[Mr. Wyndham]

Aparently, it might be able to...
Thought this might be rather interesting, and informative to most of us.

General Motors Keys Open More Than One Vehicle

Across the ABC 13 Viewing Area - Each holiday season we tell you this -- DON'T leave valuables, gifts, anything in your car because you make yourself the perfect victim. But is that sinking in? Maybe not, because each holiday season it happens.

So maybe this will open your eyes. We found another way for a thief to break-in and it's as simple as the turn of a key. A jiggle here, a wiggle there, and one right after the other, a car key thatdoesn'tbelong to the vehicle we're unlocking -- works.

Hawkins - "It looks different, but then you slide it back."

Courtney - "It looks pretty similar."

Hawkins - "Right."

And we're not talking about every car key -- just General Motors keys. Many have similar cuts.

Hawkins - "I didn't think it was that possible. It just happens you have keys that are pretty close to 'em."

Who better to see this in action than a locksmith? It just so happens John Hawkins has a Chevy Astro Van, and we have the keys to a Chevy Blazer. Two different cars and two different keys... but….

Courtney - "Gotcha."

We got in.

Hawkins - "Basically you've used this key just to pick that lock."

Surely we figured it wouldn’t work on every GM, so we hit the lot of Seven Hills Auto Sales. We tried three, and didn't get in.

Whitaker - "There you go. Laughs Those things happen."

But the fourth was a charm.

Whitaker - "Just the turn of a key, that's all it takes."

And unfortunately it's true.

Dave Mann - "There you go! Oh gosh. That's crazy! That's the key to the Tahoe?"

Hawkins - "I would say the possibility of what you're doing would be greater on GM than any other car."

Courtney - "Why is that?"

Hawkins - "Because the door doesn't have but the five tumblers in it."

And the more tumblers, which are the parts your key has to match with the lock, the safer your car is.

General Motors gave us a statement saying they take security and this complaint seriously, but they go onto say they believe this is a law enforcement issue, not a product-related issue.

So we talked to Lynchburg Police. They say while a key might not sounds alarms like smashing a window, they're both illegal.

Carey - "If you're trying to get into a car that is not yours even though a key might unlock the door you will be arrested."

They say the best chance you have of protecting your vehicle is taking out your valuables, and locking up as much as you can. A similarly cut key that might unlock the door -- WILL NOT start the vehicle. Our locksmith says that's because there are many more tumblers in the ignition than the door. He says even replacing current locks with new ones wouldn't really help. In fact, he suggested a car alarm.

Granted Pass-Key might give the thief some grief, but still - this is kinda wierd.

EDIT: I really didn't mean to rhyme like that :p