I lost my keys about 3 weeks or so ago and kinda gave up on finding them...I had one last idea on how to find them but I don't think it is possible. The keyfob is the type where my car will only start if the keyfob is within a couple of feet of my car (I assume it is NFC). My theory is that the keyfob should give off some sort of wireless signal that, theoretically, could be picked up by something that would recognize that signal. How to do that I do not know and it probably won't work anyways, but if anyone has any ideas I am willing to try it.

It won't be NFC as that requires much closer ranges. Typical remote frequencies are 315, 434, 868 MHz etc for the remote. NFC is really 13.56MHz. 125 kHz are the older prox systems. BMW Comfort access (keyless entry and start) is 125 kHz apparently.

It's unlikely the key fob will be transmitting regularly or the battery would not last long at all.

The car would be sending a signal to the fob (when you touch the door handle to unlock or press the start button). The fob receives that and then replies appropriately to authenticate the request.

So you'd need to be able to generate something that the fob will reply to and then detect when it does reply.

I don't like your chances.

I know it doesn't help you right now. But after regularly losing my keys and work ID card. I invested in a bunch of Tile locators. One of the best purchases I've ever made.

It has been a while since I looked at Tile, back then they didn't have replaceable batteries which was a turn off for me.

The keyring ones have had replaceable batteries for a while now. They still have some special case products (credit card type and waterproof) that still have a sealed battery. But it lasts a few years.

There's a few of these products on the market now. Does anyone have experience with them? Is Tile still the gold standard or is someone eating their lunch?

I'm in the exact same boat. I lost my fob around a month ago, and because I like to carry a minimum number of items with me, and I have no house keys, nothing was attached to it. I'm assuming a child misplaced it or something.

So I had to go digging in our storage spots around the house to try to find the spare key, which hadn't seen the light of day in over 10 years. Naturally, it had no battery so I had to take my wife's car to get a new one. Ugh.

But I'm thinking I should get a Tile or something because if I lose this one I'm a little screwed...

Depending on the brand and model, losing the last working remote for a vehicle could be very expensive.

IIRC some factory security systems cannot be over ridden, even by the dealer, if there is no usable remote with which to program another (factory new) remote.

I always have (at least) two working remotes for every vehicle. Not only could a remote fob be misplaced/lost but it is also possible for one to be unexpectedly damaged (stepped on, water damage, whatever). And I maintain good batteries in every remote, and will from time to time verify that the ‘other’ remote also still works the car.

If you are are iPhone user it is probably best to wait before investing in Tiles.

Apple have a competing product, which hasn’t been announced yet. It has the potential at least to work better than Tile, thanks to Apple being able to leverage all iOS devices to track down lost devices and not just ones running the Tile app.

Very interesting...though in the meantime, just so I don't end up with a big headache, I think I'll get one Tile for my keyfob. I don't have many other things I need it for, really.

A friend lost the fob for his Hyundai. It was $200, not programmed. To get it programmed was another $80 on top of that.

In contrast, my Chevy fob cost like $75 (programmed) when I wanted to replace one that was worn. I really wasn't expecting Hyundai to be more expensive (much last that much more expensive) than mine.

When I was shopping for a new car three years ago, I was also surprised at just how expensive Hyundai have become -- was expecting them to be more price competitive with other Asian imports, but they simply were not for the type of vehicle I wanted.

Cheers

My (very used) Prius came with one fob; I have a copy of the Techstream software and planned to program a new one, but despite my best efforts at finding one that should have worked, i was never able to get it to work as SKS, so it will start the car, but it can't work the door locks.

I actually need to get another, because that one was a backup I left in Massachusetts and now that my partner is living with me I need one for her too.

Usually the starting the engine part (immobiliser etc) is completely separate to the remote unlock. They just share a casing. The immobiliser part is frequently a self contained part and doesn't even rely on the remote's battery.

Pairing the remote unlock is often along the lines of things like drivers door open, turn ignition off and on a few times, press and hold new remote or press a couple of buttons at once.

It fails the chicken dance, sadly.

I got my Tile a couple days ago and I like it. I didn't know it could work the opposite way, where I could use it to find my phone, which is helpful since my watch's screen broke. I really don't like the extra bulk in my pocket, but it's better than being out a key.