The Backup Start Passcode is a Lifesaver

[Mustang Mama]

Last Thursday, at a restaurant in San Francisco 250 miles from my home, my purse was stolen. In it were my car keys, my phone, my wallet with $100, my credit cards, etc. Luckily, I had set up a Backup Start Passcode two years ago when I bought my Mach-E, but I could not remember what it was. It was, of course, in my phone, which was long gone. Using a friend's phone, I was able to contact my 80-year-old computer-illiterate dog sitter and talk her through getting into my computer where she was able to find the code. The next day I started the car with the Backup Start Passcode and drove home, stopping to charge with an EVGo card I had fortunately kept in the glove box. Lesson Learned: keep a copy of your Backup Start Passcode in your car along with some cards for chargers (and maybe a little cash).

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[Mach-Lee]

Lesson Learned: keep a copy of your Backup Start Passcode in your car along with some cards for chargers (and maybe a little cash).

I would not do this because a thief can steal your car if they find the password inside. Instead, you should practice using your backup passcode monthly from memory (set a reminder). If you must, keep a copy of the password at home or with a trusted friend that you can call to retrieve (you should have their phone number memorized).

Enabling Plug & Charge will also allow you to charge if you forgot your wallet or phone.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Super-sorry that you got burglarized. ??

Please do not keep a key in the car or the backup start code in the car. It’s better to create a code that you can remember and use it once in a while to ensure that you know it. A thief can find any place that a key can be hidden (they do this for a living) and it’s just good cyber-security to never write down login credentials. ??

 

[Art]

Last Thursday, at a restaurant in San Francisco 250 miles from my home, my purse was stolen. In it were my car keys, my phone, my wallet with $100, my credit cards, etc. Luckily, I had set up a Backup Start Passcode two years ago when I bought my Mach-E, but I could not remember what it was. It was, of course, in my phone, which was long gone. Using a friend's phone, I was able to contact my 80-year-old computer-illiterate dog sitter and talk her through getting into my computer where she was able to find the code. The next day I started the car with the Backup Start Passcode and drove home, stopping to charge with an EVGo card I had fortunately kept in the glove box. Lesson Learned: keep a copy of your Backup Start Passcode in your car along with some cards for chargers (and maybe a little cash).

Great tip, thank you.

 

[Deezul]

As someone who works in IT, if you "hide" it somewhere on the car, it's also likely someone else with bad intentions would think to look there. Just like you shouldn't put computer passwords on a post-it on your monitor, putting your password in the glove box, center console, trunk, under a seat, in the sunglasses storage, etc. is where a thief will look, too.

Leaving the password, cash, and cards just means now the thief can charge for free and get some food while they wait. Just pick a easy to remember but hard to figure out password as your backup start password.

 

[zvez]

As someone who works in IT, if you "hide" it somewhere on the car, it's also likely someone else with bad intentions would think to look there. Just like you shouldn't put computer passwords on a post-it on your monitor, putting your password in the glove box, center console, trunk, under a seat, in the sunglasses storage, etc. is where a thief will look, too.

Leaving the password, cash, and cards just means now the thief can charge for free and get some food while they wait. Just pick a easy to remember but hard to figure out password as your backup start password.

on my first mach e, I actually wrote my backup start code on the door code key that came with the car, always carried it in my wallet. PAAK was pretty necessary then, as we originally only got one key fob on the 21s (up until June 21 build). On my 23 I never bothered with setting up PAAK.

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