Local Auto Thefts | Page 16 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Local Auto Thefts

backmarkerducati said:
Lots of middle of the night home invasions happening to get the keys for vehicles on their list that cannot be taken via other easy exploits. Lots of attempts (did not get in) and too many IMO successes in our greater area. They also appear to be armed now.

Some tips on this front, assuming you have what they want.
  • Lock doors, strong doors, motion lights, alarms, cameras. park in the garage, etc. but they may bust in anyways... beyond prevention. They know what is parked where using airtags etc. If it is on the top list you may be on their list. They take them from garages.
  • House keys/work keys etc. should not be on a ring with car keys as you don't want them to get these as well.
  • Don't leave your wallet or purse with your keys, they are after the keys but they will take those items as well.
  • Get a set of same make fobs/keys (but not programmed to your vehicle) and leave them in the normal place people leave keys (like kitchen counter). Leave your keys in a different uncommon place.
On the last one, IF they break in while you are sleeping you want them out as fast as possible. If you hide your keys they may be in the house longer looking for them. Fake keys get them out fast but once out they cannot take the vehicle... they won't know why and they are not going to risk going back in at this point to rummage around more. They have a Benz key but the Benz/G-Wagon.... won't open or start.... best outcome.

You can also install a kill switch but you still don't want them to have your real keys....

Of course there will always be the keyboard rambo responses but keep in mind that even if you win the gun fight, their buddies know where you live.

Edit, or just own what they don't want, but it sucks when you can't have nice things because of scumbags. For the easy to steel vehicles where they do not need the keys, none of the above is in play.
Click to expand...
I have a great solution - I can leave my keys in the car overnight.

Drive a standard shift Cruze. My Vstrom has the same anti theft capabilities.
 
bitzz said:
You don't want to know how easy it is to break into your house.
Click to expand...
According to Facebook, almost any window ca be opened with a rock.
 
GreyGhost said:
Ouch. Blocking it in worked very poorly.

My bil blocks in his better vehicle with his worse vehicle in Vaughan. He leaves way too much space though so it wpuldnt be hard to get front vehicle out with no damage. Not worth telling him if he can't figure that out on his own.
Click to expand...
Buddy does that with his SRT but he also pulls a couple of fuses or relays to help prevent the bam bam.
 
GreyGhost said:
Costco Canada is now selling retractable bollards for $569 a pair.
Click to expand...

I called a few places back in March but they were pretty booked up. Pricing wasnt cheap either for the automated ones.
I cant see myself manually pulling them up and releasing them down into the ground every day during winter lol.

Plus having them drilled into the ground with sufficient clearance for water dispersion along with concrete etc is a bit of work.
 
POWERMAN said:
I called a few places back in March but they were pretty booked up. Pricing wasnt cheap either for the automated ones.
I cant see myself manually pulling them up and releasing them down into the ground every day during winter lol.

Plus having them drilled into the ground with sufficient clearance for water dispersion along with concrete etc is a bit of work.
Click to expand...
I'm waiting for Joe homeowner to buy them, rent a posthole drill and proceed to spike their gas or water line. You need to go pretty deep and there is a lot buried near your driveway. I also expect many installs will be a little short of brainpower and block the driveway but leave an easy escape route across the lawn.

As for manual vs power retract, they both have advantages and disadvantages. In either case, I suspect owners hit the bollards, 1000 times more often than they prevent a theft.
 
GreyGhost said:
Ouch. Blocking it in worked very poorly.

My bil blocks in his better vehicle with his worse vehicle in Vaughan. He leaves way too much space though so it wpuldnt be hard to get front vehicle out with no damage. Not worth telling him if he can't figure that out on his own.
Click to expand...
I’ve noticed a handful of my neighbours blocking in their better cars by the other cars in the family.

One already lost a RAM1500 within 2 weeks of getting it. Now he’s got a second one to replace the first.
 
So how well will the automatic bollards work in canadian winters when it snows and the driveway freezes over etc. "Sorry boss, can't come into work, bollards won't move" isn't going to go down very well with employers.

