Wrap it in aluminum foil?

 

Wrap it in aluminum foil

^^ this seems to be the easiest way to mask the key (if you want to keep the proximity features activated).

You can also follow the procedure to disable the proximity features. It's on pages 2-18 to 2-20 of the manual.

 

you don't have to use the code to get in, the fob has a steel key

pics and description of the aluminum foil method here.

2015 Outback specs, options, colors, prices, photos, and more

 

I think the idea is to not have to carry around a key of any sort.

 

Here is my scenario... Wife likes to leave her key in her purse (somewhere deep inside, which can take her forever to find it)... so she loves the keyless entry on the new Outback.

But, when we drive together, and want to stop and get out while leaving her purse still in the car, we cannot lock the door.

She usually does grab her phone though. I suppose we need a phone app that can lock and unlock the car doors. Perhaps to add security, it only works IF the key fob is in the car?

 

But, when we drive together, and want to stop and get out while leaving her purse still in the car, we cannot lock the door.

Had this exact thing happen over the weekend. Touching the door handle won't lock the doors if there is a key inside. Instead, you have to use the lock button on the other fob. Works fine.

 

Check out this video on disabling & re-enable the key fob proximity access.
P.I.N. Access Feature on 2015 Subaru Outback and Legacy - YouTube
From 2:30mins

 

Guess I should have watched this before I commented

 

I don't think there is a practical solution to your problem.

The only way I can see you leaving the fob in the car is if you remove the battery from the fob first....not really a good fix.

 

Ok so why offer the ability to use a pin code to access the car from the rear lift gate?


Isn't the general idea that your out somewhere in a remote area and want to go kayaking. So you grab your kayak from the roof rack, toss your key in the glove box so it won't get wet, lock the doors and off you go??


Or perhaps your a runner (like me) and don't want to have to carry the key, so you toss it with your backpack in the cargo area, cover it all with the cargo cover, lock the doors and off you go??


That's what I was hoping for... what's the point if I can't leave the key in the car?

 

Yes, this is exactly the idea. However, if you have the keyless fob with prox sensor, you have to also disable the prox sensor to make this work. (there are instruction on how to do this on this site)

 

Looks like that's the only practical way to go. To me it's worth it, having the fob and its benefits. For as rarely as I will need to this, I guess I'll just have to learn how to deactivate the proximity sensor.

I do wish Subaru would've made it a little easier, maybe hold down the lock button to make the car know that you are aware that the fob is still in the car.

 

pics taken from 2015 Outback specs, options, colors, prices, photos, and more

 

pics taken from 2015 Outback specs, options, colors, prices, photos, and more

I have certainly seen this talked about and confirmed that it does indeed work. However, i believe that unless you have an aluminum foil (or other blocking material) lined bag, the prox sensor is ultimately the easier and quicker method. But, if you want to leave a fob in the car for long term storage, the foil should be fine!

 

1. With the car locked place your hand in the drivers door to unlock the drivers door only.
2. With the drivers side door open, manually flip the door lock lever to the lock position(don't use the button just flip the drivers side door lock lever.
3. Hold down the lock and tailgate buttons for five seconds until you here the beep. The proximity sensor is now disabled.
4. Leave keys in car and shut door.
5. Repeat steps to reenable proximity sensor after you unlock the car using the pin code access.
6. If you run into a problem reenabling the key access, you can touch the key fob to the start button to override an get the car to start.

 

Awesome, thanks for the reply!

 

Just a warning to those active types leaving keys in the car.

We have a very popular water department lake with a nice 3 mile trail around the lake. Talking 100's of people walking it nearly every day. The parking area is on the dam and is probably around 1000 spaces. We had more than one person get their car stolen while they were out walking. Every case the keys were left in the car.

The really sucky story was one lady called the cops when her car wasn't where she left it. They took her statement then drove her home. When they pulled up to the house her garage door was open and her car was in the driveway. Her husband was out of town for work and his brand new Porsche was missing along with lots of costly items in their house.

