I have done a forum search and have not seen an answer to this question (apologies if my search has been clumsey, if so please direct me to the relevent thread)..
Has any backroomer personal experience of having a car fitted with an imobiliser being stolen by the thief driving it away?
I know of no one who has had a car stolen without the keys and / or the car loaded onto a transporter. What I am really asking is, can the average (or not so average) thief overcome a modern imobiliser?
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Early pre 1998 Ford PATS systems are pretty easy to beat if you know how.
The early D/N button PSA keypad is a waste of time, the later S buttonThatcham Cat 2 one can be beaten because it has a built in bypass method but its a very long process & no car thief will bother.
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Early pre 1998 Ford PATS systems are pretty easy to beat if you know how.
LeePower, Is this the red master key type?
Seriously, this is welcome info for me, as SWMBO's Fester has this system, and no other security at present. I might rethink if it's that simple to defeat. Are we talking within the capabilities of the average double digit IQ joyrider (who realistically would be the only person interested in nicking a P reg Fiesta)?
Are the later types better? The Mondeo has the type which needs two "ordinary" keys to program new ones, although the keys themselves look the same.
Obviously I don't expect details on how these systems can be beaten to be posted on a public forum, just whatever "safe" info you have would be gratefully received.
Cheers
DP
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Unless they really really really want the car they wont bother going through the trouble of beating the PATS immobiliser.
You would have to be either in the motor trade or have someone show you how to beat it though.
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best immobiliser i had was my alsation dog in the back of my renault 4 no low life even attempted to steal it !!!!!!!!
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Guys, you are not answering the question.
The question is: do you have personal experience of having a vehicle stolen which was fitted with an imobiliser?
Do imobilisers work?
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Guys, you are not answering the question. The question is: do you have personal experience of having a vehicle stolen which was fitted with an imobiliser? Do imobilisers work?
Cousin lost a P Plated Vectra, nicked in broad daylight from a long cul-de-sac, returned less all it's interior, engine & gearbox. Also had an intersting shaped hole in a certain body panel - {edit by DD}. Yes they towed it back down a narrow cul-de-sac in daylight to dump it 100yds from where they nicked it!
Breakdown guy who towed the corpse away explained this is where the immobiliser is on this Vectra, all the scrotes know this & they're a doddle to steal. This was confirmed by a mate who was a copper at the time.
Yet another reason why I dislike Vauxhalls & wouldn't have one.
{Location of where the immobiliser is has been edited out, just in case there are still one or two scrotes that don't yet know it's location - DD}
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The most frequently stolen cars are those which do not have an immobiliser, so having one is obviously advantageous.
Top of the "most stolen" list in 2005 was the Vauxhall Belmont. tinyurl.com/y2g48l
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L\'escargot.
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Top of the "most stolen" list in 2005 was the Vauxhall Belmont.
As mentioned further down this thread ;o)
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I ran a 64 Renault 8 for a couple of years. Had somewhat unusual forerunner of electro selection gear box. Three buttons,R D N,
Magnetic clutch . Used to park this anywhere without locking the doors. Nobody stole it though even tho there was no resident German Shepherd.
Happy Motoring Phil I
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Immobilisers are mandatory on all cars sold where I am in Western Australia. This came in about ten years ago. Car theft figures are way down now and most of the cars stolen are either old ones which don't have immobilisers or the thief has broken into the house first to steal the keys.
a quick Google found this:
www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&obje...5
and I quote:
"In Western Australia car theft fell by 34 per between 1999 and 2001 during which time the number of vehicles fitted with immobilisers rose from 45 per cent to 70 per cent."
Mind you a professional thief will always be able to take a car somehow but immobilisers do deter the casual thief.
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While I've never had a car stolen touch wood, there are some high-profile cases of people having the latest and greatest cars stolen by crooks with laptops plugged into the diagnostic port.
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>>The early D/N button PSA keypad is a waste of time
So I might as well switch it off (easy, and I do so when the car goes for service) in my wife's 1995 306 and do without the hassle of keycode entry every time we start up?
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Had someone try and nick my saxo vtr five years or so ago but i'd had an optional immobiliser fitted so they couldn't nick it. I would say they are more likely to target vehicles they know don't have immobilisers.
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Increase in thefts of keys and carjackings of desirable models suggest they are something of a hurdle.
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Popular Stolen cars are now nearly all Pre 1997/98 - Apparently top cars stolen are Pre 1997 Astra/Belmonts (Booted Astra) as they did not have std fitted immobiliers.
Outbreak in our local Police Area - 45 Top of the Range cars stolen in 6 mths - nearly all involve a housebreaking / fishing for keys through letterbox etc - only 6 recovered in that time - 1 person cuaght in last 2 weeks - ST220 fitted with a tracker which was unknown to the thief.
Whilst it is true that no immobiliser/alarms are 100% they do prevent the "low life" taking away a car for spin & crashing it. If a sophisticated group of individuals are after a particular car they will know what they can / cannot do and will target their cars very carefully.
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Popular Stolen cars are now nearly all Pre 1997/98 - Apparently top cars stolen are Pre 1997 Astra/Belmonts (Booted Astra) as they did not have std fitted immobiliers.
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/car-theft-2006...1
In order, the cars reported stolen most often in 2005 were:
1. Vauxhall Belmont
2. Vauxhall Astra Mk2
3. Ford Escort Mk3
4. Austin/Morris Metro
5. Vauxhall Nova
6. Ford Orion
7. Rover Metro
8. Austin/Morris Maestro
9. Austin/Morris Montego
10. Ford Fiesta Mks1, 2 and 3
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In order, the cars reported stolen most often in 2005 were: 1. Vauxhall Belmont
I remember hearing those statistics at the time. I had difficulty believing it, I didnt think there would be enough Belmonts still on the roads to rate that highly in any statistics! Then again Maestros and Mk1 Fiestas must be thin on the ground too.
As the figures are 'cars reported stolen', I wonder how many of them are owners trying to do an insurance job?
My Grandad was once having trouble with an old Mk4 Cortina, having to work on it a lot in the street. He got a knock on the door and it was some rough lads from round the corner, asking if he wanted them to nick his car and torch it, for a fee, so he could claim on the insurance. He declined their kind offer...
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Up to you, theres a built in flaw to the early system that makes beating it pretty easy.
The later Cat 2 keypad with the S button had that flaw removed but they did build a bypass method in.
Its no good to a car thief though because it takes too long.
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best immobiliser i had was my alsation dog in the back of my renault 4 no low life even attempted to steal it !!!!!!!!
>
Was told this story recently by a chap who was parking his car in Liverpool. When he got out,he was approached by a little lad who asked "Can I have 50 p for looking after your car?" Chap says
"No,I`ve got a great big Alsatian on the back seat" Scrote laughs,then he asks "And does he fight fires?"
On a more serious note,remember the dog owner can be prosecuted for having an out of control dog in a public place. And yes, your car is a "public place" This could result in the dog being destoyed. I know,I`ve been there. That`s one reason why I have car (and dog)insurance.
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Here's my opinion, based on what I've seen on TV etc over the years.
Imobilised cars are a lot harder to steal, I believe you need to either swap the ECU, or get the keys. More cars are being stolen today by taking the keys through letter boxes etc. People in the know may get replacement ECU's, but they aren't particularly cheap (but obviously a lot cheaper than the cars they would knick). I don't think the joy-rider type kids would normally be able to knick a car with an immobiliser, but it won't stop them trying.
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