Honda Activa owners beware!

iPwnz

iPwnz

Brutally Honest
Keymaster
I don't know if these are "isolated incidents" but I want to share some incidents which I accidentally encountered while owning my Honda Activa Scooter (3G).

It first happened a year or so ago. One evening I had little petrol so I asked a friend to give me the keys to his Activa (First model). We must have been very busy at work because I somehow forgot that I asked for his key and simply went straight to his scooter which I was able to start without any issue. I went out and returned after about an hour and was welcomed by the horror on my friend's face. I was like what's wrong and he said his scooter was missing! I told him I took it out to which he was even more shocked and went "HOW?? I HAVE THE KEYS! HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO START MY SCOOTER WITHOUT USING ITS KEY??" which surprised me because I thought I was using his key. I then took out the keys to check and it was my own scooter key not his! So I was not only able to insert my key into another Activa's keylock but was also able to start the ignition without ANY issue.

The second incident happened a few days ago. I was in the market when I came back and started my Activa Scooter when I noticed something. It was actually not my Activa but someone else! I didn't realize it earlier as the color and model were same (I think). The condition of the speedometer gave it away. To which I immediately got down and started looking for its owner. It belonged to a nearby shopkeeper. I told him about the issue and that I almost drove it away and he needs to double lock his scooter including the tyres using a door lock and key (a flat iron metal is used here which disables the tyre from rotating so even if the ignition starts the scooter won't move). His reaction surprised me. He said "okay okay." I was the one more shocked with this reaction lol. Wasn't he afraid that it would get stolen?

There is also another problem with Activa but I cannot divulge this information. I will let Honda know directly. I haven't come across any of these problems being reported anywhere before. Not sure if it's the first or just that people haven't noticed it.

There have been a few instances where vehicle thieves (Honda Activa might be the most stolen two-wheelers, I will try to get the numbers when I can) were caught with multiple keys in their possession. I didn't understand it back then but I do now.

If any of you own a Honda Activa or any bike or cars in general be careful to double-lock your vehicles. Heck triple-lock 'em! I don't know about cars so I can't say but it's easy to lock two-wheelers. Use a strong sturdy iron and a good lock. You can use 2-3 locks if you want. Better than having your vehicles stolen right?

TLDR: Honda Activa seems to share a common key for multiple shooters which is unacceptable!
I would like to know if anyone has an idea on how to proceed with this complaint.

PS: grammatical errors and typos are my signature.
 
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All this is true. But I think only with regards to old and used vehicles. Because with time the key hole cylinders and the key gets a lot of wear and tear and the specificity is lost due to that. I remember i used to take someone's pulsar 180 for joy rides when I was a kid using a chaiwala's scooty key [emoji23].
 
That's messed up... It's like driving a car using an auto rickshaw key. :|
One question, how often should one change the key hole? Has anyone here ever get it done?
 
Not only Honda Activa, it also happens with TVS Jupiter. My wife lost the key to her Jupiter and a known shopkeeper nearby told to use his Jupiter key and try to start the vehicle and to my surprise it worked. He told that he was able to start two or three Jupiter vehicles this way. I think this happens in most of the vehicles whether it is bike or scooter.
 
This can happen to any two wheeler. Like some one said the pins inside lock cylinder gets worn out, watch the below video to understand how a lock works. I change my aviatar locks when it was 30k+ kms, its varies from usage pattern, a person who does short runs multiple times a day and who has odometer of 30000km will have locks worn out faster, then say a person who uses it only twice a day and does long runs but still done a total of 30000km.
Every device has a rating certain number of counts, clicks, activation, hours etc before it fails its typically mentioned in the datasheet.
 
Is the quality the same for all? And can it be done by a third-party company using third-party lock? Or only the authorized company for example Honda in my case.
 
Well this is so freaking common... if anyone has ever visited Goa and rented a scooter then you may or may not had encountered this but the keys of your scooter can be used to start similar model scooter be it private or another rental. And ya Activa seems very easy to hack or to say their keys as designed that way.
Recent incident, last year friends went to Goa and on some beach side parked their Activa and when they returned after few hours he didn't cared as to whose scooter was it as he just remembered the location and color and while chitchatting he started the scooter only to realize upon reaching the hotel it was someone elses vehicle. All of them panicked.
They immediately contacted the scooter agent and he was like this is pretty common here and no scooter ever gets stolen but misplacement is common. He simply asked for the reg. no and the scooter belonged under his ownership itself. Funny!
 
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I think problem could be solved or at least reduced significantly if manufacturers used immobilizer system in vehicles. Apart from the correct key shape and size, the key also has an encrypted code which should match/verify with the vehicle ecu, after that only vehicle can be started. Not sure if 2 wheelers have it or not. Most 4 wheelers do.

This system can also be defeated, but its not cost effective for the thief to crack it for 2 wheelers, 4 wheelers are more valuable, so most thieves know how to defeat it. Maybe could use the same method on 2 wheelers.
 
nRiTeCh said:
Well this is so freaking common... if anyone has ever visited Goa and rented a scooter then you may or may not had encountered this but the keys of your scooter can be used to start similar model scooter be it private or another rental. And ya Activa seems very easy to hack or to say their keys as designed that way.
Recent incident, last year friends went to Goa and on some beach side parked their Activa and when they returned after few hours he didn't cared as to whose scooter was it as he just remembered the location and color and while chitchatting he started the scooter only to realize upon reaching the hotel it was someone elses vehicle. All of them panicked.
They immediately contacted the scooter agent and he was like this is pretty common here and no scooter ever gets stolen but misplacement is common. He simply asked for the reg. no and the scooter belonged under his ownership itself. Funny!
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I had no idea it was common tbh. Goans seem pretty chill about it lol.
I forgot to mention another incident as it was not a personal thing. A friend here lost her new Activa two years ago. The messed up thing was there were a lot of police personnel (escort party) nearby but they didn't notice the theft. I think an FIR was registered but they never found the vehicle till today. It was brand new with no number plate. The funny thing was she brought it to introduce the damn thing lol. It seems to me that Activa keylock has a problem in general whether old or new.
Always carry a double locker guys. Precautionary measure.
 
iPwnz said:
I don't know if these are "isolated incidents" but I want to share some incidents which I accidentally encountered while owning my Honda Activa Scooter (3G).

It first happened a year or so ago. One evening I had little petrol so I asked a friend to give me the keys to his Activa (First model). We must have been very busy at work because I somehow forgot that I asked for his key and simply went straight to his scooter which I was able to start without any issue. I went out and returned after about an hour and was welcomed by the horror on my friend's face. I was like what's wrong and he said his scooter was missing! I told him I took it out to which he was even more shocked and went "HOW?? I HAVE THE KEYS! HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO START MY SCOOTER WITHOUT USING ITS KEY??" which surprised me because I thought I was using his key. I then took out the keys to check and it was my own scooter key not his! So I was not only able to insert my key into another Activa's keylock but was also able to start the ignition without ANY issue.
Click to expand...
Today itself my honda dikki was unlocked by a theif and my purse wallet get misplaced
I dont understand are there any security issues with honda activa
 
Never keep any valuables in any scooter trunk. It is very easy to open. Just pull the seat upward forcefully and the flimsy lock breaks open.
 
The latest model of activa has immobilizer in smart key, even if someone copies your key, they won't be able to start the scooter.

The seat of any scooter can be opened by thief, because it's a basic scooter.
 
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