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Returned to my car this evening to find all 4 windows wide open (and of course, contents missing). No sign of forced entry. Pretty sure I'd locked it - it's a reflex action whenever I leave the car, much the same as putting seat belt on before driving. Even if I'd left it unlocked, the electric windows wouldn't operate without the key in the ignition. I once read about devices which can pick up your key's infra-red signature and then clone it - or was I watching an old episode of Star Trek?
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Is it a Volkswagen you own?
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Hmm...I don't know what he drives, but I drive a VW and you've got me worried now! Can you enlighten me, without telling the world how to break into a car?
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The same issue is with most VAG cars
As discussed previously, it is possible to make all your windows go down by holding down the unlock button on your key and back up by locking
In a Passat belonging to a friend it used to do it sometimes by itself......
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Yes - a VW Passat (not the very latest model, the previous one).
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There is security weakness on the previous VW models. Windows can be opened by doing something to the lock. Won't say what if I knew. As soon as you described symptoms and everyone else posted "is it a VW" I guess we all already knew it had to be.
I assume VW has a fix for this if asked?
PG.... yours is the new Golf so I'd have thought not the same locks as on the Golf Mark IV and previous Passat.
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I'll add also that no car will ever be 100% secure.
Years ago when the previous model BMW 5 series came out it was difficult to break in to without damaging it. A car mag was doing some tests. Lock smith asked if he could dismantle the door to figure out a way of breaking in and figured again not without damaging it. About 12-18 months later same magazine did the same test. And the same lock smith had figured out a weakness in the lock on the boot. Said weakness opened the car in seconds. So a car that was deemed impossible became an easy to open car for a thief.
Fact is security moves on but so do the thiefs.
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Can you enlighten me, without telling the world how to break into a car?
It's been discussed a few times previously.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=8035
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=7331
Are a couple of posts I found via the forum search.
Was only really a problem on older VW's.
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The problem is with all VAG it took a tester on a recent program on German TV under 10secs to gain entry to a new Passat which was about 9 seconds longer than took him to gain entry to a Merc.
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You will probably find the drivers door lock has been damaged.
There is a fix but it stops the "all open/all close" feature working. Had it done on my last company car figuring it was better to come back to a damaged lock than an empty car with a damaged lock. A friend had his company car (Passat) done in a golf club car park and two sets of clubs went.
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Spot on. In the full light of day, I now see thay marmalised the driver's door lock. (Is this the tennis ball trick?) But having done this, how did they get the windows down? I thought this needed the key in the ignition, and it doesn't look like they had the right key.
Surprisingly (and refreshingly?) the Police have asked me to bring in anything they may have touched for fingerprint dusting (there's some CD's they would have had to move to get the satnav unit).
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Spot on. In the full light of day, I now see thay marmalised the driver's door lock. (Is this the tennis ball trick?) But having done this, how did they get the windows down?
The windows can be opened and closed by holding the key in a certain postion in the lock. If you click on the links I posted earlier, you'll find more info.
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