If you leave a key in your car do a fairly good job hiding it leaving it in your purse which is easily found is not recommended! Stuff the key under a mat some place or wedge it into a seat some place out of sight

 

Unable to disable the FOB - Outback 2015 keyless access

I surf and need to be able to leave the FOB in the car. When I use al foil and the valet key, it sets off the alarm - some of the time . . I'd rather try the pin code access.
1. I open the driver's door and flip the lock manually to the locked position.
2. I hold down the lock button and trunk release for up to 20 without the "beep" that is supposed to signal the FOB is disabled. And it 's not disabled. I can start the car etc.

Help? I have tried both FOBs, the car is two weeks old. Any ideas??

Thanks,
Gina

 

I surf and need to be able to leave the FOB in the car. When I use al foil and the valet key, it sets off the alarm - some of the time . . I'd rather try the pin code access.
1. I open the driver's door and flip the lock manually to the locked position.
2. I hold down the lock button and trunk release for up to 20 without the "beep" that is supposed to signal the FOB is disabled. And it 's not disabled. I can start the car etc.

Help? I have tried both FOBs, the car is two weeks old. Any ideas??

Thanks,
Gina

Gina, Are you holding the lock & trunk button on the FOB? From what I understand, what you did will not completely disable the FOB. It only disables the proximity sensor of the FOB. This only means that you can lock the FOB in the car. (Slide the valet key out of the FOB first). Then put the FOB in foil and put it in the console of somewhere. Lock the car with the electric switch on the armrest and take the valet key with you. Or hide it somewhere. It won't hurt it if it gets wet so if you have a zippered pocket on your swim suit, I'd put it there. Then you unlock the drivers door with the valet key. The alarm will sound. Grab the FOB and press the panic button to turn the alarm off.

 

Give this a try, it seems to work.

You can lock a fob in the car by using the lock button on the second fob. To unlock you must use the fob unlock button. If someone touches the door handle, the car will not unlock. If you touch the door handle with a fob in your pocket, it will not unlock. You must use the fob button.

This works the same way on our Prius. I don't think it is covered in either manual. I found out one day when I dropped my wife off and she left here purse and fob in the car. When I tried to lock it, the car just beeped. I did not want to walk around Home Depot with my wife's purse, so I tried the fob button and it worked.

 

Ok, I know this is an old thread but it's the one I found that helps me. The thread is about wanting to lock the fob in the car for certain reasons. My reason is that I want to go rafting and don't want the fob in my pocket. I will put the second fob in my truck at the raft take out point. The last post, above, does work. But what about this post (below) about battery drainage if you leave the fob in the car?

"Also, be careful of leaving the key inside. The owners manual on page 2-11 and 2-12 says

Never leave or store the access
key inside the vehicle or within
6.6 ft (2 m) around the vehicle (e.
g., in the garage). The access key
may be locked inside the vehicle,
or the battery may discharge
rapidly."

Are they talking about the car battery or the fob battery that may go dead?

 

Ok, I know this is an old thread but it's the one I found that helps me. The thread is about wanting to lock the fob in the car for certain reasons. My reason is that I want to go rafting and don't want the fob in my pocket. I will put the second fob in my truck at the raft take out point. The last post, above, does work. But what about this post (below) about battery drainage if you leave the fob in the car?

"Also, be careful of leaving the key inside. The owners manual on page 2-11 and 2-12 says

Never leave or store the access
key inside the vehicle or within
6.6 ft (2 m) around the vehicle (e.
g., in the garage). The access key
may be locked inside the vehicle,
or the battery may discharge
rapidly."

Are they talking about the car battery or the fob battery that may go dead?

car

 

just turn proximity sensor off as described above and shown in the video link too. not that hard.

 

Wrap it in aluminum foil and it won't drain your car battery.

 

Ok, got it. Thanks guys

 

This worked but I guess there's no way to open the door with the hard key without the alarm going off. Then I get an email from Starlink saying so. Oh well. It'll have to do. The alarm doesn't go off if I use the 2nd fob but then that would defeat the purpose of not wanting a fob in my pocket in a raft.