The only way to solve the issue is make it not worth the risk to the thieves ie. Big mandatory prison sentences, no matter the age of the perpetrators. Shame the government doesn't care about its tax payers safety and property enough to do that.
 
So something just occurred to me……

With all these new vehicles being outfitted with massive touchscreens they’ve basically become big cellphone / tablets on wheels. Those devices can’t be used without entering a password or PIN so why cant a $50,000+ item have the same security measures as a $200 device?

What am I missing?
 
spitRR said:
So something just occurred to me……

With all these new vehicles being outfitted with massive touchscreens they’ve basically become big cellphone / tablets on wheels. Those devices can’t be used without entering a password or PIN so why cant a $50,000+ item have the same security measures as a $200 device?

What am I missing?
Click to expand...
Because stolen vehicles generate additional sales. Manufacturers could easily make vehicles much harder to steal but they intentionally choose not to.

As much as I dislike more government regulation, making manufacturers provide five years of theft insurance with every new vehicle would almost instantly solve the unattended theft problem and may even solve the carjacking problem as they could easily add vehicle shutdown x minutes or km after a button is pressed.
 
spitRR said:
So something just occurred to me……

With all these new vehicles being outfitted with massive touchscreens they’ve basically become big cellphone / tablets on wheels. Those devices can’t be used without entering a password or PIN so why cant a $50,000+ item have the same security measures as a $200 device?

What am I missing?
Click to expand...
The same reason people don't want a key anymore... If turning a key is too much hassle these days, imagine entering a password!
 
GreyGhost said:
Again, easy ways forward if there was any desire. For instance, if the driver weighs within a few pounds of the associated key, no code required. If the driver weight is way off, require the code to start.
Click to expand...
The challenge is vehicles often have multiple drivers and handing out the code to the dealer/mechanic, cousin, whomever. People's weight goes up and down, even just winter vs summer. The seats check for a occupancy for airbags/seat belts but they currently have no ability to get a reasonable weight for a driver.

"Technology" got society into this mess, I am not sure it will actually get us out. That old fashion key doesn't solve all of it but it solves a lot... Key too inconvenient, so is entering a code, 2FA, facial recognition (oops sunglasses), fingerprint scans, whatever.
 
backmarkerducati said:
The challenge is vehicles often have multiple drivers and handing out the code to the dealer/mechanic, cousin, whomever. People's weight goes up and down, even just winter vs summer. The seats check for a occupancy for airbags/seat belts but they currently have no ability to get a reasonable weight for a driver.

"Technology" got society into this mess, I am not sure it will actually get us out. That old fashion key doesn't solve all of it but it solves a lot... Key too inconvenient, so is entering a code, 2FA, facial recognition (oops sunglasses), fingerprint scans, whatever.
Click to expand...
It's not a perfect solution to be sure. My wife and I have our own keys for each vehicle. For decades, vehicles have been able to setup seat and mirrors based on which key was used. There is no existing sensor for weight in cars. Passenger seat has a poverty weight sensor to control airbags but that wouldnt be good enough for the driver interlock. As you say, the deadband would be pretty high to avoid legitimate drivers being annoyed at code because they were wearing a coat. I would never have drivers enter weight as that is too complicated (seat weight does not equal body weight as your legs aren't supported by seat). Garmin scales do person identification now. As long as the users are more than 5 lbs apart and weigh themselves reasonably often, the scale guesses who is on it with no user input and updates its lookup table to be ready for the next time. Slow changes in weight are automatically tracked with no user input required.

It is far from a perfect system but less than $100 to implement and little friction (if your kid borrows the car, they can deal with the code, have a mechanic code that is basically valet mode, etc).

Kia wouldnt be doing this but there is no reason that Lexus is one of the easiest to steal vehicles. They have lots of margin to fix the issue.
 
backmarkerducati said:
Just an FYI, they cannot be installed in the city ROW. for many that shortens the driveway significantly.
Click to expand...
Many people think their driveways / property goes out to the curb...

Have had many a fight when our contractors go to site in the ROW and get threatened with violence for disturbing the owner's 'personal space'.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom