Vehicle Security

Stop Car Theft Before It Starts

Name: Autokey
Address: 6900 Decarie Blvd, Montreal, QC, H3X 2T8, CA
Telephone: (514) 475-5500
Price range: $$

Modern thieves clone your key, relay its signal from your driveway, or reprogram your car through the OBD port in minutes — and some simply lift your keys from your coat pocket. We install the added immobilizer protection that stops them cold, even when the thief is holding your own key.

Why This Matters

How Today's Car Thieves Actually Get In

Vehicle theft has become one of the fastest-growing crimes across Montreal and Quebec, and factory security hasn't kept pace with how thieves now operate. Four methods account for most modern thefts:

Key cloning

Handheld cloning tools copy the radio signal from your transponder or smart key, letting a thief create a working duplicate without ever touching your original.

Relay ("repeater") attacks

Two coordinated devices capture your key fob's signal from inside your home — even through a wall or door — and relay it out to the car parked in your driveway, tricking it into thinking the key is present.

OBD-port reprogramming

A thief pries open a panel, plugs a programming tool into the diagnostic port under your dash, and registers a blank key directly to your vehicle's computer — often in under ten minutes.

Stolen keys

The simplest method of all, and the one most people never plan for: your keys are lifted from a coat pocket at a restaurant or bar, out of a gym locker, or off a reception desk. No tools, no technical skill — the thief walks out with a working key. This is exactly the scenario where our added protection matters most, because the car still won't start for them.

Our Solution

An Added Layer of Immobilization

We install a second, independent security system inside your vehicle — invisible to a thief, and verified by 16 years of hands-on experience with automotive immobilizers.

Blocks Unauthorized Starts

Even with a cloned key, a relay-captured signal — or your actual stolen key in their hand — the engine won't start without the added system's own independent verification.

Shuts Down OBD Attacks

We secure the vehicle's diagnostic connection so a thief plugged into the OBD port can't register a blank key to your car's computer.

Works With Your Existing Keys

No new key to carry and no change to your daily routine — the system runs quietly in the background alongside the keys and fobs you already have.

Installed & Verified In-Shop

Every install is tested end-to-end at our Decarie Blvd workshop before your car leaves — start, lock, and immobilizer response all confirmed.

AutoKey technician working on vehicle security programming at the Decarie Blvd workshop

16 Years of Immobilizer Experience

We Don't Sell One Brand — We Install What Works

AutoKey has worked hands-on with automotive immobilizer systems for 16 years. Founder Jerry Arnstein earned his ALOA Certified Automotive Locksmith (CAL) credential in 2012 and became the first Certified Master Automotive Locksmith (CMAL) in North America in 2015 — the highest technical credential in the trade.

That history matters here. Rather than committing to a single manufacturer and installing whatever they ship, we evaluate the anti-theft and immobilizer systems available on the market and install the ones our own testing and field experience show actually hold up against the theft methods we see every day.

16 years of hands-on immobilizer and key-programming experience
ALOA CAL (2012) & CMAL (2015) certified — first CMAL in North America
Evaluated against real theft techniques, not manufacturer marketing
Installed and tested in-shop before you drive away

All Makes & Models

Installed on 30+ Brands

Whatever you drive, we've likely already secured one like it.

FAQ

Common Questions

Factory immobilizers were designed before key cloning, relay attacks, and OBD reprogramming tools became widely available to thieves. An added, independent immobilizer layer closes the gap those newer attack methods exploit — it doesn't replace your factory system, it backs it up.

This is where an added immobilizer earns its keep. Every other layer of vehicle security assumes the thief doesn't have a working key — so if your keys are lifted from a coat pocket at a restaurant, taken from a gym locker, or grabbed in a break-in, your factory system sees a legitimate key and starts the car. The system we install requires its own separate verification that a thief has no way to know, so the vehicle stays exactly where you parked it even with your keys in their hand. It also buys you the time to call us and have the stolen keys erased from your vehicle so they're permanently useless.

A relay attack uses two coordinated devices to capture your key fob's signal from inside your home — even through a wall or door — and relay it to the car parked outside, tricking the vehicle into thinking the key is present. This method has driven a real increase in vehicle theft across Quebec and the greater Montreal area, and it's exactly the kind of attack our added immobilizer layer is designed to defeat.

No — the systems we install work alongside your factory keys and fobs, so you keep using them exactly as before. Installation doesn't cut into your vehicle's wiring in a way that voids your factory warranty; we'll walk you through exactly what's involved for your specific make and model before we start.

Autowatch Ghost and IGLA are two of the better-known aftermarket immobilizer systems on the market, and we're familiar with both. AutoKey isn't a factory-authorized dealer for any single brand — after 16 years of hands-on work with automotive immobilizer systems, we evaluate the options available and install whichever system our own testing and field experience show performs best on the vehicle in front of us. Our recommendation is based on what we've seen actually hold up, not on a fixed supplier arrangement.

Tag-style tracking and immobilization products are part of the anti-theft landscape we keep an eye on. As with every system we consider, we assess it against the attack methods we see in the shop — key cloning, relay attacks, OBD reprogramming — before deciding whether it earns a place in what we install. We're not tied to any one manufacturer, so our recommendation moves with the evidence, not with a supplier contract.

Most installs are completed in a few hours at our Decarie Blvd workshop, depending on the vehicle and the system chosen. The hardware goes in discreetly — a thief casing your car has no way to tell it's protected, and your day-to-day driving experience doesn't change.

Get Started

Protect Your Vehicle
Before a Thief Gets the Chance

Call for a free consultation or visit us at 6900 Decarie Blvd — we'll recommend the anti-theft system we believe fits your vehicle best.

Get a Free Quote →Call (514) 475-5500

(514) 475-5500