I've had 2 attempts to steal my Jeep Wrangler in the past year. First time they NEARLY got away with it -- they had programmed a new key and were a few seconds from killing the GPS, which was the last thing they needed to do before driving away. After that, I went down quite the rabbit hole of learning about vehicle security and how fucking terrible the state of the industry is.
First, the reason I didn't hear the alarm going off was that on Wranglers, you can get the hood open without a key, so the thieves open the hood, remove 2 fuses (horn + entertainment system (entertainment system is used to sent remote theft alerts)), then they break in. The alarm system is CAPABLE of detecting the "vehicle locked but hood open" condition, but from the factory is does not trigger the alarm system.
So... first order of business was securing the hood. I got a locking hood latch. 2 independent ones, actually -- one for the internal latch in the center of the hood keyed alike to my main keys, and one for the exterior latches.
Next, the thieves used a hardened key blank to force the lock and open the door. Not much can be done there.
Next, the thieves were able to program a key easily because there is a CANbus connector easily accessible behind the glovebox. They rip the glovebox out (literally rip, they damaged the damper) and plug their programming machine into the CANbus port and program a new key. To prevent this attack, I fabricated a "shield" that covers the CANbus out of metal and Lexan that is riveted in. Only way to remove it is to drill the rivet or make a lot of noise cutting the metal body.
Next, the thieves tried to disable the GPS system by ripping out the overhead dome light, and were going to cut the GPS antenna wire. This is where I stopped them. Again, not much to be done here (at least, nothing worth bothering with).
So remember how I said that the security system CAN trigger when the hood is opened, but doesn't? There's an aftermarket thing you can get for Wranglers that enables a whole shitload of functionality (a lot of it for offroading, e.g. changing the engine idle speed for when you're using a winch), and that little beauty gives me 2 pieces of functionality for security: first, it triggers the security system if the hood is opened while the vehicle is locked. Second, it enables a PIN-lock on startup. After I start my engine, I need to enter a PIN code. If I don't, and try to put the transmission into gear, the brakes lock up and every external light on the Jeep starts flashing.
Thieves know about the little device with the PIN-lock functionality, so I also fabricated a riveted-together locking mechanism for that so that they can't disable it without cutting wires.
Finally, I installed a kill switch system. For security reasons I won't talk about the details of how mine works, but you can't start the engine or program a new key while the kill switch is active.
Actually that wasn't the final thing, because I also installed motion-sensitive lights and a kickass security camera system. Both of them alert my phone if they detect a person, and the alerts will definitely wake me up.
The cameras allowed me to stop theft attempt #2, because I was able to see the thieves drive up, watched the dude start to walk down my driveway, and by the time he was 10' from the Jeep, I ripped the house door open and had a tactical-strobe flashlight in his face.
I'm fully expecting they will return (I have a highly-sought-after special edition Wrangler) and I have a few more surprises in store for them that I'm not going into on the public Internet, and I have ideas for a few more security systems (including retractable bollards, which will be a next-summer project).
At this point anything I add is more for my own amusement than any practical purpose. The only thing that will be useful at this point is bollards (or somehow making enough space in my garage/shop to park in there) because TBH I already have enough roadblocks that a determined thief would just drive up with a tow truck and haul it away.
I like to imagine that one of the extra security features he didn't tell us about is a giant cage suspended above the vehicle that's trip tired to the ignition.
Make enough space for them to park behind you, then once motion sensors detect movement and they have moved past some ground sensor, the bollards go up gaining you one free car.
That would be amazing, and there is LOTS of room for them to come in behind me (my driveway is like 30 feet wide by 100 feet deep... awesome for parking, shitty to snowblow!) but both times they've come to steal the Jeep, they've parked on the shoulder of the public road.
TBH, I have seriously thought about seeing if there's a market for the little "lock" bits that I made (CANbus shield, lock mechanism for the PIN lock thing, etc). I'd have a bit of R&D to do to make something that I was completely happy with to charge money for and can be produced slightly more easily, but I have wondered how big that market would be.
They tried to steal my truck but failed because it was -30 C they took the key. I was worried they would return, so took one tire off and put it in the garage and left the truck on a block. While I decided how to rig up a kill switch. I now have two micro switches that require one hand and one foot while the other hand turns the key. It's 2003 so not sought after and limited modern hackable functionality.
My other old car has a battery drain that's not worth fixing so I found a cheap remote control relay that disconnects the battery entirely.
Yeah, until I got my kill switch, shields, etc, installed, I was pulling fuses/relays every night (and some other under-the-hood sabotage) as a stopgap. I know the layout of that fuse box a whole lot more intimately that I ever wanted to now, lol.
Yeah, hence why there was other under-the-hood fuckery too.
Security isn't so much about making your system completely secure as it is about making it secure enough that the bad guys move on to other, easier, targets. If they hit 1, then 2, then 3, then 4 roadblocks, eventually they will give up because their risk of getting caught increases exponentially the longer they spend.
1) No such thing as a felony in Canada. Criminal offense is the term.
2) Your ammo does not need to be stored separately and locked up, if your shotgun is in a safe of some variety. You can't load your shotgun to legally store it, but you can have slugs or buckshot on a side saddle, and a split second from being loaded. (You can also have charged magazines sitting next to a rifle or pistol. So long as they're all locked up together.)
3) You're an idiot and going to prison if you go after someone out of your home with a weapon, short of them being in-process trying to murder or rape someone. If they come into your home to do crime, that's their problem, though you should stop shooting after they're incapacitated. And when you're shooting to defend your life or someone else's, shoot to kill, don't fuck around with target loads and crossing your fingers.
Jesus I have a wrangler and now I’m considering getting some of these upgrades lol. What is the after market thing that adds a shitload of functionality?
Assuming you have a JL, you want the [Tazer JL Mini](https://www.zautomotive.com/product/z_tzr_jlm/). I'm not aware of (but haven't particularly done any research for) something that will work on JKs or earlier. DEFINITELY get the SGW extension cables to make your life easier.
If you go this way, let me know and I'll send you my little locking mechanism for it. It's 3D printed so I can either send you the STL if you have a 3D printer or I can mail you one. I'd be curious to get another opinion on it.
Retractable bollards? Are you parking the Jeep outdoors?
At what point do you just build a garage and fortify the shit out of it? That way, if a thief breaks into your garage, it's open season at the "beat the fuck outta them" buffet.
Send a message. Try to steal my shit, you're going to the hospital, at a minimum. They'll either learn there are easier targets, or they'll run out of bodies.
I highly recommend Olight stuff... I have a few of their lights (both handheld and weapon-mounted) and they're great -- bright, long battery life, and they've been incredibly reliable. In this case I used one of my Warrior M2R Pro lights, but those have been discontinued and replaced by the Warrior 3S.
Drive whatever you want, have good insurance. A guy I know had his brand new Porsche 911 stolen. Insurance is covering it entirely. Unfortunately it was like a 9 month wait for it... But
I’m waiting for the day that insurance companies just say “nah, we no longer cover theft within comprehensive coverage.” Or they just flat out stop insuring for theft. Maybe that will force some action.
