I want to leave my electronic key with my truck at the put-in, but...

All someone has to do is try to open the driver door and it will unlock, right? Or does the key have to be within a certain range of the driver door? What's that range sensitivity and can it change with atmospheric conditions?

We do a lot of river running in the summer. It is always better to leave the key with the vehicle to avoid losing keys in the river and to make sure you don't fuck up the shuttle and end up having key and vehicle separated. This scenario also applies to bike rides, hikes, skiing etc. I've lost my keys before on the hill or left in wrong vehicle or in the river and it sucks.

This is my first vehicle with an electronic key and I'll admit as I get older I have more trouble with all of the electronic wizardry. I've looked through the manual and either I'm an idiot and can't find it or there isn't anything in the manual on how this all works.

I could grab a helper and test it but I don't know if that would be an accurate test. I don't know enough about how wireless signals might change depending upon conditions (temperature, humidity, etc). I know that tv and radio signals are sometimes affected by atmospheric conditions but not being an electrical engineer I have no idea if that applies to keyless entry.

Any suggestions? I'm hoping there is some simple sequence or something to disable the key, and then I can simply hide the key as I've done for years and years.

Ps. Quick story to pay for your help: first week I had the truck, I told my daughter that the truck had a voice activated feature and that all you had to do was walk to driver door and say "authorization code 653". Of course I had the key in my pocket and walked with her, so she was completely convinced and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I played it perfectly and knew I was setting her up for down the road. That weekend we went up on a ski trip and stayed on the hill. We are all in the condo and daughter wants to take truck to run into town. I say sure, the voice code to start the engine is 356.

She goes out to parking lot and starts talking to the truck. I can see her saying it over and over, looking at her boyfriend in puzzlement and watching him try different voices and volumes. Meanwhile several people walk by and give them funny looks. Eventually I see boyfriend yelling at the truck.

Of course I'm watching them out the window the whole time I'm dying and laughing my ass off. This goes on for about fifteen minutes until daughter comes back and says "it's not working". I had my best face on and was about to tell her it was because she wasn't holding her arms in the correct position, but wifey spills the beans...

 

Test it yourself. Probably take less time than your entire post.

Decide where you want to hide the key. Lock truck. Hide key. Try to open door. Repeat.

 

Take the battery out of the fob, very easy to do. Hide it.

The slide in key will open the door, the key fob will start the truck by holding it against the start push button.

 

RTFM.

 

If you have a hitch a friend of mine bought a lock safe that fit in the tow hitch. We used it when we went surfing.

 

Take the battery out and put the key fob/battery in this

$71 HitchSafe HS7000 Key Vault, Black | Hidden Storage Box For Car Trailer Hitch | Includes Hitch Cover and Bolts, Drawer with Lock | Outdoor, Hiking, Surfing Accessories & Truck Accessories

https://www.amazon.com/HitchSafe-HS7000T-HS7000-Key-Vault/dp/B000I66JEM

Also, that's a pretty funny story

 

Hold the door close button down while pressing the door open button twice. The fob should blink a couple of times to tell it is in sleep mode.

If the fob is in sleep mode you will not be able to gasp the door handle and automatically unlock the door.

Press any button on the fob to activate it again.

Or if you have a Tonneau cover put the key fob in the back and take the tailgate key with you.

 

Zip lock bag under a random rock. Years ago I was a raft guide and that's what we did.

 

brave. I could not do it...would be paranoid the whole time I was gone.

 

A good thief would suspect keys hidden somewhere on vehicle. Gas tank, bumber, wheel well etc.... they are to lazy to look under 25k rocks within 100' of vehicle. Lastly if some one is bound and determined to steal your vehicle at a remote put in/ take out. Nothing will stop them. I saw a article on News about theifs being able to steal your key fob signal within 1000' then rebroadcast it to gain access to a vehicle. Crazy...

 

That 4 digit receiver lock some one posted..... there are some you tube videos that explain how to hack those simple type combination locks. (Not saying that brand is bad, I have no experience with them.)

 

Great tip!
This should go in the "tips and Tricks" thread!

 

And now I lose my tailgate key and have to break into my Tonneau... hehe

 

It's in there. Just found it last night, and tried it out. It works.

Was thinking of posting this same question up but found the answer in tips and tricks. Need to have a 2nd key / fob on vehicle when I'm out in the sticks in case I take a fall and break a fob, it gets wet, lost, etc.

Now I can take a tailgate key and zip tie it on a hidden spot on the frame, and keep a spare fob in the truck somewhere without worry. Or just pull out the battery altogether. Truck will start with a dead fob battery. Just need to hold the fob up to the start button for a few seconds until it senses and reads the chip in the "dead battery" fob.

 

The key has to be within a short distance of the door. The key can be on the truck and still not open the door. With my job we leave the keys with the truck in case there is an accident and someone needs to go get help. With the key on the truck the door will not open. If we are some where that's a little "sketchy" then we put the keys under a rock close to the truck.

 

LMAO!! ty for that. Wives just can't keep secrets.

 

Perfect thank you. I guess I missed that one in the tips and tricks thread, and perhaps the manual? Anyway, that's exactly what I was looking for, thanks.

 

Ya that's better but I'm afraid my memory isn't what it used to be. My neck of the woods is pretty tame - we don't really have professional thieves up here, just looking to keep the drunk kid who tests the door handle from getting in.

 

10-4
What river you running? I haven't floated in years. Miss those days.

 

Gallatin, Madison, Yellowstone, Jefferson are the ones we hit most often. Smaller rivers than up north and probably and in ND?