Friendly Warning - Valet Key Exposes Trunk
03-24-2005, 06:19 PM
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Friendly Warning - Valet Key Exposes Trunk
I'm not sure where to put this.. so I guess this forum is the place..and while I consider it a 'negative' , it's meant to inform people , not knock the 8!
I just noticed today, that my Valet key opens the passthrough to the trunk.
While this might not seem like a big deal.. to some people this is and I am glad I found out about it now...
Picture this scenario...
You go out to dinner straight from work.. put your laptop in your trunk.. and hand the valet the valet key, securing the trunk release in the Glove compartment and securing the pass through with your normal key.
Come out of dinner, drive home only to open your trunk later and find your laptop or other belongings gone! With no signs of a break-in and no way to prove that the valet opened your trunk!
Sure.. it's always a good idea never to leave valuables in the car.. but the point is that I was told (as I'm sure many of you were as well), that the Valet key is supposed to secure the trunk for this very purpose.
It does not! Simply insert the valey key 'almost' all the way in, and it opens the pass through very easily.. in fact I did so by accident without even trying. After further investigation it seems this lock is of the standard 'desk' variety and can be picked by just about anything... one detail on the Mazda that I guess the engineers overlooked.
Just a friendly warning in case anyone should find out the hard way about this 'feature'...
I just noticed today, that my Valet key opens the passthrough to the trunk.
While this might not seem like a big deal.. to some people this is and I am glad I found out about it now...
Picture this scenario...
You go out to dinner straight from work.. put your laptop in your trunk.. and hand the valet the valet key, securing the trunk release in the Glove compartment and securing the pass through with your normal key.
Come out of dinner, drive home only to open your trunk later and find your laptop or other belongings gone! With no signs of a break-in and no way to prove that the valet opened your trunk!
Sure.. it's always a good idea never to leave valuables in the car.. but the point is that I was told (as I'm sure many of you were as well), that the Valet key is supposed to secure the trunk for this very purpose.
It does not! Simply insert the valey key 'almost' all the way in, and it opens the pass through very easily.. in fact I did so by accident without even trying. After further investigation it seems this lock is of the standard 'desk' variety and can be picked by just about anything... one detail on the Mazda that I guess the engineers overlooked.
Just a friendly warning in case anyone should find out the hard way about this 'feature'...
03-24-2005, 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Rhawb
Er, couldn't the valet just hit the button down by his knee and open the whole trunk? (sorry, I'm not real familiar with how all the valet stuff works)
03-24-2005, 07:33 PM
#8
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Hes wrong. The valet key cannot open the passthrough to the trunk. I just went and locked it w/my regular key and then took the valet key andtried to unlock it. The valet key cannot unlock it. Either he gotconfused and used the wrong key or his valetkey is screwy
03-24-2005, 07:59 PM
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Originally Posted by JeRKy 8 Owner
Hes wrong. The valet key cannot open the passthrough to the trunk. I just went and locked it w/my regular key and then took the valet key andtried to unlock it. The valet key cannot unlock it. Either he gotconfused and used the wrong key or his valetkey is screwy
2nd.. don't put the key in all the way.. when it's in the lock all the way it will not turn.. but pull it out every so slightly.. and bingo.. it turns just fine.
Perhaps my valet key is not cut properly.. could be.. but it looks just fine to the naked eye.
03-24-2005, 08:15 PM
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Originally Posted by markd
DaGnome--Are you sure you're using the valet key (the grey one, not the black one)? I'm pretty sure I tried it on my car and it didn't open the trunk.
Last edited by hac; 03-24-2005 at 08:18 PM.
03-24-2005, 08:33 PM
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Even worse..
Just tried it on my glovebox, trunk, ignition and driver door.. to see if perhaps I have a 'normal' key in the valet casing..
Results:
Ignition - Works when fully inserted
Driver door - Works when fully inserted
Trunk - Does NOT open trunk at all..
Pass Through - Works when inserted about 95% of the way.
Glove Box - Works when inserted about 95% of the way.
This means that one could go in the glovebox, remove the trunk limiter and pop the trunk normally.. thus getting access to anything, even if I had the spare (which I don't), or blocked the pass through.
Guess I've got one more thing to talk to my dealer about..
Just tried it on my glovebox, trunk, ignition and driver door.. to see if perhaps I have a 'normal' key in the valet casing..
Results:
Ignition - Works when fully inserted
Driver door - Works when fully inserted
Trunk - Does NOT open trunk at all..
Pass Through - Works when inserted about 95% of the way.
Glove Box - Works when inserted about 95% of the way.
This means that one could go in the glovebox, remove the trunk limiter and pop the trunk normally.. thus getting access to anything, even if I had the spare (which I don't), or blocked the pass through.
Guess I've got one more thing to talk to my dealer about..
03-24-2005, 09:53 PM
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I got exactly what DaGnome got the other day. Opened the glove box and pass through easily. I couldn't get into the trunk at all with it. The trick is the 95% insertion.
03-24-2005, 10:38 PM
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Question is... How would the Valet guy know more about our Rx8 than we do??
That he knew the key to open sesame was 95% insertion??
I think typical guy who would eager to steal something out of somebody's car would just jack the key in and try everything in his force.
That he knew the key to open sesame was 95% insertion??
I think typical guy who would eager to steal something out of somebody's car would just jack the key in and try everything in his force.
03-25-2005, 07:46 AM
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only thing my passthrough does is give access to the back side of the spare - great place for kids to stash trash (I recently discovered this after trying to investigate the source of a loud metallic rattle coming from the trunk. One of my kids stashed an empty Diet Coke can in there that had been in the rear cup holder.
03-25-2005, 12:52 PM
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I have used valet parking a couple of times so I tried this with the valet key. My valet key will NOT open the glove box or the passthrough to the trunk.