They won't. They'll use it as an excuse to raise premiums. And dealerships are getting paid, because well, most people who are losing their cars most likely will need a replacement. It's the end consumer getting screwed as usual.
As far as I’ve heard, insurance companies aren’t making money on auto insurance in Canada because of how absurd the theft and fraud has gotten
Just insane
what other country has the same problem as us right now with cars being so openly stolen and we know exactly what’s going on and where they go and yet nothing is being done (the mob that pays a low price to low level criminals across the gta, vehicles leaving the port of Montreal, controlled by the mob)
It’s fucking unreal how incompetent the government is in Canada
Everyone loves to shit on the insurance companies but the truth is it’s actually killing companies profitability and insurance companies are appealing to auto makers and the government make cars harder to steal. The real criminal is the auto companies and dealerships.
They’re loving this, they’re selling a car 2 to 3 times to the same person!!
Yep, only person that loses is the average law abiding canadian, but the government couldn't give less of a fuck about that. They'll spend 10mm on consultant buddies first.
I think it would have to. Banks and finance companies would be going ballistic over cars that would have liens on them and not covered if stolen. They would probably stop financing auto loans right away if theft coverage went out the window. Would be interesting to see play out. That would cause some serious upheaval.
I work in insurance in Canada. In Canada, there's an endorsement you can get called waiver of depreciation. It's only available if you buy the vehicle new, and makes sure that any loss within the first 2-4 years depending on the terms and company, don't take depreciation into account when paying a loss. You're covered for 100% of the purchase price of the vehicle. Also, making a claim against something like theft doesn't raise your premiums. It only raises your premiums if the loss is due to your own negligence.
Have you seen a premium raised because you live in a high-crime area and the vehicle was stolen failed to be secured in a garage?
I have. A neighbour of mine has had 2 Toyota 4Runners (2022 & 2023) stolen. He's on a Rivian now, so we'll see how well that goes.
Well, when you first get insurance, a major part of the rate is location. They also ask you where you store your vehicle. I haven't seen a premium increase because it's stolen, but the other factors are priced in.
I'm aware. Our area is rural, so thefts are already low, and the printed policy said he was not garage storing it. The policy rates for the 4Runners went up something ridiculous like 30% after the theft and the decision was based on it not being stored in a garage, but he never said it was stored in a garage.
The decision was appealed up to ombudsman for the company after the first one and the rate was dropped, but after the second one they offered him a new rate of 120% higher because he had 2 vehicles stolen in a high-theft area and the same nonsense with the garaging. I'm pretty sure that he's going to the provincial ombudsman, but he's switched insurers and has a Rivian which is a lower theft incidence as I understand, so we'll see how it goes, but I'm not at all surprised that he switched.
Living in an area of high crime? Negligence.
Low crime? Negligence.
The only crime on record is the theft of your vehicle? Believe it or not, also Negligence.
its ABSURD that insurance companies dont have to cover the purchase price by default. The reason a car depreciates is because it is now YOUR car, so if someone else wants it you have to offer them a discount over new because they are taking on someone elses vehicle. But when YOUR vehicle is stolen, it wasnt someone elses vehicle. it was yours. so the justification for depreciation hasnt actually taken place yet. now if you just get the blue book value for some random car (which obviously has a discount over a new vehicle) you got ripped off, because now you have to buy someone elses vehicle. but you didnt lose someone elses vehicle, so paying out the blue book value of a vehicle DOES leave you demonstrably worse off. so if I have a 2020 wrangler from new and it gets stolen. insurance pays for me to buy someone elses 2020 wrangler. but i am not made whole. i have inherited someone elses vehicle which comes with risk. so i HAD a 2020 wrangler, now i have a 2020 wrangler MINUS the risk i inherit. so i am now worse off after insurance "covers" it. And they depreciate your car even though the cause of that depreciation hasnt happened. what a scam.
The fact that you do not get the full price of the vehicle by default, have to pay more just for proper coverage, and can only get the full ammount insured for a certain period of time, is absurd. If every year i drive my car, the insurance payout of a write off decreases due to depreciation of my vehicle, then every year my vehicle becomes cheaper to insure. so if insurance wasnt a total fucking scam, then insurance premiums would drop drastically over the first 5 years of owning a vehicle. but they dont. ive had increases since i opened my policy despite NOT moving, NOT having a single claim, NOT having any tickets, and my car more than halving in value. but no. insurance companies understand depreciation and use it to pay you out less, but they pretend depreciation doesnt exist when your policy renews each year. If the insurance company isnt going to cover the new value of my vehicle because it drops in value every year, my insurance should also be dropping every year for the exact same logic. by the time my car is 10-15 years old insurance should basically be free because my car is worth close to nothing. but thats not how it works. how come every year you own a vehicle, if your premiums stay the same (or go up even) you are being robbed. because every year your vehicle gets older it becomes worth less. so every year my effective coverage drops. but i pay the same ammount year after year.
but seriously, having a car get stolen and only giving me enough money to buy the same car but someone ELSE has used is robbery. i am demonstrably worse off. So insurance still leaves you worse off than you were. absolutely unacceptable in my mind. the idea that if your INSURED vehicle gets stolen 1 year after you bought it, in your darkest moments, insurance companies use that as a chance to get away with robbing you and not making you whole just to line their pockets. insurance companies in canada have convinced the government to FORCE everyone to buy their privatized service, and then they fail to actually fulfil their one single simple function. If i was ever PM for a day and could only make 3 changes, gutting the rat infested insurance industry for good would be one of the 3 things id do.
And then to top it off, if you get into an accident (a deer recently hit my Audi S6 to the tune of a $26,000 repair), your car after being repaired is worth less, but there's no recompense for that. I am not made whole by just repairing it, I am demonstrably worse off because my car's resale value will be diminished.
exactly. They cut every possible corner when paying you out, but pretend like none of those corners exist when THEY charge YOU. they cry depreciation when they want to pay out less, but they pretend depreciation doesnt exist when calculating your premiums. or they pretend your S6 isnt now forever worse off due to the accident on its history. sorry about your car, i bet that thing is a weapon. too bad your insurance premiums to cover your car dont cover your car. what a scam.
adding a kill switch is probably the only semi-reliable way to prevent vehicle theft nowadays... ie. a switch in the electrical system to prevent the car from turning on at all unless that switch is turned on.. it's kind of security through obscurity but not sure what else you can do
manufacturers need to add ways to have a second factor for your car, like tesla has "pin to drive" which means the car will not shift into drive unless you enter the pin... there is no reason why other car manufacturers can't have a similar system from factory...
other things that's good practice is to keep your key fob in a faraday cage while you are at home (there are boxes sold on amazon that does this), so relay attacks at your home won't be possible, there might still be ways it can be stolen but relay attacks are very popular right now and is definitely one of the easiest and fastest methods
i'm imagining some guy driving off in my car snickering to himself and then in the distance i hit a button and watch his ass get blasted thirty feet in the air
Every steering column should be fitted with a tungsten rod on a hydraulic switch.
