Calling all Volvo security (anti-theft) experts

I recently left my 2007 V70 D5 with an airport parking company - who managed
to lose my key! [I have a spare set of keys, and now have the car back, and
am able to drive it].

The parking company have said they will pay for a replacement key (about 200
UKP) but I am concerned that if the original key has fallen into the hands
of a villain, the car could be susceptible to theft.

My Volvo dealer says that each key is individually encoded to be recognised
by the car, so that they can - in effect - de-activate the lost key and
activate the new one. Apparently when you insert the key into the ignition
switch, data is read off the key which has to be valid before the engine
will start. The dealer says that the old key would still open the door -
presumably by actually inserting the key into the lock rather than using the
remote control (which hopefully *wouldn't* work).

I'm not sure how paranoid I had ought to be about all this. The chances are
that there is a label attached to the keys (by the parking company) on which
is written the registration number (licence plate number for N. American
readers) of my car. Although the registration number database in the UK is
not publicly accessible, it's not all that difficult for a villain to find
out the name and address of the owner of a car once they know the
registration number. So my car could, in theory, receive a visit from a
villain in possession of my old key when it's parked on my drive. The
villain would be able to open the doors and steal the contents - and open
the bonnet (hood) - and possibly hot-wire it to drive it away. [I assume
that the key would still turn in the ignition, and release the steering lock
even if it wouldn't start the engine].

Are there any Volvo security experts out there who would care to offer an
opinion on the risks which I face? Presumably I would be totally safe if all
the doorlocks and ignition lock were changed and totally new keys provided -
but that would be extremely expensive, and I may have difficulty getting the
parking company to pay for it.

Your informed comments will be most welcome.

TIA.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
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Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks. PLEASE REPLY TO
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"Roger Mills" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

> Are there any Volvo security experts out there who would care to offer an
> opinion on the risks which I face? Presumably I would be totally safe if
> all the doorlocks and ignition lock were changed and totally new keys
> provided - but that would be extremely expensive, and I may have
> difficulty getting the parking company to pay for it.
>
> Your informed comments will be most welcome.
>
> TIA.

It strikes me that, given your level of concern that someone somehow is
going to track down your car, open it up and do something, is to drive it
off a cliff. In the meantime, be sure to check under your bed for the
boogyman every night. As a last resort, you might consder the possibility
that anyone who finds your misplaced key could give a shit and just tosses
it in the trash. Oh, wait a second, maybe the trash man might find it,
track you down and slit your throat! OMG, there's no way to be totally
safe, maybe you should kill yourself now.

On 8/22/2009 4:11 PM, Roger Mills wrote:
> I recently left my 2007 V70 D5 with an airport parking company - who managed
> to lose my key! [I have a spare set of keys, and now have the car back, and
> am able to drive it].
>
> The parking company have said they will pay for a replacement key (about 200
> UKP) but I am concerned that if the original key has fallen into the hands
> of a villain, the car could be susceptible to theft.
>
> My Volvo dealer says that each key is individually encoded to be recognised
> by the car, so that they can - in effect - de-activate the lost key and
> activate the new one. Apparently when you insert the key into the ignition
> switch, data is read off the key which has to be valid before the engine
> will start. The dealer says that the old key would still open the door -
> presumably by actually inserting the key into the lock rather than using the
> remote control (which hopefully *wouldn't* work).
>
> I'm not sure how paranoid I had ought to be about all this. The chances are
> that there is a label attached to the keys (by the parking company) on which
> is written the registration number (licence plate number for N. American
> readers) of my car. Although the registration number database in the UK is
> not publicly accessible, it's not all that difficult for a villain to find
> out the name and address of the owner of a car once they know the
> registration number. So my car could, in theory, receive a visit from a
> villain in possession of my old key when it's parked on my drive. The
> villain would be able to open the doors and steal the contents - and open
> the bonnet (hood) - and possibly hot-wire it to drive it away. [I assume
> that the key would still turn in the ignition, and release the steering lock
> even if it wouldn't start the engine].
>
> Are there any Volvo security experts out there who would care to offer an
> opinion on the risks which I face? Presumably I would be totally safe if all
> the doorlocks and ignition lock were changed and totally new keys provided -
> but that would be extremely expensive, and I may have difficulty getting the
> parking company to pay for it.
>
> Your informed comments will be most welcome.
>
> TIA.
Have the dealer delete all keys in memory & reprogram all of your other keys
Glenn K
Volvo Certified Technician 2008
ASE Certified Technician 2008