03-25-2005, 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted by shakRpahX8
Question is... How would the Valet guy know more about our Rx8 than we do??
That he knew the key to open sesame was 95% insertion??
I think typical guy who would eager to steal something out of somebody's car would just jack the key in and try everything in his force.
That he knew the key to open sesame was 95% insertion??
I think typical guy who would eager to steal something out of somebody's car would just jack the key in and try everything in his force.
Seem like a moot point. The glove box door and latch are both plastic. There's enough flex to open the door with your bare hands and not damage anything on most cars. I haven't tried the 8.
Don't valet because you don't want some kid screwing with your $30k toy at all. If you valet you got bigger worries than them experimenting with the key to discover what it will and won't open.
03-25-2005, 01:17 PM
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I tried this again taking abbid's advice but still could not get the access to open with the valet key. Could this be different between the '04 and '05?
03-25-2005, 04:36 PM
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Originally Posted by beachdog
By reading this forum.
Seem like a moot point. The glove box door and latch are both plastic. There's enough flex to open the door with your bare hands and not damage anything on most cars. I haven't tried the 8.
Seem like a moot point. The glove box door and latch are both plastic. There's enough flex to open the door with your bare hands and not damage anything on most cars. I haven't tried the 8.
They never claimed that someone couldn't 'pry' the glovebox open, so your right, that might be possible, but I'd like to think there would be some sort of visible damage... feel free to test yours and let us know :D
However, I agree it's a somewhat minor issue.. the only thing this post was intended to do is notify people, so that they would know that thier 'semi-secure' areas are not secure at all when Valet'ing.
Not sure as to models.. I have an 05.. I think a few who also are seeing this have 04. Someone mentioned it could also be the key.. perhaps we have a batch of badly cut Valet keys?
03-25-2005, 05:36 PM
#20
1) You will let sombody else drive your '8, let alone park it (where the vast majority of body damage occurs to most cars)? 
2) If you want to open the pass-through, just put your knee on the rear storage compartment and slip your fingers under the bottom of the pass-through panel and pull.
No key needed.
I will only park my RX-8 myself and it has to be either in a parallel space or in a garage where there is a cement wall and a piller on either side.
If it is possible to park next to me, I will park somewhere else.
I don't even let people I know drive my car.
2) If you want to open the pass-through, just put your knee on the rear storage compartment and slip your fingers under the bottom of the pass-through panel and pull.
No key needed.
I will only park my RX-8 myself and it has to be either in a parallel space or in a garage where there is a cement wall and a piller on either side.
If it is possible to park next to me, I will park somewhere else.
I don't even let people I know drive my car.
03-25-2005, 06:01 PM
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Look closer to the keys... The normal key and the valet key (on my 2004) differ only in the tip. THe valet key has a wider tip than the regular key. Looks to me that this is the only locking mechanism at these "locks". Not very good... 
03-28-2005, 07:02 PM
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Update on Valet Key issue..
Ok I sent in an email a few days ago and this is the response from Mazda..
I'm not going to bother replying to them as I don't see what they could really do other than provide new locks for the glovebox and passthrough, which I think would mean new ignitions, trunk etc... Not to mention the fact that I don't know if they HAVE newer locks....
When I go to the dealer next time I'm going to mention it and see if they can take a look at several different RX8s, with different builddates and see if perhaps the newer builds were actually modified.. I have an 05, but notice the build date is late 04. Perhaps the Shinkas , dunno
will update in a month or two when I go back to dealer..
Thank you for contacting Mazda North American Operations. I appreciate
the opportunity to respond to you.
I appreciate you taking the time to write and bringing this feature to
our attention. Consumer feedback is always very important to Mazda.
Certainly, we want to offer safe and exciting vehicles, and comments
such as yours will help us to achieve that goal.
Although I personally have not heard of this concern or see any open
recalls about this key yet, rest assured I have documented your
suggestion for our corporate record. These records are continuously
being reviewed by our Product Planning Department. If in the event
there are any changes or modifications to be made, Mazda will be sure
to keep you notified.
Again, thank you for contacting Mazda. It has been my pleasure to
assist you. Please feel free to reply to this message with any further
questions or comments.
the opportunity to respond to you.
I appreciate you taking the time to write and bringing this feature to
our attention. Consumer feedback is always very important to Mazda.
Certainly, we want to offer safe and exciting vehicles, and comments
such as yours will help us to achieve that goal.
Although I personally have not heard of this concern or see any open
recalls about this key yet, rest assured I have documented your
suggestion for our corporate record. These records are continuously
being reviewed by our Product Planning Department. If in the event
there are any changes or modifications to be made, Mazda will be sure
to keep you notified.
Again, thank you for contacting Mazda. It has been my pleasure to
assist you. Please feel free to reply to this message with any further
questions or comments.
When I go to the dealer next time I'm going to mention it and see if they can take a look at several different RX8s, with different builddates and see if perhaps the newer builds were actually modified.. I have an 05, but notice the build date is late 04. Perhaps the Shinkas , dunno
will update in a month or two when I go back to dealer..
03-28-2005, 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Q-chan
Look closer to the keys... The normal key and the valet key (on my 2004) differ only in the tip. THe valet key has a wider tip than the regular key. Looks to me that this is the only locking mechanism at these "locks". Not very good...
03-28-2005, 10:54 PM
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I can ditto exactly what is happening with DaGnome. I've got a new 04 that i picked up a few weeks ago and the salesman discovered this in the delivery checklist. They were able to duplicate it in some but not all of the 8s on their lot. So it is definitely an issue.
DaGnome.....where did did you send in an email to Mazda detailing the problem?
DaGnome.....where did did you send in an email to Mazda detailing the problem?