Class Action Lawsuit Claims Honda Keyless Entry Systems Leave Certain Cars ‘Especially Vulnerable’ to Theft

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that certain vehicles equipped with Honda’s passive keyless entry (PKE) system are “especially vulnerable” to theft, posing serious security issues that the automaker has allegedly ignored for years and failed to disclose to the public. 

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The 77-page lawsuit against American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. accuses the companies of failing to disclose material information about the PKE system vulnerabilities, which have reportedly made certain Honda and Acura vehicles among the top-20 most stolen cars for the 2022-2024 model years in the United States. Per the filing, Honda has known for at least the last 15 years that the PKE systems at issue can be easily exploited yet has not offered anti-theft products, such as stealth immobilizers, for aftermarket sale at authorized dealerships or informed drivers that such products are available.

The class action lawsuit was filed amid an apparent surge in the exploitation of PKE systems by thieves nationwide. According to the case, the response to the theft epidemic from automakers has been “so lethargic” that U.S. Senator Edward Markey issued letters to 17 manufacturers, including Honda, seeking information regarding their keyless entry systems and what efforts, if any, have been taken to address the problem. 

The complaint also mentions that in April 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia unsealed a 15-count indictment and brought charges against six people for their alleged role in an international auto theft ring involving at least 20 cars in the D.C. metro area and Pennsylvania. According to the suit, the vehicles involved in the theft ring were “primarily recently manufactured Honda Civics and CRVs and Acura TLXs and RDXs” with keyless entry systems, which were allegedly exploited via electronic devices that enabled the perpetrators to reprogram the cars to accept previously blank key fobs. From the complaint: 

“As the U.S. Attorney stated at a press conference: ‘They don’t need keys and they don’t need hot wiring. No smashed windows. No Drama. Just a sleek electronic device called an Autel,’ and in ‘under a minute, the car’s brain is rewritten, and the car is gone in 60 seconds.’ Thieves disconnect the GPS and the Bluetooth on the car, load the vehicles on transport carriers, and ship them overseas.” 

According to the suit, the methods used by thieves to exploit the Honda PKE systems include relay theft, electronic software entry theft, Rolling-PWN attacks and key cloning theft. 

The filing says that relay theft occurs when an individual uses an antenna to amplify the encrypted signal transmitted from a nearby key fob, with the boosted signal tricking the car into believing the key fob is nearby and allowing entry. Upon gaining entry, a thief will plug a device into the vehicle’s unsecured on-board diagnostic (OBD) port to code a new key, the suit states. 

Electronic software entry theft occurs when a thief, with the aid of a laptop and software freely available for purchase online, nears a Honda or Acura with a PKE system and then uses the software to send a signal to “awaken” the car’s security system and open its doors, the lawsuit continues. From there, as with relay theft, the individual will plug into the car’s OBD port to code a new key or otherwise bypass security and drive the vehicle away, the lawsuit shares.

“The time it typically takes a thief to ‘awaken’ a PKE-equipped vehicle using the ‘electronic software entry’ technique, plug into the OBD port, and create a new key is typically less than two minutes,” the case mentions. 

A Rolling-PWN attack, the case says, involves the interception of codes from the key fob to allow an attacker equipped with a software defined radio to unlock a vehicle. 

Key cloning is when a thief uses a car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) to obtain a new coded manufacturer’s key from a foreign entity that can be used to unlock the car and drive away as with the original key, the lawsuit goes on. The case mentions that thieves can also purchase key-cloning devices, such as an Autel, online. 

The suit says that although cost-effective anti-theft technologies—such as stealth immobilizers, which use a vehicle’s electrical architecture to offer a separate layer of authorization before the car can be started or driven, and OBD port locks, which prevent thieves from accessing the port—are proven to reduce car thefts, the defendants continue to sell Honda and Acura vehicles equipped with unsecured PKE systems without informing drivers of the vulnerabilities or the existence of countermeasures.

The Honda keyless entry system lawsuit looks to cover all individuals or entities that purchased, other than for immediate resale, or leased a Honda or Acura vehicle with a passive keyless entry system from an authorized Honda or Acura dealer in the U.S., its territories, or the District of Columbia from January 1, 2015 to the present. 

The suit also looks to cover a class of individuals and entities in the U.S., its territories or the District of Columbia that presently own or lease a Honda or Acura with a passive keyless entry system that was purchased or leased from January 1, 2015 to the present. 

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