Keyless drive (PCC)
 

Has any one specced this, I know that on the new MY2011 it no longer has the heartbeat sensor but as a whole is the system intuitive or a pain in the backside?

I'm considering specifying the security pack but would appreciate thoughts on the PCC keyless drive experience.

ta

No problems.
I never take the key out of my pocket.

There is a parking slot on the dash, should you wish to use it.

tem.

It's fine. Sometimes I use the slot in the dash to save having the fob in my pocket.

It works well - far better than the one we have on our Mini which seems to work only 8 times out of 10. Plus the Mini opens and closes the window a bit alledgedly to check if the key is in or out of the car! :thumbs_down:

i've specced it but not got the car yet. funnily enough it's one of the things i'm most looking forward to. (possibly because it's a gadget!)

but i am already finding myself getting into my current car only to realise i've left my keys in my pocket. quite annoying.

I drove the XC60 for only several hours when I got back into my own car I tried ever so many times to hit the non-existent 6th gear!! I've almost got the spec and price I wanted I think. It will be a D3 though can't afford the D5.

Both of our cars (XC60 and the Mini) have keyless drive.

However, my wife is taking delivery of a new Audi A3 next month and there is no option of keyless entry/drive - that will take some getting used to! She loves not having to get her keys out of the depths of her handbag!

I specced this on my XC60. Great to have, but in all honesty a gimmick.

Well maybe, but I don't regard it as a gimmick at all.
The fact that you don't have to use the key to either open or lock the car is great for me as I use a cane.
The only time I ever touch the key, was during the hot weather when I wanted to open all the windows remotely from the house, prior to getting in!

Colin

I'd never trust that the car was locked, what is to stop the car from unlocking if the key is within range? Say on the table in the hall and only 5metres from the car on the driveway? Could someone get in and start the car?

According to the manual:
PCC range In order to open a door or the tailgate, a PCC must be no more than approx. 1.5 metres from the car door handle or tailgate. This means that the person who wishes to lock or unlock a door must have the PCC with him or her. It is not possible to lock or unlock a door if the PCC is on the opposite side of the car.

So if you just wanted to open the passenger door then?

Don't understand you just open it?

I dont think the car automatically unlocks I think you have to physically press the little black button on door where the key normally go. You then lock the door. I've not got it so I'm not entirely sure but I am reading through the manual just to keep me occupied :-)

Mercedes do one where the doors unlock as you walk to it not sure if the Volvo does the same?

Edit:
Just re-read the manual I have and I'm not entirely sure I think the car auto unlocks, but you have to be quite close.

It works like this:

Key in pocket, walk up to car, pull handle, door opens.

You can set which doors unlock in the car's menu system.

Locking (still with key in pocket), close door, press little black button in handle, doors lock.

You have to be at the car to do all of the above. My keys sometimes sit less than 5m away from the car in my hallway - the car will not open nor start if I try and the keys are in the house.

Simples!

If it is anything like the system on the Renault, then yes, just tug at door handle and door will unlock as long as keycard is on person. You do need to be within close proximity. There are times when I exit my Renault and as I walk around to the passenger's door, the car will lock itself.

You do get used to it. I will miss it. I did not spec PCC on my XC0.

When is yours due? I was thinking about the Saville Grey, and my wife really wants the off black and lemon interior. I would like to see yours when she comes.

Due this Friday, 16/04. Waiting for dealer to check his records and get back to me today.

I have PCC and think its great - as described above, it only unlocks your car when you are standing at the door and pull the handle so no worries about it accidentally unlocking any other time.

It's just a great convenience, and it never leaves my pocket either. If you have small kids that need leading into a car it makes life loads easier.

Probably the best extra I specced I think.

How do you know if the car locks? When you walk away it'll lock, but if you walk back to check its open? So my question is, if you walk away from your car and dont walk back to check, is your car locked. haha

I had to get that into peoples heads because a woman i worked with had keyless entry and i drove her mad saying it may fail and her car will be open. She was forever giving the keycard to people and checking the door, its a gimmick. Yes it will come in handy with kids etc but do what everyone else does, open the car from in the house, lock your house door WITH the keys you didn't want to get out of your pocket cos you have keyless entry, but had to cos your house doesn't have keyless entry, put the keys in your pocket and magically your car is open.

Also i am forever leaving my wallet in the car when wearing a certain jacket as the pocket design is pap, what happens if the card falls out of your pocket? Most thieves are opportunists remember.

Just my thoughts, i'm not meaning to cause an arguement.

"How do you know if the car locks? When you walk away it'll lock, but if you walk back to check its open? So my question is, if you walk away from your car and dont walk back to check, is your car locked. haha

I had to get that into peoples heads because a woman i worked with had keyless entry and i drove her mad saying it may fail and her car will be open. She was forever giving the keycard to people and checking the door, its a gimmick. Yes it will come in handy with kids etc but do what everyone else does, open the car from in the house, lock your house door WITH the keys you didn't want to get out of your pocket cos you have keyless entry, but had to cos your house doesn't have keyless entry, put the keys in your pocket and magically your car is open."


You clearly did not understand the previous posts.

The car NEVER unlocks itself. To unlock it you must pull on the door handle. When you exit the car, you press the button on the outside of the door handle after the car is closed. You hear the usual locking sound, the indicators flash etc and the door mirrors retract (if set as an option).

