The Dodge brand just keeps on coming up with ways to make Roadkill Nights better for everyone. Spectators are sure to enjoy this year’s celebrity grudge match in addition to the full street racing program, the car show, the thrill rides and the many branded attractions of the event. Some Dodge owners have been selected to race while many others took advantage of the free Dodge Cruise-In passes. The Dodge Cruise-In pass allows owners to display their vehicle inside of the M1 Concourse during Roadkill Nights, while also including free admission for two adults and any kids under 13.
To make Roadkill Nights even better for Dodge Cruise-In owners, the brand is offering a free security upgrade to attendees, making it nearly impossible to steal a newer Challenger or Charger without a tow truck. Shortly after registering for the Dodge Cruise-In pass, I received an email from the event organizers, explaining that the brand will be performing the RF Hub Lockout at Roadkill, free of charge.
Dodge Security Upgrades
The introduction of models like the Scat Pack, Hellcat and Redeye led to a sales boom for the muscular Dodge products, but like many new vehicles on the road today, they feature an RF-based keyless entry and ignition system. Thieves have figured out a way to access the RF frequency, making it very easy for them to clone a key fob and steal the car. Some people believe that this issue is specific to Dodge or Stellantis products, but many modern vehicles with keyless access are susceptible to this type of theft.
A year ago, Dodge announced a new security measures to help prevent the theft of the 2015-newer Challenger and Charger. The first was an Enhanced Security Mode that limits the output of the engine to just 2.8 horsepower – making it very difficult to drive the car away and nearly impossible to drive the car up into or onto a trailer. The second is a new Intrusion Module in 2022-and-newer models, which sets off the alarm if a window is broken or if the car is lifted to an angle, as when it is being towed away.
The third safety measure implemented by Dodge is the most aggressive in preventing theft, and that is the RF Hub Lockout. When thieves clone a key, they do so with a gadget that communicates with the RF Hub in the car. The RF Hub contains the coding used to unlock the doors and start the car, so once the thief has communicated with the RF Hub, he or she installs that coding on a random key fob, at which point they have created their own key for your Dodge Challenger or Charger.
RF Hub Lockout Function
The RF Hub Lockout prevents thieves from communicating with the RF Hub, so they cannot copy the coding or create their own key. In short, once the RF Hub Lockout has been installed, the key fobs that are already connected are the only ones that will work – ever. Even the dealership cannot make a new key for a Challenger or Charger once the RF Hub Lockout is installed, but that is a small price to pay for the peace of mind of knowing that a thief with a laptop can’t easily steal your muscle car.
The only downside to this upgrade is that if you ever need to get new key fobs, you have to buy a new RF Hub module and have it installed, which will cost you around $160. However, if you never need to make a new key for your Challenger or Charger, there is no downside to the security measure.
Whether you have the RF Hub Lockout installed at Roadkill Nights or at your dealership, the upgrade is free, but in speaking with many Dodge owners, we found that a surprising number of dealerships aren’t familiar with the security upgrade. Having it done at Roadkill Nights by the company will save me the headache of going to a dealership to have the work done – which is another nice perk of the Dodge Cruise-In passes for 2022 Roadkill Nights.
We should point out that this only applies to 2015-and-newer Challengers and Chargers, but if you have a newer Dodge muscle car and you are coming to Roadkill Nights, you are likely eligible to get the RF Hub Lockout installed at the event. If you did not get the email from the Roadkill Nights Event Team, check out spam filter, as that was where my email on the subject landed.