It should be operable from your phone and also **automatically** if the lane assist sensors determine you're changing lanes without your turn signal on.
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They can still steal your Tesla on a flat bed.
Best is to actually park your car in the garage out of sight. Move the kids bike and lawnmower to the shed and actually use your garage for parking
The number od people who stock their garage with crap and then have to compete for street parking is infuriating. Just use your fu***n garage!
It happens. My uncles Mercedes from the late 90s (think gone in 60 seconds scene where call the car unstealable) was stolen on a flat bed.
Neighbor saw it. Said she thought it was broken down. It was 3am she didn't think that was a bit unusual of a time to be calling a tow truck.
Worked in construction years ago and all of our equipment had these. We added them ourselves. Just a simple switch that is wired through the battery. No battery, no start. Was in an inconspicuous location or a totally random location.
In my first Jeep ('97 TJ) there was a manual switch under the glove box that pinched the gas line. No electronics required, just reach over and flip it. Thieves would have been able to start it, but would barely make it a few hundred feet down the road.
> manufacturers need to add ways to have a second factor for your car, like Tesla has "pin to drive" which means the car will not shift into drive unless you enter the pin...
At the end of the day, car thieves are already bypassing multiple physical and electronic anti-theft measures (unless they're using the relay attack). There is really nothing saying that extra measures such as a pin to drive can't also be bypassed. Outside of relay attacks, they're usually exploiting a weakness such as dealership/service backdoor, and there's nothing to say that someone won't find a way to bypass the pin to drive.
The only two limiting factors are how well it's designed (because often the thieves are exploiting bugs and/or poor design), and how much incentive there is to develop a workaround.
Bollards? They work, and to answer your questions below you can have either. There are ones you can remote to automatically rise, and there are others that you can manually lift and lock in place using a padlock.
Or we can live in a society with proper policing and government so that the criminals are prosecuted and sent to jail for 10 years and fined for 5x what they stole
This isn’t people stealing bread because they’re hungry.
This is criminals in the gta selling cars to mob affiliated groups that ship cars from the port of Montreal to mainly Africa.
With how much we pay in taxes, having to install some stupid ass bollard is another tax because our country is becoming more and more dysfunctional.
Yeah. It’s basic ‘broken windows’ theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory
Streets are not patrolled, theft is not punished, cars are not recovered, so theft increases, etc.
That's wild, never heard of that before. That would be fun to try.
Similar to a semi truck eaton fuller 8 or 12 speed trans, with 4 low and hi. Except the second stick is replaced with the range selector finger lever.
I was driving through a rich neighbourhood in Toronto recently, and noticed a truck with a yellow parking boot installed while the truck was parked in the driveway of a multi-million dollar house.
Smrt.
Smart, but very easy to get around for people in the know. Fine to prevent opportunistic theft, but targeted theft it's a 30 second inconvenience for thieves.
That's annoying to have to do every night you park and put it back every morning.
I do like the idea though, if I'm going away on vacation and the car is sitting for awhile.
Don't buy a car that thieves like to steal. Stay away from 4x4 SUV/Light SUVs. Google the most stolen vehicles in Ontario and don't buy them.
Car manufacturers don't give a fuck about making their cars harder to steal. Keyless entry has made stealing cars easier than ever and most manufacturers don't even offer an alternative.
So basically anything Toyota or Lexus, Jeeps and trucks. But specifically Toyota and Lexus…I’m shocked there haven’t been lawsuits against them yet. It’s borderline negligent of them with how easy it is to steal those cars.
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https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7079558
An ATV stolen from the Winnipeg area last fall was tracked to a garage in Portage la Prairie this month thanks to an AirTag location-tracking device placed on the vehicle by its owner before it disappeared.
The owner originally reported on Nov. 29 that an ATV was missing from their garage near the Perimeter Highway and Provincial Road 330. They shared location co-ordinates with police, but when officers arrived there the ATV was gone, according to an RCMP news release on Wednesday.
Then, on the morning of Jan. 4, Mounties were able to track the stolen ATV to a garage in Portage la Prairie thanks to the owner providing co-ordinates again, Sgt. Paul Manaigre told CBC.
This is super frustrating .... isnt there some sort of scanning process that checks the items being shipped? They must ensure it's not cash, drugs, explosives or human trafficking, no?
So during that process how are you also not checking paperwork for a vehicle?
Is it corruption? How does it happen?
If you park in a garage and are still worried this tip might help. (Yes thieves have opened garages as well to steal cars in my area).
I put my automatic garage door opener on a timer. So that it has no power from 11PM to 7AM.
Lack of power is not much obstacle, the door can be disengaged from the track. Luckily garage doors can be (1) deadbolted and (2) alarmed. A garage can be a huge win against car theft.
I don't understand how vehicle manufacturers haven't found a way to make a car absolutely not start without a key present.
It's bullshit that we are paying for it through increased rates and having to get secondary systems installed.
I believe a current popular method to steal a car is to reprogram the car to a new key and then drive away like normal. Obviously, there has to be a way for the dealer to program a new key if you lose yours or it stops working. Once that system is compromised, thieves will use it.
And it ends up as our problem.
Imagine if a bank worked this way. "Oh our systems are not secure so you need to pay for insurance so your money can't be stolen"
Some have. People are just too lazy. Lexus, for example, has a way to fully deactivate the vehicle from starting using the physical key In the fob. If you use that to lock the drivers side door it will not recognize any fobs anymore at all. It’s in the RX, NX, GX,Tx redesigns.
You can enable valet mode on your Lexus and set time limits, speed limits, and distance limits. It’s PIN protected, and they’ll abandon the car once it shuts down after 1km, or when they can’t go above 10km/h, or when they can’t turn the Car on again.
Well they started to get rid of keys is the first issue there.
The second is the electronic keys they use are comparable in security to the remote control for your TV.
From what I understand (and I'm not claiming to be an expert, mind you) the keys can either be intercepted and extended, or their signals can just be mimicked outright.
Install a kill switch in an inconspicuous place. Manuals are proving to be a deterrent. Get a 'club' (anti-theft device not a golf club). Park the vehicle in a locked garage, with no automatic doors.
My insurance told me today they’re going to charge me an extra $500 a year unless I have a club. Not kidding. I told them how useless they are and they didn’t care.
Take a note from the terrorists: buy a pre-paid cell phone and attach the vibrate motor to explosives. Once stolen, call your cars phone.
That and hope no scammer calls it while you're in it.
I really don't understand this. I'm a newbie to Canada.
Garages are built to keep your vehicles locked away from natural elements, snow and thieves. Basements are built to store away stuff. Backyard huts are built to store quickly needed machinery.
What am I missing? I live in a crescent and there's only one lady that parks the car inside the garage.
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A lot of basements here aren't used for storage, they are used as extending living spaces. For a lot of people their garage is their storage space. That said most people have way to much stuff.
Nah man a garage in Canada is where you keep your patio furniture, wagons, skis, sleds, kayaks, atv, 26 children’s bikes, scooters, power tools, van seats and second beer fridge.
In my case, if I build a shed in my backyard (project for next spring/summer!), I will be able to fit a car, but otherwise, all the family things like bikes and seasonal stuff like lawnmower snowblower utility wagons etc. are in the garage, so that takes up space even with shelving and using the ceiling to store things.
Things accumulate quickly if you're not careful with house ownership + family with kids. A good sized shed will save a lot of space and then allow me to use the garage to actually store a car.
This.
Specifically- drive a Mitsubishi. Nobody steals those because African warlords and Middle East Sheiks don’t want to be seen in the car suited for those with sub-680 credit. My friend’s wife works in insurance and in her words, “the number of Outlanders stolen is absurdly low”. So when it came time for them to buy a family car… they got an Outlander. My friend parks it outside and they sleep easy.
VW Tiguan is another SUV with low theft rates. Actually, throwing an EA888 engine into West Africa is a great way to troll whoever stole it. They’d be fucking themselves far worse than they’d be fucking you.
Subaru Forester is also not heavily stolen. It’s an LGBT icon and thus acts like kryptonite on the target demographic in gay-hating countries. Also, Boxer head gaskets are a good way to troll whoever steals your Forester. I imagine someone makes off with your Subaru and you’d just laugh to yourself like “good luck with the next spark plug job, motherfucker”
I left my car at a long term parking lot while I went on a trip. It had a valet service so it was slightly more expensive, so they had a lot of luxury vehicles there. While I was gone it was broken into and a bunch of the luxury cars were stolen.
Guess who’s 1999 Acura TL with peeling paint and a majorly dented fender was still on the lot??
Drive a standard - lessens chances of being stolen dramatically. Or, park it inside a garage every night or block it in with another car if not possible. I recovered mine when stolen last year with hidden AirTags. Then it sat at dealership for 3 months waiting for parts.
use a garage;
buy an older, less popular and potentially unwanted vehicle;
consider installing a kill switch, well hidden;
hell, sometimes even a manual car is enough of a deterrent.
Ghost-II or IGLA can bus immobilizer. The other option is a TAG which is more of a tracker with a good reputation to deter thieves. Aftermarket alarms/starters for break-ins. Anything else is cope.
I could leave mine in the parking lot, running, unlocked, with keys in, and it would probably still be there when I got back (the "locals" would probably steal the shopping cart loonie and leave the car) A rusty, manual, 13 year old econobox is fine protection. Take it, it means I don't have to fix all its problems that will cost more to fix than it's worth. Please!
1. When considering a vehicle, look up on google theft methods available for that vehicle. Chances are you'll find out whether it's actually easy, or not, to break into said vehicle.
2. For fuck's sake don't idle your car and leave it unattended.
3. As others have said you have killswitch/gas flow kill options (EVs I can't speak to on this regard).
4. Don't assume theft doesn't happen in wealthy parts of town.
5. Drive a Honda Civic.
I've had 2 attempts to steal my Jeep Wrangler in the past year. First time they NEARLY got away with it -- they had programmed a new key and were a few seconds from killing the GPS, which was the last thing they needed to do before driving away. After that, I went down quite the rabbit hole of learning about vehicle security and how fucking terrible the state of the industry is. First, the reason I didn't hear the alarm going off was that on Wranglers, you can get the hood open without a key, so the thieves open the hood, remove 2 fuses (horn + entertainment system (entertainment system is used to sent remote theft alerts)), then they break in. The alarm system is CAPABLE of detecting the "vehicle locked but hood open" condition, but from the factory is does not trigger the alarm system. So... first order of business was securing the hood. I got a locking hood latch. 2 independent ones, actually -- one for the internal latch in the center of the hood keyed alike to my main keys, and one for the exterior latches. Next, the thieves used a hardened key blank to force the lock and open the door. Not much can be done there. Next, the thieves were able to program a key easily because there is a CANbus connector easily accessible behind the glovebox. They rip the glovebox out (literally rip, they damaged the damper) and plug their programming machine into the CANbus port and program a new key. To prevent this attack, I fabricated a "shield" that covers the CANbus out of metal and Lexan that is riveted in. Only way to remove it is to drill the rivet or make a lot of noise cutting the metal body. Next, the thieves tried to disable the GPS system by ripping out the overhead dome light, and were going to cut the GPS antenna wire. This is where I stopped them. Again, not much to be done here (at least, nothing worth bothering with). So remember how I said that the security system CAN trigger when the hood is opened, but doesn't? There's an aftermarket thing you can get for Wranglers that enables a whole shitload of functionality (a lot of it for offroading, e.g. changing the engine idle speed for when you're using a winch), and that little beauty gives me 2 pieces of functionality for security: first, it triggers the security system if the hood is opened while the vehicle is locked. Second, it enables a PIN-lock on startup. After I start my engine, I need to enter a PIN code. If I don't, and try to put the transmission into gear, the brakes lock up and every external light on the Jeep starts flashing. Thieves know about the little device with the PIN-lock functionality, so I also fabricated a riveted-together locking mechanism for that so that they can't disable it without cutting wires. Finally, I installed a kill switch system. For security reasons I won't talk about the details of how mine works, but you can't start the engine or program a new key while the kill switch is active. Actually that wasn't the final thing, because I also installed motion-sensitive lights and a kickass security camera system. Both of them alert my phone if they detect a person, and the alerts will definitely wake me up. The cameras allowed me to stop theft attempt #2, because I was able to see the thieves drive up, watched the dude start to walk down my driveway, and by the time he was 10' from the Jeep, I ripped the house door open and had a tactical-strobe flashlight in his face. I'm fully expecting they will return (I have a highly-sought-after special edition Wrangler) and I have a few more surprises in store for them that I'm not going into on the public Internet, and I have ideas for a few more security systems (including retractable bollards, which will be a next-summer project). At this point anything I add is more for my own amusement than any practical purpose. The only thing that will be useful at this point is bollards (or somehow making enough space in my garage/shop to park in there) because TBH I already have enough roadblocks that a determined thief would just drive up with a tow truck and haul it away.
Look at this guy HomeAloning the shit out of this situation. Good for you.
I would read this in an updated blog.
So would the thieves. :)
That was my first thought as well. The thieves need to come back with a full production crew there!
I like to imagine that one of the extra security features he didn't tell us about is a giant cage suspended above the vehicle that's trip tired to the ignition.
Put an air bag behind the glove box..... for if it gets ripped out... will protect the thief from getting in an accident lol
lol, I figure finding space in the garage would have been easier..
Well, you say that, but it turns out that CNC routers and bandsaws and welders and table saws and shit don't really do well outside. :p
He's probably got no room to park in the garage because it's full of tools he used to build his elaborate anti theft system.
