Reminds me of an episode of car talk. Caller says he parked his car and locked it before work. After work he goes to the parking lot to find his car missing. Before he can call the cops though, he sees that his car has been moved to a nearby spot. Nothing taken or broken, but the seat adjusted, radio station changed, and it’s locked. Caller wanted to know what the heck happened.
To the best of their abilities, the car talk guys surmise that someone with a similar car had the same key as the caller. They unlocked it and started the car without realizing it was the wrong one, drove a little before they realized their mistake, then parked and left it.
I forget the exact details, but I guess it was a cost saving measure to only make so many key variations.
This happened to me with a buddy's similar Ford model of the same color.
I ran into him in a restaurant one time and when I left he had parked in a prime spot right up front, which I had used when possible on previous visits.
I walked right up to his vehicle, unlocked the door and said "hey wait a minute I don't have those kind of seats!"
I went back in, showed him how it worked and we figured we could call each other instead of a locksmith if we got locked out in the future.
I did the unlocking part once. Someone in my work parking lot had the same model and color Corolla, and I unlocked it but immediately realized it wasn't my car, so I just laughed and locked it and went to look for mine.
To the best of their abilities, the car talk guys surmise that someone with a similar car had the same key as the caller. They unlocked it and started the car without realizing it was the wrong one, drove a little before they realized their mistake, then parked and left it.
I forget the exact details, but I guess it was a cost saving measure to only make so many key variations.