![]() On early vehicles, the fob had to be inserted into a socket and turned to start the vehicle. The door entry system used a radio frequency system, but the ignition was controlled by an infrared system built into the fob. Mercedes called the system “Keyless-Go” and it looked a lot like a modern FOBIK. The first modern passive keyless entry system was developed by Siemens in 1995, and originally implemented by Mercedes on the 1998 S-Class sedan, replacing the Mercedes infrared remote entry system. (Imagine your next door neighbor mowing his lawn while his car horn honks every time he moves away from his car.) But the concept of a passive entry system was launched and the engineers learned a lot from that early system. This system was plagued with problems, tended to annoy the owners and their neighbors and was soon discontinued. As a result, the battery life of the remotes was relatively short. Unlike modern proximity systems, this system used a type of motion detector inside the remote that would transmit whenever the device was in motion. (The user could select whether to unlock either the driver’s side door or both doors.) It would also automatically lock the doors, set the alarm, and sound the horn as the owner walked away from the vehicle. This system would automatically unlock the door(s) as the owner approached the vehicle. Ten years later, GM introduced the first passive keyless entry system on the 1993 Corvette. Today it is hard to find a new vehicle that is not equipped for remote keyless entry. Soon, remote keyless entry systems began to appear on many other vehicles in North America. A sister vehicle, the AMC Encore, also used this system in 1984. ![]() At that time, Renault and American Motors had a partnership, and in 1983 this system first appeared on the 1983 Renault Alliance that was built in the USA and marketed by AMC. The first vehicle to use a radio frequency remote key-fob was the 1982 Renault Fuego, which was not sold in the U.S. ![]() This same basic system is still in use today on many Ford and Lincoln vehicles. It was the default code if the vehicle lost power for some reason, and it was also used to program the user’s personal code into the system. The keypad had a hardwired code that had two functions. The system consisted of a numeric keypad mounted on the exterior of the vehicle that would give access to the vehicle without using a key. That original system was used on just four vehicles: the Ford Thunderbird, Mercury Cougar, Lincoln Continental Mark VI and Lincoln Town Car. And this evolution continues with new functions, technology and capabilities being added constantly.įord is generally credited with the introduction of the first keyless entry system in 1980. Just as the phone that you carry today bears little resemblance to the telephones of our youth, today’s keyless entry systems have evolved and changed radically since they were first introduced. The history of keyless entry systems is really a story of evolution. ![]()
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