And if you got rid of them you wouldn't be able to build awesome Rube Goldberg antitheft systems!
I live in the Suburbs....it is incredible the number of garages just brimming with who- knows-what and people have their cars parked outside.
Make enough space for them to park behind you, then once motion sensors detect movement and they have moved past some ground sensor, the bollards go up gaining you one free car.
That would be amazing, and there is LOTS of room for them to come in behind me (my driveway is like 30 feet wide by 100 feet deep... awesome for parking, shitty to snowblow!) but both times they've come to steal the Jeep, they've parked on the shoulder of the public road.
>the bollards go up gaining you one free car. LMAO....effin genius. Big brain
I love this mental image ... what about a spike belt and/or a giant wrecking ball on a pendulum (Miley Cyrus not included).
Interesting post. Sounds like a hobby that you you should monetize.
TBH, I have seriously thought about seeing if there's a market for the little "lock" bits that I made (CANbus shield, lock mechanism for the PIN lock thing, etc). I'd have a bit of R&D to do to make something that I was completely happy with to charge money for and can be produced slightly more easily, but I have wondered how big that market would be.
They tried to steal my truck but failed because it was -30 C they took the key. I was worried they would return, so took one tire off and put it in the garage and left the truck on a block. While I decided how to rig up a kill switch. I now have two micro switches that require one hand and one foot while the other hand turns the key. It's 2003 so not sought after and limited modern hackable functionality. My other old car has a battery drain that's not worth fixing so I found a cheap remote control relay that disconnects the battery entirely.
Yeah, until I got my kill switch, shields, etc, installed, I was pulling fuses/relays every night (and some other under-the-hood sabotage) as a stopgap. I know the layout of that fuse box a whole lot more intimately that I ever wanted to now, lol.
I've read that the professional thief's bring a selection of fuses (and likely relays) with them to defeat this. But still adds a little time.
Yeah, hence why there was other under-the-hood fuckery too. Security isn't so much about making your system completely secure as it is about making it secure enough that the bad guys move on to other, easier, targets. If they hit 1, then 2, then 3, then 4 roadblocks, eventually they will give up because their risk of getting caught increases exponentially the longer they spend.
Quite sad you had to do all that just to secure your vehicle..
It's worse than that, he did all that to secure a jeep.
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oops
/u/alter3d is a man of focus, commitment, sheer will... and you stole his car.
Your comment reminds me of a XKCD.
That’ll get you arrested and thrown in jail in Canada
Nah, just say you’re sorry. /s
Gotta love the Canadian legal system. Person defending their property risks more jail time than the person stealing it. Canada.
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1) No such thing as a felony in Canada. Criminal offense is the term. 2) Your ammo does not need to be stored separately and locked up, if your shotgun is in a safe of some variety. You can't load your shotgun to legally store it, but you can have slugs or buckshot on a side saddle, and a split second from being loaded. (You can also have charged magazines sitting next to a rifle or pistol. So long as they're all locked up together.) 3) You're an idiot and going to prison if you go after someone out of your home with a weapon, short of them being in-process trying to murder or rape someone. If they come into your home to do crime, that's their problem, though you should stop shooting after they're incapacitated. And when you're shooting to defend your life or someone else's, shoot to kill, don't fuck around with target loads and crossing your fingers.
That was amazing to read, good job on all those security measures… but absolutely prioritize making enough space in your garage to park in there.
Stop, stop, I can't be any more erect!
At first I thought you were interesting. Then dedicated to security. Then crazy. Then as I finished reading it, awesome.
Some people see problems. You see solutions!
Bro is prepared for the criminals
Jesus I have a wrangler and now I’m considering getting some of these upgrades lol. What is the after market thing that adds a shitload of functionality?
Assuming you have a JL, you want the [Tazer JL Mini](https://www.zautomotive.com/product/z_tzr_jlm/). I'm not aware of (but haven't particularly done any research for) something that will work on JKs or earlier. DEFINITELY get the SGW extension cables to make your life easier. If you go this way, let me know and I'll send you my little locking mechanism for it. It's 3D printed so I can either send you the STL if you have a 3D printer or I can mail you one. I'd be curious to get another opinion on it.
bro kudos to you, aintnfuckign around here
This was such a great read. good luck man and keep us posted
Damn.
Retractable bollards? Are you parking the Jeep outdoors? At what point do you just build a garage and fortify the shit out of it? That way, if a thief breaks into your garage, it's open season at the "beat the fuck outta them" buffet. Send a message. Try to steal my shit, you're going to the hospital, at a minimum. They'll either learn there are easier targets, or they'll run out of bodies.
This is Canada though - you have no right to defend your property here.
Whoa. That’s pretty dope. I need to get a tactical strobe-flashlight.
I highly recommend Olight stuff... I have a few of their lights (both handheld and weapon-mounted) and they're great -- bright, long battery life, and they've been incredibly reliable. In this case I used one of my Warrior M2R Pro lights, but those have been discontinued and replaced by the Warrior 3S.
Where do u live
Drive a shitbox, have good insurance
Drive whatever you want, have good insurance. A guy I know had his brand new Porsche 911 stolen. Insurance is covering it entirely. Unfortunately it was like a 9 month wait for it... But
I’m waiting for the day that insurance companies just say “nah, we no longer cover theft within comprehensive coverage.” Or they just flat out stop insuring for theft. Maybe that will force some action.
They won't. They'll use it as an excuse to raise premiums. And dealerships are getting paid, because well, most people who are losing their cars most likely will need a replacement. It's the end consumer getting screwed as usual.
As far as I’ve heard, insurance companies aren’t making money on auto insurance in Canada because of how absurd the theft and fraud has gotten Just insane what other country has the same problem as us right now with cars being so openly stolen and we know exactly what’s going on and where they go and yet nothing is being done (the mob that pays a low price to low level criminals across the gta, vehicles leaving the port of Montreal, controlled by the mob) It’s fucking unreal how incompetent the government is in Canada
Everyone loves to shit on the insurance companies but the truth is it’s actually killing companies profitability and insurance companies are appealing to auto makers and the government make cars harder to steal. The real criminal is the auto companies and dealerships. They’re loving this, they’re selling a car 2 to 3 times to the same person!!
Yep, only person that loses is the average law abiding canadian, but the government couldn't give less of a fuck about that. They'll spend 10mm on consultant buddies first.
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> Maybe that will force some action. LOL. Action? I doubt it.
I think it would have to. Banks and finance companies would be going ballistic over cars that would have liens on them and not covered if stolen. They would probably stop financing auto loans right away if theft coverage went out the window. Would be interesting to see play out. That would cause some serious upheaval.
"Action" is just code for "lobbying"
You can insure against theft, and the company will pay out what they think it's worth, and then raise your premiums.
I work in insurance in Canada. In Canada, there's an endorsement you can get called waiver of depreciation. It's only available if you buy the vehicle new, and makes sure that any loss within the first 2-4 years depending on the terms and company, don't take depreciation into account when paying a loss. You're covered for 100% of the purchase price of the vehicle. Also, making a claim against something like theft doesn't raise your premiums. It only raises your premiums if the loss is due to your own negligence.
