Could expand to rentals??? Like, this should already be a thing. No more physical keys to manage or lose. The auto industry as a whole, and subsequently the auto rental industry, are really lagging on the tech. Meanwhile Tesla, Rivian, Mercedes, BMW and Ford all offer phone as a key options on many vehicles — all current vehicles from Tesla & Rivian.
My car's key fob has a pull out blade key for when the battery dies, and it can still be used to start the engine by holding the key fob next to the start button.
What's the backup for digital keys in a phone when it stops working if you didn't bring a physical key/key fob? (*crickets*)
The fears about how this works if the phone key fails…. Well, yes, that’s a possibility, but the brands mentioned above all show that it works just fine. And lost keys in the rental business and/or keys being locked in cars, is already a huge problem.
But what would the backup be For a serious solution — keycode/password. My F-150 that I bought 2 years ago uses my phone as a key. But I can lock/unlock the truck from the exterior keypad and I can start and drive the truck without a key or my phone by using the password function on the infotainment system. I can also set a 5-digit PIN for service or valet so they can just use the code to do everything and i don’t have to leave them with a physical key.
Now imagine if the automakers put this on all their rental fleet vehicles and there was a standardized gateway or system to remotely manage. Oh, you lost or broke your phone? Here, we’ll transfer the key to a new one. Or if you can access, your rental confirmation email has the codes to operate the vehicle, etc….
”but what if there’s no power or this fails?” Well, you got me there, call roadside and have them swap out with a new car that works. Because you rented a vehicle and you expected it to work. And no power, whatever, doesn’t leave you in a better situation if you have a fob. You may have a fob with a mechanical key to open a door so you can sit in the car while you wait. But that’s it…. Oh, but wait, some keyless entry systems maintain a charge so you can at least unlock and open the driver’s door a time or two even with no vehicle power.
No *crickets* here…. This tech is already built into many newer cars. The only thing lacking is a system where rental companies could remotely manage multiple brands of vehicles from their own system.
….And the comment from this guy about “some hotels” already offering this feature. Like, WTF? I would argue that the majority of any decent to nice hotels have implemented digital phone keys at this point. It’s actually weird and unusual to a stay at a hotel that doesn’t have this and I travel a lot. Going no-contact during covid was a huge catalyst for this change in the hotel industry.