 

I always keep the fob with me when kayaking, though I do put the fob in a waterproof pouch. I know, not the answer to the original question, but...

Has anyone ever dunked a fob in water and completely immersed it? Did the fob survive?

-Joe

 

Yes, but fresh water. Forgot the key was in my pocket at the local lake. Submerged for only a few seconds.

But the reason I lock the key in the car is so that when something goes wrong kayaking, at least I can still get home if someone can get me back to the launch. Plus, who needs the worry when pulling bags out of hatches and looking for stuff of dropping the waterproof bag with keys, cellphone, and wallet somwehere? Better to leave it all locked up in the car. Same when I backpack ... too much worry about dropping stuff in the woods. Where I go, the chances of dropping/losing keys are infinitely higher than having your car stolen. Trailhead car thefts just don't really happen. Occasional broken window sure, but the car remains, even with keys in it.

 

Love this forum. Set up my PIN and now able to shut off proximity and leave key in car!!! Would not have been able to do it without user input and links. Thanks All!!!!

 

Put the fob in an Altoids can

Gene

 

You need to disable the FOB

1. Open the drivers door.
2. Rotate the manual lock to lock
3. On the FOB, hold the lock & trunk unlock buttons down for 5 seconds.
4. A long beep will sound. The FOB is now nearly useless and the car can be locked with the FOB in it.

Unlock the car with the PIN at the tailgate. Then do the above procedure again to re-activate the FOB.

NOTE: Although you can keep the valet key with you and then unlock the car with it, the alarm will sound. To use this method of unlocking the car, you need to disable the alarm too. Well, you don't really NEED to disable it, but it would draw some raised eyebrows while you dive into the car to grab the remote and press the panic button to stop the alarm. Using the PIN code at the tailgate won't trigger the alarm.

 

hidden key

This is my solution...
Took the box from the soap in a hotel room, wrapped in in aluminum foil and then squeezed the foil inside the box. From the outside you can't really tell there is a key inside.

 

I wrapped mine in 2 layers of foil and the door still wouldn't stay locked. I'm not convinced the foil trick works. I'm going to try the Altoid box that was suggested.

 

Try either a few more layers or the heavy duty stuff. I first tried the cheap store-brand stuff and it didn't work but after I added a couple more layers I haven't had an issue.
That is part of why I made the little box, the foil started to get crumpled and looked shitty laying around my car.

 

I feel like this thread is only a few posts away from advocating tin foil hats. Why again are people wrapping keys in foil and in Altoids boxes?

The Subaru's proximity sensors are very good. They can tell whether a key fob is inside or outside of the car +/- a few inches (side rant ... please for the love of all that is holy, stop capitalizing "fob;" We aren't discussing Forward Operating Bases or Free On Board shipping terms). A key left in the car will not drain your battery. After 10 minutes the system stops "seeking" the key and enters power-saver mode, preventing battery drain. This is on page 2-17 of my 2016 manual. This is also why the earlier quote that began this thread's decent into madness clearly says, "The access key may be locked inside the vehicle..."

Power saving function
To protect the access key battery and the
vehicle battery, the keyless access function
will be disabled as follows.
. When the keyless access function and
the remote keyless entry system have not
been used:
(1) 5 days after the push-button ignition
switch has been turned off, communication
between the antennas and
the access key will be stopped.
(2) 9 days after step (1), the sensors
(both lock sensor and unlock sensor)
on the front passenger’s door will be
disabled.
. When the access key has been left in
the operating range for 10 minutes or
longer while all doors are locked, the
keyless access function will be disabled.

So it can't be for battery saving reasons.

And it is quite clear that the access key can be disabled per the instructions on page 2-19 of the manual so that a key may be locked inside and retrieved either by PIN code access (which I use successfully and often) or by doing the complicated driver's door dance routine, so the foil can't be just to lock a key inside the car.

So why do it unless you really like aluminum foil? My inquiring mind wants to know.

 

I made a faraday cage. Key wrapped inFoil,
a bag that an ez pass transponder.
In a tin can.

Hide in car.

Be sure you have set your pin so you can get in.


Wmdpowell car name Roo2