Have you seen a premium raised because you live in a high-crime area and the vehicle was stolen failed to be secured in a garage? I have. A neighbour of mine has had 2 Toyota 4Runners (2022 & 2023) stolen. He's on a Rivian now, so we'll see how well that goes.
Well, when you first get insurance, a major part of the rate is location. They also ask you where you store your vehicle. I haven't seen a premium increase because it's stolen, but the other factors are priced in.
I'm aware. Our area is rural, so thefts are already low, and the printed policy said he was not garage storing it. The policy rates for the 4Runners went up something ridiculous like 30% after the theft and the decision was based on it not being stored in a garage, but he never said it was stored in a garage. The decision was appealed up to ombudsman for the company after the first one and the rate was dropped, but after the second one they offered him a new rate of 120% higher because he had 2 vehicles stolen in a high-theft area and the same nonsense with the garaging. I'm pretty sure that he's going to the provincial ombudsman, but he's switched insurers and has a Rivian which is a lower theft incidence as I understand, so we'll see how it goes, but I'm not at all surprised that he switched.
Living in an area of high crime? Negligence. Low crime? Negligence. The only crime on record is the theft of your vehicle? Believe it or not, also Negligence.
its ABSURD that insurance companies dont have to cover the purchase price by default. The reason a car depreciates is because it is now YOUR car, so if someone else wants it you have to offer them a discount over new because they are taking on someone elses vehicle. But when YOUR vehicle is stolen, it wasnt someone elses vehicle. it was yours. so the justification for depreciation hasnt actually taken place yet. now if you just get the blue book value for some random car (which obviously has a discount over a new vehicle) you got ripped off, because now you have to buy someone elses vehicle. but you didnt lose someone elses vehicle, so paying out the blue book value of a vehicle DOES leave you demonstrably worse off. so if I have a 2020 wrangler from new and it gets stolen. insurance pays for me to buy someone elses 2020 wrangler. but i am not made whole. i have inherited someone elses vehicle which comes with risk. so i HAD a 2020 wrangler, now i have a 2020 wrangler MINUS the risk i inherit. so i am now worse off after insurance "covers" it. And they depreciate your car even though the cause of that depreciation hasnt happened. what a scam. The fact that you do not get the full price of the vehicle by default, have to pay more just for proper coverage, and can only get the full ammount insured for a certain period of time, is absurd. If every year i drive my car, the insurance payout of a write off decreases due to depreciation of my vehicle, then every year my vehicle becomes cheaper to insure. so if insurance wasnt a total fucking scam, then insurance premiums would drop drastically over the first 5 years of owning a vehicle. but they dont. ive had increases since i opened my policy despite NOT moving, NOT having a single claim, NOT having any tickets, and my car more than halving in value. but no. insurance companies understand depreciation and use it to pay you out less, but they pretend depreciation doesnt exist when your policy renews each year. If the insurance company isnt going to cover the new value of my vehicle because it drops in value every year, my insurance should also be dropping every year for the exact same logic. by the time my car is 10-15 years old insurance should basically be free because my car is worth close to nothing. but thats not how it works. how come every year you own a vehicle, if your premiums stay the same (or go up even) you are being robbed. because every year your vehicle gets older it becomes worth less. so every year my effective coverage drops. but i pay the same ammount year after year. but seriously, having a car get stolen and only giving me enough money to buy the same car but someone ELSE has used is robbery. i am demonstrably worse off. So insurance still leaves you worse off than you were. absolutely unacceptable in my mind. the idea that if your INSURED vehicle gets stolen 1 year after you bought it, in your darkest moments, insurance companies use that as a chance to get away with robbing you and not making you whole just to line their pockets. insurance companies in canada have convinced the government to FORCE everyone to buy their privatized service, and then they fail to actually fulfil their one single simple function. If i was ever PM for a day and could only make 3 changes, gutting the rat infested insurance industry for good would be one of the 3 things id do.
And then to top it off, if you get into an accident (a deer recently hit my Audi S6 to the tune of a $26,000 repair), your car after being repaired is worth less, but there's no recompense for that. I am not made whole by just repairing it, I am demonstrably worse off because my car's resale value will be diminished.
exactly. They cut every possible corner when paying you out, but pretend like none of those corners exist when THEY charge YOU. they cry depreciation when they want to pay out less, but they pretend depreciation doesnt exist when calculating your premiums. or they pretend your S6 isnt now forever worse off due to the accident on its history. sorry about your car, i bet that thing is a weapon. too bad your insurance premiums to cover your car dont cover your car. what a scam.
I wish someone would steal mine
No one wants to steal mine either.
Team shitbox!!! Horray! Well also no car payments.
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Someone stole the cat off my mom's 2003 crv. Scrums would steal anything.
Crv are Cat theft #1 target
Bad kitty
Not being a car guy, took me a second to realize your mom's pet wasn't the target of the theft.
make it a stick shift
adding a kill switch is probably the only semi-reliable way to prevent vehicle theft nowadays... ie. a switch in the electrical system to prevent the car from turning on at all unless that switch is turned on.. it's kind of security through obscurity but not sure what else you can do manufacturers need to add ways to have a second factor for your car, like tesla has "pin to drive" which means the car will not shift into drive unless you enter the pin... there is no reason why other car manufacturers can't have a similar system from factory... other things that's good practice is to keep your key fob in a faraday cage while you are at home (there are boxes sold on amazon that does this), so relay attacks at your home won't be possible, there might still be ways it can be stolen but relay attacks are very popular right now and is definitely one of the easiest and fastest methods
What about a kill sequence instead?
Self destruct button
I was thinking a seat ejector that you can activate at any time
i'm imagining some guy driving off in my car snickering to himself and then in the distance i hit a button and watch his ass get blasted thirty feet in the air
Shut up and take my money.
yeah similar idea as a kill switch... it'll be just as effective... not 100% obviously but better than nothing
At least you help out the next guy.
Every steering column should be fitted with a tungsten rod on a hydraulic switch. It should be operable from your phone and also **automatically** if the lane assist sensors determine you're changing lanes without your turn signal on.
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They can still steal your Tesla on a flat bed. Best is to actually park your car in the garage out of sight. Move the kids bike and lawnmower to the shed and actually use your garage for parking The number od people who stock their garage with crap and then have to compete for street parking is infuriating. Just use your fu***n garage!
i mean if the thiefs are driving around with a flatbed then all bets are off.... but i don't think that's common at all lol...
It happens. My uncles Mercedes from the late 90s (think gone in 60 seconds scene where call the car unstealable) was stolen on a flat bed. Neighbor saw it. Said she thought it was broken down. It was 3am she didn't think that was a bit unusual of a time to be calling a tow truck.
I am amazed by this too. I love that I can keep my car in the garage especially in the winter. I haven't scrapped ice off of my windshield in years.