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Lloyd W. <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> "Roger Mills" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>> Are there any Volvo security experts out there who would care to
>> offer an opinion on the risks which I face? Presumably I would be
>> totally safe if all the doorlocks and ignition lock were changed and
>> totally new keys provided - but that would be extremely expensive,
>> and I may have difficulty getting the parking company to pay for it.
>>
>> Your informed comments will be most welcome.
>>
>> TIA.
>
> It strikes me that, given your level of concern that someone somehow
> is going to track down your car, open it up and do something, is to
> drive it off a cliff. In the meantime, be sure to check under your
> bed for the boogyman every night. As a last resort, you might
> consder the possibility that anyone who finds your misplaced key
> could give a shit and just tosses it in the trash. Oh, wait a
> second, maybe the trash man might find it, track you down and slit
> your throat! OMG, there's no way to be totally safe, maybe you
> should kill yourself now.

Thank you for your sympathy! <g>

The most likely scenario is that the keys have genuinely been lost and will
never show up.

However, one cannot totally rule out the possibility that they have been
*stolen* with something more sinister in mind.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
GlennK <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Have the dealer delete all keys in memory & reprogram all of your
> other keys Glenn K
> Volvo Certified Technician 2008
> ASE Certified Technician 2008

Hi Glenn,

Thanks for your response. What would actually be achieved by deleting my
remaining key and re-programming it?

If the lost key has been 'deleted', what functions will it *still* perform -
such as opening the door and releasing the steering lock? What will it *not*
do? Given an 'invalid' key which nevertheless fits the locks, how difficult
is it to bypass the security systems - enabling the car to be driven?
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

On 8/23/2009 2:37 AM, Roger Mills wrote:
> In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
> GlennK <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Have the dealer delete all keys in memory & reprogram all of your
>> other keys Glenn K
>> Volvo Certified Technician 2008
>> ASE Certified Technician 2008
>
> Hi Glenn,
>
> Thanks for your response. What would actually be achieved by deleting my
> remaining key and re-programming it?
>
> If the lost key has been 'deleted', what functions will it *still* perform -
> such as opening the door and releasing the steering lock? What will it *not*
> do? Given an 'invalid' key which nevertheless fits the locks, how difficult
> is it to bypass the security systems - enabling the car to be driven?
The key still will open the door & unlock the steering but the car will
not start due to the key not being in memory

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
GlennK <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> On 8/23/2009 2:37 AM, Roger Mills wrote:
>> In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
>> GlennK <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>> Have the dealer delete all keys in memory & reprogram all of your
>>> other keys Glenn K
>>> Volvo Certified Technician 2008
>>> ASE Certified Technician 2008
>>
>> Hi Glenn,
>>
>> Thanks for your response. What would actually be achieved by
>> deleting my remaining key and re-programming it?
>>
>> If the lost key has been 'deleted', what functions will it *still*
>> perform - such as opening the door and releasing the steering lock?
>> What will it *not* do? Given an 'invalid' key which nevertheless
>> fits the locks, how difficult is it to bypass the security systems -
>> enabling the car to be driven?

