The key fob LED flashes when the doors are shut. I wonder why?

[Goaty]

Has anyone else noticed that the key fob LED flashes when the door shuts ? I’ve just seen this.

I know it flashes when the buttons are pressed - but mine also flashes when it receives some kind of signal that the doors are all shut.

I wonder why ?!

[BioHzrd]

Communicating with the car to say key is in vehicle and allow you to start I'd assume.

[Goaty]

Communicating with the car to say key is in vehicle and allow you to start I'd assume.

It’s actually when I’m outside the vehicle that I noticed it. Haven’t checked when I’m inside yet.

I wonder if it’s some form of security ‘hand-shaking’; some acknowledgment between the car and the key fob that next time the key is used, the car expects ‘x’ coding to be present in the unlock message - which perhaps changes every time the car is unlocked. I think that type of system has been around a while now but interesting that the key fob flashes once all the doors are shut.

Update: it happens when the drivers’ door is closed, irrespective of whether the key is inside or outside the car.

[DazAutomatic]

I think it's some handshake when the key is in range. It happens on ours sometimes while we're in the house.

[scratch113]

My guess is it's something to do with the latest security tech that's built in to the keys and car now. AFAIK Skoda (as part of VAG) have adopted Ultra Wideband (UWB) tech for their KESSY system. It sends a 'time of flight' signal between the key and the car so that the car then knows exactly how far the key is situated from the car. It has the advantage that the signal from the key can't be intercepted and relayed closer to the car as the part of the signal that tells the car how far away it is can't be fooled so the car won't unlock.

I've also read that the keys may have 'sleep' tech built in where they stop transmitting at all if the key stops moving for more than about 30 seconds; for instance if you leave the key sitting on your hall table, it goes to sleep and stops transmitting. I can't find any confirmation that Skoda keys do this though and ultimately it's still not as secure as the UWB tech, but guess both technologies would be best.

[Beninscotland]

It's a handshake between your key and the car and THE reason why you should not keep your car key near to your front door or anywhere else too near the perimeter of your house) as there is kit out there that can spoof your key, if near enough, (ie outside your front door) and allow ne'er do wells access to your car without taking physical possession of the key. Tried and tested high value car theft MO the length and breadth of the UK

[RichR]

Not quite - the KESSY system is not spoofable. VAG have got a lot of praise from the security industry for addressing this issue.
It uses UWB so relies on precise timing of pulses spread across a broad range of frequencies. This makes it incredibly difficult to mimic the signals being sent by the car and key.
Also the car can determine by time of flight calculations exactly how far the keyfobs are from the car. If a key signal was to suddenly appear near the car it would reject it as not being the actual key. This is the same technology used by Apple AirTags for example.
One other thing it does is that the keyfobs have accelerometers in them, so if they're not in motion (ie in a pocket or hand) they will not transmit anything. So if they're sitting on a table for more than a couple of minutes they're effectively just a dead lump of plastic as far as signals are concerned.

[Kwesi]

Isn't there a user manual for all of this. Haven't received my car yet. But I'd probably spend a whole day going through the user manual. If there's online download version even better.

[IanJ]

Isn't there a user manual for all of this. Haven't received my car yet. But I'd probably spend a whole day going through the user manual. If there's online download version even better.

Try this post in the forum for a link to the pdf. viewtopic.php?f=11&t=184

[Daverichardson]

The owners manual can be found at gimmemanuals.com