I had a look at the new Renault Megane the other day and was taken with the concept of the credit card thingy that is available on the top spec models and as an option on the others at a cost of £250.
This is a step up from the normal keycard as found on current Renaults.
You only need to have it on you and as you approach the car the doors,boot and steering unlock and to start you just press the start button,with no need to insert the card into the dash.
The thing is,as you walk away,how can you be sure your pride and joy is really locked ?
Cos,if you go back to check it will have unlocked itself.
Apart from that can anybody see any other drawbacks,because the principle of the thing really does appeal to me !
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It'll be great fun when it starts to go wrong, which it's bound to on a Renault. Run away now!
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I have owned a Renault for the last 5 years and can honestly say I have had no electrical problems at all.
A few others yes,electrical no!
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You're one of the chosen few Bernie! I'm going on past experience of french cars and comments and reliability reports I've seen around. Mind you, it could be worse, it could be Italian!
To be fair though, all cars these days seem to be reasonably reliable in general, just some are relatively worse than others. It's just the cost of fixing things that's frightening.
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Bernie, it helps to have the battery connected for the electrical gremins to occur :o)
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Call me a technophobe but I don't like the idea of doing without a key or at least some form of manual back-up for opening/ locking the car, especially since using a key isn't exactly arduous is it.
Renault unreliability + keyless entry = A very costly repair waiting to happen methinks !
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The keyless Laguna I drove in Spain had a credit card sized key (about 5 times as thick). It had a built in spare key (manual override). It had a hole in one corner as if it was expected to be hung from a key ring (which I find essential - if only to prevent me forgetting the front door key). Problem was if you put it on a ring it wouldn't fit in the slot. Rather a pointless
gadget really....
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Interesting point.
What happens when the receiver packs up on the motorway? The car thinks that the key has gone and hence the owner has gone and decides to lock up the car, switch the ignition off, put the steering lock on and turn the lights off.
Could be a very interesting experience.
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Whats all the fuss about keyless cars? It's a very old idea. Back in the seventies I had a Capri that was keyless. You could open it and start it with anything, screwdriver, nailfile, knife etc....
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Tom
You were a decade behind.
The 100E did that!
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What's the minimum distance you need to be away from the car before it locks? I park right outside my front door and hang my jacket up just inside my front door. The distance between car and jacket is only about 10 feet.
If I left the keycard in my jacket pocket, would the car ever lock?
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Come on guys, we're not thinking this through. Think about all the wear and tear saved on your thumb by not having to press the button on a remote fob. It is such an arduous task, after all.
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But you do have to press the ignition button, so nothing is saved.
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I park right outside my front door and hang my jacket up just inside my front door.
Bad thing to do IMHO. All it takes is for someone with a broom handle and a cuphook on the end of it to poke it through your letterbox and "fish" your keys out your pocket and be off with your car. Thieves are now finding it more difficult to steal cars due to the advanced security. They are now resorting to stealing the keys instead.
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I hear what your saying DD, but my letter box is near the floor and my jacket is up high. Also I keep my keys in a zipped pocket.
I did see something about this on Top/5th Gear some time back. We'll be needing a safe in our own homes soon!
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This system on the new Renault Megane sounds very similar to the one currently found on the top of the range Merc SL's and CL's. I have had the opportunity to play with this a couple of times and if my memory serves me right this is how it works:
You have the card somewhere about your person and walk up to your car, the car detects that you are in the 'zone' but will not unlock the doors until you put your hand onto the door handle or press the button that is located discretly on the outer side of the door handle. Once this happens the doors unlock and you can get in. To start the car you press the button on top of the gear selector, but the car will only start if the card that you have on you is within the interior of the car. If you get out of the car with the card still on you the car will stop. When you leave the car and get out you can press the button on the door handle and the car will lock or if you walk away from the car and leave the 'zone' with the card on you the car will automatically lock itself.
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Well I would steer clear of the basic version as I drive a laguna and it is a pain as has been pointed out you cannot out it on a key ring and therefore it does not go with the rest of the keys.
Being an old scout and be prepared and all of that I decided to try the spare emergency key. You can only get in the passenger side but could I get it to work, NO. I feared I would break the key I was turning so hard so watch out if the battery dies on the keycard.
Another thought , when I look at prices for a megane I recall the luxury pack was a £1k thereabouts and would have thought that would have been a more cost effectve way of getting the keyless card and a few other goodies if you haggle after a discount.
Last thougth I have heard that to replace the card will cost £300. Think about you put it in your back pocket sit down and bang £300 gone, nearly done it a few times already....
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I am the proud owner of a Renault Megane!! Complete with very posh keyless system. Jut walk up to the car and open the door. Its brilliant. How the hell do you get in the boot though ????
Intestingly, you can leave the engine running, and get out of the car, and walk away with the key, while the engine is still running. Try to do that with a key!"!
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I can do that with my Renault too - and it's fourteen years old. Of course it helps that the remote key snapped in the boot lock and therefore I can leave the duplicate ignition key in, then lock it using the remote...
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If the credit card thing on the Megane is the same as the Laguna then forget it - it's a pointless marketing gimmick which adds nothing the to ownership experience.
Had a Laguna DCi for a week and found the card a) unreliable, as you had to press it to open the doors and sometimes it took several presses, and b) slower than sticking a key into the ignition and starting. It was easy to lose, too.
Bet your bottom dollar that it was a marketing initiative rather than a design idea.
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You misunderstand old boy,the Laguna is not keyless.You have to press the button on the credit card to gain entry.With true keyless as on the Megane it just needs to be on your person.You can then open the door and press start.
Got IT ??????
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You misunderstand old boy,the Laguna is not keyless.You have to press the button on the credit card to gain entry.With true keyless as on the Megane it just needs to be on your person.You can then open the door and press start. Got IT ??????
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I HAVE INDEED. Must go and read me large-type What Car...
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