[Z06ZLE]

Originally Posted by keep_hope_alive

Around me, the only thieves are kids, and they are just TikTok generation thieves - if there isn't a video about how to do it, they aren't doing research and they aren't buying fancy tech.

My 2014 Accord was stolen in 2016, because i left a spare set of keys on my garage bench while cleaning up after installing lowering coilovers and having it aligned. What the kids do here is travel in groups and send out scouts to look for keys (usually left inside cars). The kids collect the keys and mark the location and then drivers come and snag the cars (about 300-400 a year in a population of 300k). I suspect they snagged them during the day. That night, the kids stayed in the shadows (neighbor saw them) until I went inside for another beverage. The car was found 4 days later, and was just being driven for joy riding, they did about $6k in damage hitting things, which was fixed by insurance. I still have that car and am at 220k mi. now.

Since I park in locked garage or at my office, theft risk is very low there. I also live in a different neighborhood that is harder to access, tho I do see cars turn around at the cul de sac that are suspicious, and have jumped in a vehicle and followed a few to put pressure on them to keep moving out of the neighborhood (neighbors have had cars ransacked).

I travel for work and my main concern is parking at hotels, so I pick nice hotels and park in well lit areas when traveling. I pay attention to my surroundings and make changes as needed. I will just rent a car when needed, if I am uncomfortable with where I'll be parking my personal car.

I am aware that the OnStar antenna can be ripped off, but I pay for OnStar for the majority of concerns that I face.

All makes sense. I agree with your logic - as well as just trusting your gut. If the area gives you the heebie-jeebies, park elsewhere.

I've likewise heard talk about OnStar being "ripped off," but am not quite sure what that actually/physically entails? How does one rip off the OnStar antenna, how long does that take, and how likely is that to happen?

[aa21]

Originally Posted by Z06ZLE

All makes sense. I agree with your logic - as well as just trusting your gut. If the area gives you the heebie-jeebies, park elsewhere.

I've likewise heard talk about OnStar being "ripped off," but am not quite sure what that actually/physically entails? How does one rip off the OnStar antenna, how long does that take, and how likely is that to happen?

I am the OP, and to answer your question, my ‘22 SS was stolen, and in a matter of 10-15 minutes after the thieves got away with the car they disabled the onstar system. They do this by ripping out the GPS antenna and pulling the entire cable that goes to the onstar module. Many people have trust in onstar but those who experienced the issue I faced realized it’s not a helpful system at all.

[cellsafemode]

if you are that at risk of your car being stolen that they are ripping antenna off or electronics out of the car, then a better option that costs way less and is probably way more effective is a physical battery disconnect. I'd go that route before giving remote control to a dealer installed service or gm via onstar.

that and maybe if you think you could recover it before it's totaled, an air tag or two hidden would seem to be as effective as any service without needing a service.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by cellsafemode

if you are that at risk of your car being stolen that they are ripping antenna off or electronics out of the car, then a better option that costs way less and is probably way more effective is a physical battery disconnect. I'd go that route before giving remote control to a dealer installed service or gm via onstar.

that and maybe if you think you could recover it before it's totaled, an air tag or two hidden would seem to be as effective as any service without needing a service.

These thefts are infuriating and definitely call for measures, I'm just not sure about these two suggestions. Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery on a regular (daily) basis increases the likelihood of electronic flukes, I get a bunch of codes every time I have to do this, and while it should be "okay", I'd be wary of doing this to my own car.

Air tags now notify every Apple phone in their vicinity about the presence of an unknown tag as an anti-tracking feature (see here), so thieves will just drive away and rip everything apart to find and disable it. Unless one notices the theft immediately, this won't help either.

[cellsafemode]

they seem to work all the time in recovering 'lost' luggage and stolen property. if a thief is motivated enough after stealing a car to take it all apart then they could and likely would do so regardless of air tags.

if your car is stolen it's almost certainly not lasting long. whether it's joy ridden into a crash or stripped. you likely aren't getting it back unscathed, if ever. so why spend a bunch of money or allow companies backdoors into your car? insurance is basically the only service you're paying for that's going to matter if your car is stolen.

minimal measures you are willing to live with. no point in going beyond that. you are not going to be able to prevent a motivated thief. just make it hard enough they move to the next target.

that's why the best option is to park next to a kia or Hyundai.

[90503]

FWIW I found this on LoJack...

https://vgmotorsdirect.com/is-lojack...-need-to-know/

[Odabo]

If I ever have to part my car outside of my garage, I'll just replace the 5 amp fuel pump fuse with a blown fuse. The average run of the mill car thief will not figure it out. LoJack is fine but who knows what Spireon does with all of the data it collects.

[Ryanbabz71]

$25 apple AirTag




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[Ryanbabz71]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

These thefts are infuriating and definitely call for measures, I'm just not sure about these two suggestions. Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery on a regular (daily) basis increases the likelihood of electronic flukes, I get a bunch of codes every time I have to do this, and while it should be "okay", I'd be wary of doing this to my own car.

Air tags now notify every Apple phone in their vicinity about the presence of an unknown tag as an anti-tracking feature (see here), so thieves will just drive away and rip everything apart to find and disable it. Unless one notices the theft immediately, this won't help either.

That’s odd mine have never triggered an iPhone as a notification (wife’s phone, sons phone for example)


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