Once that happens the car is locked, so you know it is locked ! it can't not be locked unless you go to pull the door handle again, at which time the car detects the keyfob within range on that side of the vehicle and then proceeds to unlock the door.

"Also i am forever leaving my wallet in the car when wearing a certain jacket as the pocket design is pap, what happens if the card falls out of your pocket? Most thieves are opportunists remember."

Its NOT a card, its a regular looking keyfob, also buy a better jacket ?


By the way I would love to be able to lock the car from the outside whilst the engine is running, be of great use on the winters mornings to warm up the car securely. Unfortunately the locking system doesn't allow it.

Maybe its not allowed since UK law prohibits it. You can get an electric heater as an option for such occation but not sure if thats available in the UK.

I should add that with the Renault system, hands-free unlocking was disabled on all doors bar the driver's door due to ABI requirements. Kind of defeated the benefits Renault intended.

Do not know if this is the case with Volvo's PCC.

as far as i remember from reading the manual - if you leave a PCC in the car, and lock it with a different one - it disables the PCC that is in the car (so someone can't just walk up and open the door).

but what happens if you leave your PCC in the car, and press the handle button? presumably it won't lock the doors? Otherwise i can see it would be easy to lock yourself out... or easy to think you'd locked the doors, but in fact getting in is only a case of pulling the handle?

(also - in answer to a previous question - there's a function on the key that tells you whether the car is locked. The 'i' button i think - works from about 200m away or something)

Your right its not a card, but her's was and i like the jacket. No need to get tetchy. And as has been said, leaving the car unattended whilst the engine is running is an offence known as aquitting, but seems as though your car doesn't lock itself that'll never happen to you.

How Many PCCs?
 

When you purchase the PCC option...do you only get 1 key? If so, that a good excuse to not let the wife drive I guess?:lightbulb:

2 as standard. Replacements are expensive

Marketing idea!!!!
Remote keyfobs for your front door!!!!

Just reading the owner's manual, there is an i button on the PCC which you can press. Green light for locked, yellow light for unlocked. Leaving the card in the car (accidently or otherwise) is no different from walking away from your vehicle with the keys inside.

I've been banging on about that idea for years, seems obvious, of course it does require a power line to your door, and a battery backup system in case the power is out.

The outside lights could flash once for unlock, twice for lock !

Yeah and you can have a alarm for when someone breaks in, ... no wait someone has already thougt of that :party:

Home Link?

Unfortunately, the PCC info key does not remember the lock status unless you lock it with the lock button on the keyfob. If you press the lock button in any of the door handles, the PCC does not know about it !

oh ok that's interesting.

I can at least interrogate the car to find out if it's locked - if you are within 100m (i think) of it.

more than most keys do i suppose.

That's certainly not the case with mine. Just tested it now.

Unlocked with fob-yellow light on PCC (ie unlocked)

Locked by pressing button in door handle-green light on PCC (ie locked)

It has always worked like that for me.

that's how i thought it was supposed to be. Ie - when you press the handle, the car tells the key it has been locked.

manual says this:
If the PCC is too far away from the car for the
information to be read then the status the car
was last left in is shown, without the light travelling
around on the PCC.
If several PCCs are used for the car then it is
only the PCC last used for locking/unlocking
that shows correct status.

I have found an interesting information for all owners of PCC

Keyless entry and push-button start systems are all the rage these days, and are used on cars in virtually every price point. As researchers from ETH Zurich recently found out, the systems are actually less secure than the old, keyed technology, and can be readily hacked if a thief knows how to intercept and relay radio signals. The security breach isn’t limited to one or two manufacturers or models, either; researchers tested ten car models from eight different manufacturers, and were ultimately able to unlock, start and drive away in all ten.

Don’t expect tweakers and crackheads to adopt this method of car theft any time soon, as it still requires some advanced antenna and signals knowledge, and anywhere from $100 to $1,000 worth of components. It also requires one antenna-equipped thief to be within reasonable proximity (25 feet) of the car’s key fob, with a second thief (and wheel man) located very close to the vehicle with the receiving antenna. When the key fob’s signal is captured, amplified and broadcast to the thief nearest the car, it’s just a simple matter of opening the door, pushing the start button and driving off.

This is possible since a car’s key fob transmitter is constantly broadcasting a signal to communicate with the car. If that signal is eliminated or blocked, the car door won’t open and the vehicle won’t start. Expect future key fobs to come with a removable shield to block the signal, or even a simple On / Off button. In the mean time, layered security is still your best bet, as thieves will always go for the easiest target. Maybe it’s time to drag The Club up from the bottom of your closet.
So, those without PCC can sleep peacefully.

...and those of us with PCC will still sleep ok knowing that at worst hacking the system in this way requires a lot of sophisticated knowledge, none of which is known in the public domain yet, and a few things coming together at the same time. also i guess we won't find out if it affects all makes until the presentation of these results next month. it's an interesting article:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/27037/

in the meantime, those of you without pcc will just be left with that nagging doubt about whether you actually locked the car or not! you did didn't you? best go out and check. ;)

No need, I just look and see if the mirrors are folded lol.

Ditto. :thumbs_up:

Another reason why I MUST get an XC60 as my next vehicle....
I've lost count the amount of times my wife has said to me "I can't remember if I locked the car or not, can you dig out the keys go out and click the button".
Oh to be able to simply say to her "No, you go look out the window".

You forgot "while bravely staying out of arms reach" lol