Warning !

[JKW]

An article in a motoring magazine highlighted a new steering  wheel lock that relied totally on your fingerprint to release it. Being something of a gadget freak, and tempted by the £25 reduction special offer from Halfords, I duly queued up outside the store to get one. Initially  all was fine, it worked as intended but, on the  2nd day of use I thought I'd see how far the wheel could turn with the steering wheel lock fitted. It turned a fair amount, but unbeknown to me , also moved the clamp around the wheel rim also. This meant on one side the clamp was forced slightly open due to the thicker rim at the " thumb" position. Consequently  the lock was not fully closed & therefore my fingerprint was unable to release it ! No amount of forcing the clamp closer worked, and the so called emergency hub also failed to function. Panic stations, but Skoda Assist despatched the AA who arrived within 15 minutes - fortunately  I was on my driveway at home. After much  head scratching and attempting to clamp  the the clamps (!), the friendly, helpful  patrolman realised the problem and forced the steering lock back around the rim to its central position where it could be closed correctly  and my fingerprint against the sensor then duly worked. Needless to say  I returned the offending gadget for a refund - although it wasn't the gadgets fault, I wouldn't have trusted myself or the item, to unlock every time without  a  problem arising.Lesson learned , leave new fangled gadgets for others to try first ! 

[mac11irl]

sorry, shouldnt laugh but its kinda funny.

shouldve asked "The Lock picking lawyer" on youtube.. hed have spotted a work around in 30sec and opened it in 30

arent fingerprint scanners notoriously unreliable anyway? esp at a low price brackets...

 

any photos of it???

[JKW]

£60 ain't low price !! No pics, didn't have it long enough,  sorry !

[mac11irl]

1 hour ago, JKW said:

£60 ain't low price !! No pics, didn't have it long enough,  sorry !

sorry, i mis read your original post, thought it 25quid, not a 25 quid reduction.

 

[Aspman]

Smart locks rarely are.

 

The guys building them know a lot about apps and not a lot about locks.

So they'll do clever stuff with fingerprints and phones but you can break 'em with a screwdriver.

[NJRJ]

Lockpicking lawyer and others on YouTube had a go at 'picking' the padlock versions - well they either just pulled the sensor off and touched the two wires together as an unlock signal, or just poked the bolt out of the way, so a bit like the old nova in that it's a quicker unlocking illegally than using the proper method!

[Jim H]

You should have got a locksmith to sort it. One should be easy to find as apparently they are all Key Workers!!

[silver1011]

Considering the fault was unrelated to the vehicle it was generous of Skoda Assist / the AA not to charge for the call out?

[JKW]

I wouldn't expect anything different from Skoda Assist or the AA, having been a  member of the AA since the 70's !  I explained to the call handler that the car couldn't move without their assistance, & the patrol was there within 15 minutes  - the fault WAS related to the vehicle because I couldn't  drive it !