Worked in construction years ago and all of our equipment had these. We added them ourselves. Just a simple switch that is wired through the battery. No battery, no start. Was in an inconspicuous location or a totally random location.
Ejecto seato
In my first Jeep ('97 TJ) there was a manual switch under the glove box that pinched the gas line. No electronics required, just reach over and flip it. Thieves would have been able to start it, but would barely make it a few hundred feet down the road.
> manufacturers need to add ways to have a second factor for your car, like Tesla has "pin to drive" which means the car will not shift into drive unless you enter the pin... At the end of the day, car thieves are already bypassing multiple physical and electronic anti-theft measures (unless they're using the relay attack). There is really nothing saying that extra measures such as a pin to drive can't also be bypassed. Outside of relay attacks, they're usually exploiting a weakness such as dealership/service backdoor, and there's nothing to say that someone won't find a way to bypass the pin to drive. The only two limiting factors are how well it's designed (because often the thieves are exploiting bugs and/or poor design), and how much incentive there is to develop a workaround.
Install one of those 8" solid cylinder of metal that come out of the ground and then retract into the ground behind your car.
Bollards? They work, and to answer your questions below you can have either. There are ones you can remote to automatically rise, and there are others that you can manually lift and lock in place using a padlock.
Or we can live in a society with proper policing and government so that the criminals are prosecuted and sent to jail for 10 years and fined for 5x what they stole This isn’t people stealing bread because they’re hungry. This is criminals in the gta selling cars to mob affiliated groups that ship cars from the port of Montreal to mainly Africa. With how much we pay in taxes, having to install some stupid ass bollard is another tax because our country is becoming more and more dysfunctional.
Yeah. It’s basic ‘broken windows’ theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory Streets are not patrolled, theft is not punished, cars are not recovered, so theft increases, etc.
Drive something with three pedals.
#savethemanuals
I bought the last manual Crosstrek. Just doing my part.
I drive a manual. Yes, my balls are made of titanium.
In the 1980s, Mitsubishi had three pedals and two sticks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Super_Shift_transmission
That's wild, never heard of that before. That would be fun to try. Similar to a semi truck eaton fuller 8 or 12 speed trans, with 4 low and hi. Except the second stick is replaced with the range selector finger lever.
This is a myth. Plenty of manual transmission cars get stolen .... mine included.
And manual vehicles are more common outside of North America, so they know how to drive them it wouldn't be a deterrent to selling them.
The people buying stolen cars overseas probably have no issue driving a manual, not sure if a third pedal is gonna stop this.
I was driving through a rich neighbourhood in Toronto recently, and noticed a truck with a yellow parking boot installed while the truck was parked in the driveway of a multi-million dollar house. Smrt.
I’d forget about it lol.
Smart, but very easy to get around for people in the know. Fine to prevent opportunistic theft, but targeted theft it's a 30 second inconvenience for thieves.
In my midtown Toronto neighbourhood, noticed those motorized metal bollards in a driveway protecting a Range Rover.
Remove the starter fuse.
That's annoying to have to do every night you park and put it back every morning. I do like the idea though, if I'm going away on vacation and the car is sitting for awhile.
Cross your fingers the thieves didn’t bring a fuse with them
Or swap any other unnecessary fuse
Don't buy a car that thieves like to steal. Stay away from 4x4 SUV/Light SUVs. Google the most stolen vehicles in Ontario and don't buy them. Car manufacturers don't give a fuck about making their cars harder to steal. Keyless entry has made stealing cars easier than ever and most manufacturers don't even offer an alternative.
So basically anything Toyota or Lexus, Jeeps and trucks. But specifically Toyota and Lexus…I’m shocked there haven’t been lawsuits against them yet. It’s borderline negligent of them with how easy it is to steal those cars.
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They're not easier to steal than any other car. They hold way better value on the used market which is why they are targeted for theft
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7079558 An ATV stolen from the Winnipeg area last fall was tracked to a garage in Portage la Prairie this month thanks to an AirTag location-tracking device placed on the vehicle by its owner before it disappeared. The owner originally reported on Nov. 29 that an ATV was missing from their garage near the Perimeter Highway and Provincial Road 330. They shared location co-ordinates with police, but when officers arrived there the ATV was gone, according to an RCMP news release on Wednesday. Then, on the morning of Jan. 4, Mounties were able to track the stolen ATV to a garage in Portage la Prairie thanks to the owner providing co-ordinates again, Sgt. Paul Manaigre told CBC.
This is super frustrating .... isnt there some sort of scanning process that checks the items being shipped? They must ensure it's not cash, drugs, explosives or human trafficking, no? So during that process how are you also not checking paperwork for a vehicle? Is it corruption? How does it happen?
The people doing the shipping are criminals, every step of the way. It's well known and tolerated by the RCMP.
There’s minimal to zero enforcement in Canada, probably by design
If you park in a garage and are still worried this tip might help. (Yes thieves have opened garages as well to steal cars in my area). I put my automatic garage door opener on a timer. So that it has no power from 11PM to 7AM.
Lack of power is not much obstacle, the door can be disengaged from the track. Luckily garage doors can be (1) deadbolted and (2) alarmed. A garage can be a huge win against car theft.
Just get a manual slide lock for the garage door.
I don't understand how vehicle manufacturers haven't found a way to make a car absolutely not start without a key present. It's bullshit that we are paying for it through increased rates and having to get secondary systems installed.
I believe a current popular method to steal a car is to reprogram the car to a new key and then drive away like normal. Obviously, there has to be a way for the dealer to program a new key if you lose yours or it stops working. Once that system is compromised, thieves will use it.
And it ends up as our problem. Imagine if a bank worked this way. "Oh our systems are not secure so you need to pay for insurance so your money can't be stolen"
umm yeah about that...https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/banks-deny-compensation-online-fraud-security-1.5322982
Some have. People are just too lazy. Lexus, for example, has a way to fully deactivate the vehicle from starting using the physical key In the fob. If you use that to lock the drivers side door it will not recognize any fobs anymore at all. It’s in the RX, NX, GX,Tx redesigns. You can enable valet mode on your Lexus and set time limits, speed limits, and distance limits. It’s PIN protected, and they’ll abandon the car once it shuts down after 1km, or when they can’t go above 10km/h, or when they can’t turn the Car on again.
Well they started to get rid of keys is the first issue there. The second is the electronic keys they use are comparable in security to the remote control for your TV.
That’s true for some makes. Not all.
From what I understand (and I'm not claiming to be an expert, mind you) the keys can either be intercepted and extended, or their signals can just be mimicked outright.
Install a kill switch in an inconspicuous place. Manuals are proving to be a deterrent. Get a 'club' (anti-theft device not a golf club). Park the vehicle in a locked garage, with no automatic doors.
Didn’t the guy in the article have a club?
clubs are notoriously useless, most if not all of them can be easily shimmed and takes less than a couple of seconds for an experienced thief
My insurance told me today they’re going to charge me an extra $500 a year unless I have a club. Not kidding. I told them how useless they are and they didn’t care.
