You’re carrying the shopping, it’s pouring down with rain and your car key is in your pocket – ideal conditions for a smart key system to show its advantages over more common keyless entry systems. Simply touch the boot release or operate the door handle to gain quick access to the vehicle and unload your possessions without having to stop and search for the key whilst working out where to put the shopping. Smart key operation is the ultimate convenience for normal use of the car in both vehicle entry and engine start - yet for the majority of customers, this isn’t the story they’re hearing about.

Apparently there is no such thing as bad publicity, but smart key systems have been attracting a lot of negative press in the past few months.

The lack of physical connection between the key fob and the car is a source of confusion for some customers, especially in the USA where there are safety interlocks built into the auto transmission systems so drivers are not used to being able to take their keys out of the car unless the engine is off and the transmission is in Park. This has built an assumption that if the key is out of the car, then the engine and transmission is disabled – which is not the case for a smart key.

Smart keys have carried the blame for all of these incidents:

• In some cases where the engine is inadvertently left running with the car in an underground garage, the exhaust fumes have infiltrated the owner’s house causing carbon monoxide poisoning
• With hybrid vehicles it is even easier to accidentally leave the ignition on because the engine switches off when the car is stationary. Some Prius service technicians are known to have been caught out when engines have restarted whilst they were working on the car without having fully switched off the ignition – a feature designed to keep the battery levels topped up.
• In other cases, customers have accidentally left their vehicles without engaging the parking brake. In some incidents, these customers have been injured by their own vehicles as they tried to get back into the moving car and apply the brake.
• Smart key systems were also implicated in recent unintended acceleration debates, because it is less intuitive for the customer to stop the engine in an emergency.

Customer opinion of smart key systems was then further weakened following the publication of ETH Zurich’s relay attack research during January. This also brought many of the minor smart key complaints to the fore – for example where a customer has reached their destination and turns off the engine only to discover that the key fob is back at home, they can’t lock the car and they can’t restart the engine.

So with all the current negativity, does this mean that smart key systems are still a good idea?

At SBD, we think the answer is yes. And what’s more, so do a lot of customers.

According to our extensive smart key technology research and customer surveys, we have uncovered that customer awareness and a lack of education is currently the biggest roadblock to smart key growth. Customers don’t understand the benefits of smart keys and a lot of the blame for that lies with vehicle manufacturers and their sales agents not explaining the benefits or safe operation procedures to new owners.

Source: SBD Customer Surveys 2007-2009 – Would you consider a smart key on your next vehicle?

Once a customer has owned a smart key-equipped car, our international surveys show that 80% say they are likely to consider a smart key for their next vehicle. Customer retention is not an issue; it is about getting customers to take on smart keys for the first time and to operate them with a full understanding of the system and its benefits.

Negative customer experiences can be avoided with better education on the use of smart key systems. Even the likelihood of a successful relay attack will reduce simply if the customer is aware of how the method works. Better education also means that systems don’t need to be redesigned in order for the customer to get the full convenience benefit.

Smart keys are not the first new technology to experience negative press and a lack of customer understanding either.

According to the media during the early 1990s, airbags were extremely dangerous and could cause serious injury such as burns, whiplash, and even broken thumbs. Now customers wouldn’t dream of buying a new car without one and Vehicle Manufacturers pride themselves on the safety of their vehicles. In many cases, the number of airbags installed in each car has hit double figures, even though legislation does not require them all to be fitted.

A little effort to overcome the doubters of smart keys in the short term could prove a huge benefit to customers in the future, especially as the mass market begins to take notice and customer awareness increases rapidly.

SBD will release a whitepaper on this subject in April 2011. To register your interest in receiving a copy or to find out more information on SBD’s research into smart key end user surveys, technical or market trends research, email security@sbd.co.uk