> The key still will open the door & unlock the steering but the car
> will not start due to the key not being in memory

Yes, that's what I thought. But you also suggested deleting the other key
(which is still in my possession) and re-programming it. Why?
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

On 8/24/2009 2:39 AM, Roger Mills wrote:
> In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
> GlennK <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> On 8/23/2009 2:37 AM, Roger Mills wrote:
>>> In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
>>> GlennK <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Have the dealer delete all keys in memory & reprogram all of your
>>>> other keys Glenn K
>>>> Volvo Certified Technician 2008
>>>> ASE Certified Technician 2008
>>> Hi Glenn,
>>>
>>> Thanks for your response. What would actually be achieved by
>>> deleting my remaining key and re-programming it?
>>>
>>> If the lost key has been 'deleted', what functions will it *still*
>>> perform - such as opening the door and releasing the steering lock?
>>> What will it *not* do? Given an 'invalid' key which nevertheless
>>> fits the locks, how difficult is it to bypass the security systems -
>>> enabling the car to be driven?
>
>> The key still will open the door & unlock the steering but the car
>> will not start due to the key not being in memory
>
> Yes, that's what I thought. But you also suggested deleting the other key
> (which is still in my possession) and re-programming it. Why?
Because there is no way for us to delete just 1 key you just delete all
keys in memory & reprogram the 1 new one & all of your other keys

On 8/24/2009 2:39 AM, Roger Mills wrote:
> In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
> GlennK <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> On 8/23/2009 2:37 AM, Roger Mills wrote:
>>> In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
>>> GlennK <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Have the dealer delete all keys in memory & reprogram all of your
>>>> other keys Glenn K
>>>> Volvo Certified Technician 2008
>>>> ASE Certified Technician 2008
>>> Hi Glenn,
>>>
>>> Thanks for your response. What would actually be achieved by
>>> deleting my remaining key and re-programming it?
>>>
>>> If the lost key has been 'deleted', what functions will it *still*
>>> perform - such as opening the door and releasing the steering lock?
>>> What will it *not* do? Given an 'invalid' key which nevertheless
>>> fits the locks, how difficult is it to bypass the security systems -
>>> enabling the car to be driven?
>
>> The key still will open the door & unlock the steering but the car
>> will not start due to the key not being in memory
>
> Yes, that's what I thought. But you also suggested deleting the other key
> (which is still in my possession) and re-programming it. Why?
Because there is no way for us to delete just 1 key you just delete all
keys in memory & reprogram the 1 new one & all of your other keys

Roger Mills wrote:
> I recently left my 2007 V70 D5 with an airport parking company - who managed
> to lose my key! [I have a spare set of keys, and now have the car back, and
> am able to drive it].
>
> The parking company have said they will pay for a replacement key (about 200
> UKP) but I am concerned that if the original key has fallen into the hands
> of a villain, the car could be susceptible to theft.
>
> My Volvo dealer says that each key is individually encoded to be recognised
> by the car, so that they can - in effect - de-activate the lost key and
> activate the new one. Apparently when you insert the key into the ignition
> switch, data is read off the key which has to be valid before the engine
> will start. The dealer says that the old key would still open the door -
> presumably by actually inserting the key into the lock rather than using the
> remote control (which hopefully *wouldn't* work).
>
> I'm not sure how paranoid I had ought to be about all this. The chances are
> that there is a label attached to the keys (by the parking company) on which
> is written the registration number (licence plate number for N. American
> readers) of my car. Although the registration number database in the UK is
> not publicly accessible, it's not all that difficult for a villain to find
> out the name and address of the owner of a car once they know the
> registration number. So my car could, in theory, receive a visit from a
> villain in possession of my old key when it's parked on my drive. The
> villain would be able to open the doors and steal the contents - and open
> the bonnet (hood) - and possibly hot-wire it to drive it away. [I assume
> that the key would still turn in the ignition, and release the steering lock
> even if it wouldn't start the engine].
>
> Are there any Volvo security experts out there who would care to offer an
> opinion on the risks which I face? Presumably I would be totally safe if all
> the doorlocks and ignition lock were changed and totally new keys provided -
> but that would be extremely expensive, and I may have difficulty getting the
> parking company to pay for it.
>
> Your informed comments will be most welcome.
>
> TIA.



Who is going to know which of many thousands of Volvos that particular
key fits? Are they going to wander all over town trying it in every one
they come across? I wouldn't sweat it.