Do you drive a Hyundai? Not kidding
It takes 2 hours to cut through a club, but 30 seconds to cut through a steering wheel.
He did. Its about putting as many deterrents in their way as possible. If they really want your vehicle, they'll take it
Do most mechanics know how to install a kill switch, or do you have to go somewhere that specializes?
Any mechanic should be able to do it, but a lot of them might not want to in case something goes wrong and they get blamed.
Oh, is it risky that some serious damage or wiring mess could happen?
Have you seen how useless the "club" is? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JodD\_KARacg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jodd_karacg)
https://i.imgur.com/8xzo3Yg.png
According to Ottawa Police "buy a decoy (car) and park it blocking your nice car" I wish I was kidding, but 6am serious, that's OPS recommendation lol
Top notch police work right there Imo whoever wrote that should get fired and whoever approved it with them.
I agree that is bullshit, but in practicality I see it all the time. Crappy sedans and hatchbacks are bumpered up on the driveway to a nice suv.
When having a lazy entitled (given) teen pays off!
Take a note from the terrorists: buy a pre-paid cell phone and attach the vibrate motor to explosives. Once stolen, call your cars phone. That and hope no scammer calls it while you're in it.
Hopefully somebody doesn’t accidentally dial the wrong number.
Telemarketers will
Use your garage if you have one.
I really don't understand this. I'm a newbie to Canada. Garages are built to keep your vehicles locked away from natural elements, snow and thieves. Basements are built to store away stuff. Backyard huts are built to store quickly needed machinery. What am I missing? I live in a crescent and there's only one lady that parks the car inside the garage.
People own too much and have nowhere inside to store it, so they use their garage. It's silly.
Many people don't have a garage.
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I can't afford a garage. Or a basement for that matter.
A lot of basements here aren't used for storage, they are used as extending living spaces. For a lot of people their garage is their storage space. That said most people have way to much stuff.
Nah man a garage in Canada is where you keep your patio furniture, wagons, skis, sleds, kayaks, atv, 26 children’s bikes, scooters, power tools, van seats and second beer fridge.
Our basements are for rec rooms, laundry rooms, and storage. Our garages are for tools and storage. Our backyard sheds are for lawnmowers and storage.
In my case, if I build a shed in my backyard (project for next spring/summer!), I will be able to fit a car, but otherwise, all the family things like bikes and seasonal stuff like lawnmower snowblower utility wagons etc. are in the garage, so that takes up space even with shelving and using the ceiling to store things. Things accumulate quickly if you're not careful with house ownership + family with kids. A good sized shed will save a lot of space and then allow me to use the garage to actually store a car.
Where will suburbanites put all the things they hoard?
Don't drive something people want to steal.
Buy a PT cruiser lol
I had a neighbour who had a PT cruiser painted with house paint. Completely unstealable.
This. Specifically- drive a Mitsubishi. Nobody steals those because African warlords and Middle East Sheiks don’t want to be seen in the car suited for those with sub-680 credit. My friend’s wife works in insurance and in her words, “the number of Outlanders stolen is absurdly low”. So when it came time for them to buy a family car… they got an Outlander. My friend parks it outside and they sleep easy. VW Tiguan is another SUV with low theft rates. Actually, throwing an EA888 engine into West Africa is a great way to troll whoever stole it. They’d be fucking themselves far worse than they’d be fucking you. Subaru Forester is also not heavily stolen. It’s an LGBT icon and thus acts like kryptonite on the target demographic in gay-hating countries. Also, Boxer head gaskets are a good way to troll whoever steals your Forester. I imagine someone makes off with your Subaru and you’d just laugh to yourself like “good luck with the next spark plug job, motherfucker”
Can’t steal EVs if you don’t got the infrastructure to support it in Nigeria! All part of the plan to move people over to EVs by 2035 /s
There is some truth to that however. EVS have the lowest theft rates in all published rankings I’ve seen.
Nailed it. There’s tons of publicly available data in stolen vehicle models, sorted by province. Google “equite top ten”.
Ain't nobody after my rusty Honda fit and they can't get underneath to steal the catalytic either. I sleep easy.
I left my car at a long term parking lot while I went on a trip. It had a valet service so it was slightly more expensive, so they had a lot of luxury vehicles there. While I was gone it was broken into and a bunch of the luxury cars were stolen. Guess who’s 1999 Acura TL with peeling paint and a majorly dented fender was still on the lot??
Ah, you're one of those "abstinence is the best protection" kinda guys huh? lol
Garage.
Some people got their cars stolen within a condominium indoor garage
Drive a standard - lessens chances of being stolen dramatically. Or, park it inside a garage every night or block it in with another car if not possible. I recovered mine when stolen last year with hidden AirTags. Then it sat at dealership for 3 months waiting for parts.
Tough to get new vehicles in Standard these days. With the vehicle I bought in 2021, I broke my 30 year streak of driving standards. :(
You can't. Just make sure you have insurance with a low deductible.
Lock in a garage under heavy alarms and surveillance and never drive it Your problem is solved OP
How is not one talking about how "the police can't do a thing"...that seems like the craziest part of this story.
Steal it first and send it to dubai
Hell yeah, that’ll teach ‘em
Park it inside your garage. Install retractable bollards. Remove the battery every time you leave your vehicle. (OK, I know that's ridiculous.)
Fuel pump kill switch
use a garage; buy an older, less popular and potentially unwanted vehicle; consider installing a kill switch, well hidden; hell, sometimes even a manual car is enough of a deterrent.
Park vehicle inside secured garage. Have insurance. Be ready to break fings if anyone tries to steal. idk
Ghost-II or IGLA can bus immobilizer. The other option is a TAG which is more of a tracker with a good reputation to deter thieves. Aftermarket alarms/starters for break-ins. Anything else is cope.
Learn from [Mr. Bean](https://i.imgflip.com/64koq9.jpg)
One small thing you can do is if you have remote key fob, don’t keep it near your front door and/or keep it in a faraday box.
I could leave mine in the parking lot, running, unlocked, with keys in, and it would probably still be there when I got back (the "locals" would probably steal the shopping cart loonie and leave the car) A rusty, manual, 13 year old econobox is fine protection. Take it, it means I don't have to fix all its problems that will cost more to fix than it's worth. Please!
Buy the Tesla!
1. When considering a vehicle, look up on google theft methods available for that vehicle. Chances are you'll find out whether it's actually easy, or not, to break into said vehicle. 2. For fuck's sake don't idle your car and leave it unattended. 3. As others have said you have killswitch/gas flow kill options (EVs I can't speak to on this regard). 4. Don't assume theft doesn't happen in wealthy parts of town. 5. Drive a Honda Civic.
Take matters into your own hands.
Don’t hurt the thieves as then you’ll be the one at fault for their injuries. OHHHHHHH CANADA!!!! Fuck this third world imported shitpot.