Is Homelink safe?

S

sjtilney

:
CX-5 Touring
I setup homelink to open and close my garage door, but I'm not always able to park my car in the garage, so sometimes it's parked overnight in the driveway.
My question is, can someone break my car window, and then use the homelink button on the mirror to open my garage door?
I've tried testing, by locking my doors, and pressing the homelink button, and my garage doors still opens.

Shouldn't the garage door button be disabled if the doors are locked and the keys are not within range?
 
sjtilney said:
Shouldn't the garage door button be disabled if the doors are locked and the keys are not within range?
Click to expand...

That's not how homelink is designed to work. It works no differently than if you kept the physical garage door opener in your car which could be used the same way if someone were to break into the car.
 
You should have a "lock" button on your garage door opener wall control panel that you can use so that your door can't be opened by remote control.
 
Seminole said:
It works no differently than if you kept the physical garage door opener in your car which could be used the same way if someone were to break into the car.
Click to expand...

Right, which is why I would never leave a physical garage door opener in my car. I would always bring it inside when I parked in the driveway. Does Mazda expect people to remove their rearview mirror every time they park outside? This is a serious security flaw.

Seminole said:
That's not how homelink is designed to work.
Click to expand...
Can you explain how it's designed to work? Is Mazda making the assumption that the car will always be in the garage whenever it's near the home?
 
rsvinylgraphics said:
You should have a "lock" button on your garage door opener wall control panel that you can use so that your door can't be opened by remote control.
Click to expand...

My garage door doesn't have that feature. I don't understand why Mazda doesn't disable this button when the key is not within range. It seems obvious to me.
 
I installed the Homelink myself. I wired it so that it will only operate if the ignition is on.
 
Looks like there's a Blue (always hot), Black, Brown and Pink wire.

Couldn't quickly find out which one was hot w/ignition on but the Blue was definitely hot without anything on.. There's more than enough wire area covered by the cloth tape so should be an easy tap that doesn't look bad when re-taping over.

20171019_060225-X2.jpg
 
The pink wire is definitely only hot when the engine is running. I didn't detect power to any wire w/just ignition on other than the blue of course.

So, cut the blue wire and tap it (FROM the connector) into the pink one and that should do the trick.. I'll try that later today if I get a chance.
 
Homelink mirrors have two power wires.
One is supposed to be connected to switched 12V. That is for the dimming feature.
The other one is supposed to be connected to constant 12V (non-swicthed). That is for the Homelink feature.
Due to this, you are still able to operate the Homelink feature w/o turning on the ACC power of the car.
To change that, connect the second power wire to the switched one (same as the 1st wire).
 
MellowJoe said:
The pink wire is definitely only hot when the engine is running. I didn't detect power to any wire w/just ignition on other than the blue of course.

So, cut the blue wire and tap it (FROM the connector) into the pink one and that should do the trick.. I'll try that later today if I get a chance.
Click to expand...

I finally got around to doing this and it works perfectly. cut blue, connect Blue from mirror to pink wire and you're good.

Mirror is not active unless you are in acc mode or the car is on. So, you can park the are outside the garage if you need to and if someone happens to break into it, they don't have easy access to your garage.
 
I'd be more concerned about someone breaking into my car then my garage. I can't imagine many thieves are thinking "ok, I'll smash the window and I know Mazdas homelink is always hot so then I'll break into the garage...."
 
Last edited:
MellowJoe said:
I finally got around to doing this and it works perfectly. cut blue, connect Blue from mirror to pink wire and you're good.

Mirror is not active unless you are in acc mode or the car is on. So, you can park the are outside the garage if you need to and if someone happens to break into it, they don't have easy access to your garage.
Click to expand...

Cant you put the car in acc mode without having the key on you?
 
7eregrine said:
I'd be more concerned about someone breaking into my car then my garage. I can't imagine many thieves are thinking "ok, I'll smash the window and I know Mazdas homelink is always hot so then I'll break into the garage...."
Click to expand...

I think most homelinks are always active... and I feel like, why give them the key to the house too. Then, it ups the score a lot more and if you're home... things could be worse.

Anyway, do it or not, just letting folks know it's possible to do and not difficult. Always nice to have options.
 
Just for the record, this is standard in any vehicle with Homelink. We have had BMW (2013), Mazda (2018), Ram (2014), Audi (2017), Chevy (2009) and Jeep (2011) all with homelink or something similar. Every vehicle has constant power and works with the car off. I have not programmed my house in any of my vehicles, except the audi as she is always parked inside.

This is not a Mazda thing, its a car thing. Also, this area has been getting hit with cars being broke into pretty bad. Mostly unlocked, but none the less... That said, out of the 120 some odd break ins this year, only two reported house entries and one had someone home. This is why i spent $30 on a key chain fob for the Mazda as i only park inside with imminent weather threats.

With that said, I did not look into the Mazda wiring yet. So thank you for posting that "mod/hack" to removing constant power. I will be doing that in the near future so i can use homelink again.
 
We have a large parking lot/s with about 1500 cars at work. I usually park far and under covered parking. Saw a tweeker looking guy walking around looking real suspect. Moved my car closer to building and noticed someone reporting the guy already. Tweaker was walking around with a post-it pad.

Damn thieves!!!
 
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