using the second fob, but that doesn't help me much. I could disable the fob by opening it. That works ok, but is kind of a hassle, because then when I unlock the car with the emergency key, I have to find and reassemble it really fast or the car alarm goes off. Plus, I'm afraid that the fob wasn't made to be opened and closed alot and might break.

I have tried wrapping the fob in aluminum foil, and this actually seems to work, but I'm worried that after time enough radio signal will leak out to open the doors.

Any other ideas?
 
#6 ·
Elizabeth, I tried an Altoids box and it didn't work. Too thin? Maybe a lunch pail is the ticket. Billp1, you're right, I could remove the battery, but I'm worried I'll damage the thing trying to reassemble it quick before the alarm starts. Vernl, the problem is that the doors won't lock if the fob is within 3 feet of the car.

The quest continues...
 
#7 ·
i had to lock keys in someone's explorer today. i put the key in the glovebox and hit the lock button. closed the door and the horn sounded and unlocked the doors. luckily, the explorer still had the push rods on the doors to manually lock the doors. i pushed them down and was golden from there.
 
#10 ·
I carried a spare in my suitcase that was wrapped in aluminum foil. It worked fine but only had it in there for a few hours.
I would think that the foil either works or does not and would have not considered that radio signal could leak out if it was wrapped in foil.
Maybe you could test that theory by leaving a key wrapped in foil in the car overnight.
 
#12 ·
...What I want to do is lock the fob inside the car...

Any other ideas?
Well, my wife managed to do it, and got stranded until she could call me to come along with the spare fob and open the doors for her. Supposed to be impossible, but she did it alright. Tried several times to do it again for the dealer, but never could.

Go figure.

I still miss the numeric key pad like I've had on umpteen other Fords I've owned thru the years. Wonder why Ford would take a great idea like the key pad, and kill it off for the Focus?
 
#15 ·
Well I did try putting the fob in a key holder in various locations under the car. Everywhere I tried, it unlocked the closest door. Probably would work under the front bumper, but there's no metal there to hang the magnet on.

Best solution so far has been aluminum foil, but I am going to look for a heavy metal box for a more elegant solution.
 
#17 ·
I worked for carmax for a while and they would hang the keys to all the cars in lock boxes on the windows. When the proximity keys came out we had the same issues, so carmax bought little led filled bags you tuck the key into then place in the lockbox. It worked like a charm. No clue how much or where to buy though... Hope this helps.
 
#26 ·
That might work on a sedan, but it doesn't on a hatch. I'm also sad to report that the lead-lined film bag I ordered from Amazon doesn't work either.

So here's my best solution, found in my basement so it didn't cost me a penny.



I'll be on the lookout for something smaller, but at least this works!

How to lock fob in car:

1. Lock doors with the dash button.
2. Remove emergency key from fob.
3. Put fob in metal box.
4. Get out and close the door. Doors will stay locked.
5. If desired, hide emergency key in a magnetic key box and hide it under the vehicle.
6. When you open the door with the emergency key, you have about 10 seconds to take the key out of the box and push the start button before all hell breaks loose.
 
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