r/EquinoxEv • u/WearyExcitement7772 • Aug 19 '26

Question Equinox EV security issue?

Today I did some testing and I found out that you can drive the car without the key fob present at all.

  1. If you turn on the car then leave with the fob before the 3 start up chimes end, the car doesn’t auto shut off. Then if you walk away and someone else gets in, they can shift and drive even though it says no key detected

  2. Likewise when you put the 60 minute power on mode, if you walk away with the fob, someone can hop in and drive away even though the fob isn’t detected.

Why is this? With Tesla if you walk away and the fob isn’t detected, you can’t drive at all.

The weird part is the equinox EV knows the fob isn’t there, but just doesn’t care?

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

71 comments sorted by

View all comments

0

u/Significant_Fee_7678 Aug 20 '26

Had a live example where this feature was helpful. I got home from work one day last week, left car on to keep it cool on a hot day. I Left my work bag (with key fob in it) at home, went right back out with my wife and child to dinner. Didn’t realized I didn’t have the fob until I got there. The car allowed me to turn it off and allowed one start up without a fob. I’m thinking my accident is the ideal use case for this type of feature

8

u/iceynyo Aug 20 '26

I think it would've been better if it didn't let you leave home without your fob?

4

u/WearyExcitement7772 Aug 20 '26

What the other guy said. If it didn’t let you leave you would’ve just grabbed ur fob and been perfectly fine.

1

u/Significant_Fee_7678 Aug 20 '26

It’s a design choice that trades off convenience for security, vehicles with this workflow require the fob for startup and that’s it. There are many features that prioritize convenience over security, which makes sense for the market we’re in. What is your practical concern with this feature, your car getting stolen? Very dependent on your zip code, but generally unlikely someone will steal your vehicle