Another person locked my car?

[Rodders2018]

Getting gas in Milwaukee… finished and as I walk around to driver door… car locks. I try touching handle (fob in pocket). Mirrors flash and doors lock. Then pull fob from pocket and unlock doors as some douchebag yells “ wow, new BMW and you need FOB to get into your car?”

Assailant is in Ford Taurus with modifications to his door entry on door pillar.

Does anyone know of device where you can lock a BMW without FOB?

Bizarre… nervous about leaving car in parking lot.

[wtwo3]

Don't think anybody else locked your car. The auto lock/unlock can be finicky sometimes. I wouldn't worry.

[mapleleaf1773]

Yea he's just jealous with his Taurus and all. Dont worry about it. Only great experience in a car that guy has had is when he was conceived in one.

[BMWCCA1]

You might want to consider a case/cover for your keys. They can be quite sensitive to whatever else is in your pocket and often bending over can trigger a function. I had a customer whose X3 tailgate kept opening unexpectedly. I bought him one of the leather BMW key cases and it never happened again. YMMV

[fiveohwblow]

Pretty sure they’ve got access to your car. It could even happen when driving.. I’d be VERY concerned.

[Rodders2018]

Hey I thought it was weird and I am wearing loose fitting pants… just bizarre timing of comment and cars attempt to lock me out. Really bizarre.

Taurus pulls up,,, I don’t pay much attention. Approach door and locks I touch handle, mirrors u fold and then fold. So I pull out FOB. He starts commenting from his rekindled police car about me using FOB to open doors.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Don't think anybody else locked your car. The auto lock/unlock can be finicky sometimes. I wouldn't worry.

+1
I've learned not to wash my car with the fob in my pocket. When you splash door handles with water while you are nearby with a fob, it activates and locks/unlocks.

Get some fake "Traceable" stickers for the windows.

[P1]

It could very well have been the person in the Taurus had an amplifier or relay box in hopes maybe you'd go inside after filling up your car to grab a drink/snack.

[jmg]

If you use your fob to lock or unlock the door thieves can intercept that signal and clone it to another device. This is becoming more and more of a problem. At home I keep my cars garaged and my keys in a signal blocking box from amazon. When in public, I guess we have to start minimizing the FOB use by door manually by touching the handle etc. I guess my question is, OP, did you use the FOB to lock or unlock the door while at the gas station? Or was it simply in your pocket the whole time. In other words, can they steal the signal even if the FOB isn't actually in use?

[aliiin]

Are you the first owner of the car?

After I turned in my lease and months thereafter, I was still able to access the functions on the BMW app (including locking and unlocking the car, tracking it's location, etc).

[Tyga11]

Car hacking is going to be a thing very soon...there are multiple devices out on the market the Taurus driver could have done this with.

[Rodders2018]

Originally Posted by P1

It could very well have been the person in the Taurus had an amplifier or relay box in hopes maybe you'd go inside after filling up your car to grab a drink/snack.

I have heard of people intercepting garage doors before rotating codes were used.

Thanks for verifying… the assailant was perched in his car like he was waiting. I never used my FOB… seemed like it could only lock the car. Maybe BMW gets weird signal it just fail safe locks.

Thanks again for confirming these are now in public.

[BMWCCA1]

I'm still betting you don't have a cover for your key fob, right? Naked in your pocket? I'd try that first and see if it ever happens again. Cheers!

[GuidoK]

My guess is that the guy just used a simple signal jammer and is just pranking.

[No one]

Originally Posted by Rodders2018

Getting gas… finished and as I walk around to driver door… car locks.

This is my usual routine.

Originally Posted by Rodders2018

Does anyone know of device where you can lock a BMW without FOB?

Sure. It's the head unit (iDrive) in your car. There is an "automatic lock" security function. Here it is on Bimmercode (I chose the new 5 Series for your convenience, see the "Doors/Windows" chapter): https://bimmercode.app/cars/g30/. I am very confident I have it configurable from the iDrive as well.

Actually, it's total bullshit how the gas lid is locked/unlocked! Having it unlocked when the engine is running or the driver's door is unlocked allows to break the refuelling safety rule and makes it a PITA to refuse refuelling assistance (the worker gets to the lid before I jump out of the car to stop him). Also, having the driver's door unlocked while the driver is out compromises security: even though the fob shouldn't start the engine from the fuel lid, if you rush to get a sucker out you'll close the distance...

Originally Posted by jmg

If you use your fob to lock or unlock the door thieves can intercept that signal and clone it to another device.

You should avoid doing it from a distance, close to the car only. Actually there are complicated technologies used to prevent the old "signal stealing" trick from working, AFAIK.

Originally Posted by jmg

can they steal the signal even if the FOB isn't actually in use?

The fob is always in use to start the engine and to unlock the car if the "comfort access" feature is present/enabled. This is the price of not using the fob "actually" (by pressing buttons or inserting it into the slot). But they need to connect the fob and the car by relaying, it's pointless to record one party only: a complicated(?) dialog should happen to trigger a function. And by the way, I would guess it's the car that actively pins the fob sending an initial signal, but the fob is ready to receive/reply (and only emits actively on it's own when you press a button on it).

[540iSUP]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

Car hacking is going to be a thing very soon...there are multiple devices out on the market the Taurus driver could have done this with.

There was a guy in the UK who was at home when his car was stolen from in front of his house. I guess the thief used a signal booster and was able to unlock the car and drive it to a warehouse that had a faraday cage in it. Even with vehicle trackers they couldn't find the car. It's getting really scary out there.