😆 supplementary door locks

disconnect ODB and an ECU vault?? Wow this must be a Maybach or something if it's getting cyber attacked.
If you're going to pull a fuse, then do the fuel injectors. Starter is too obvious. No crank gives it away too easily. But as I mentioned before, most cars do this already from the factory (unless it's a Hyundai)

@mmj
Yeah I also thought of Mr. Bean when writing about the supplemental door locks lol.
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The 2 most common ways Koreans and Japanese cars get stolen is by just programming in new keys (Japanese) because the software is AWEFUL, and ECU swaps (Korean cars built in Korea where the immobilizer is very good and located in an inaccessible spot, internal side of the firewall).
Focusing in on programing new keys - If the thief is serious about what they're doing, a Honda, Mazda, Toyota, etc. takes about 30-90 seconds to drive off in.
https://youtu.be/CB2qRgl5u-U?t=487
A skilled thief like here, took only 30 seconds to break in, program in a new key and drive off in a brand new 2022 Land Cruiser (the image afterwards is an illustration of how they get hidden in construction sites)
https://youtu.be/g4Li0Nq7bKk?t=322
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But a Maybach will probably be encrypted and require authentication online (like on Volvo, Chrysler etc. - on those programing in a key requires brute forcing the unique authentication id of the car, with a good cracker (like those used to modify and repair Volvos and register computer modules) it takes 8 hours)
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No crack lead you to believe there's a mechanical issue, feels like an immobilizer or aftermarket security is prohibiting starting electronically - crank but no start would definitely suggest to him that he needs to apply power to injector, Fuel pump, ECU, TCM circuits.

> 2 most common ways Koreans and Japanese cars get stolen
Do you have any statistics on that?

Yep, “the absolute majority” of drive away thefts recovered last year were done that way - according to my police.
Rarely were they done with a retranslator device.

I’ll have a shop do it. I’m not good with those sort of things and I’d probably wind up tearing off the headliner by mistake.

I have the Dashcam already, but front only. It has a rear, too, but I didn’t feel like having ten feet of ugly wire running throughout the car visible so I only keep the front and I plug it it when I get in and take it out when I stop driving. My cigarette lighter on my Grand Marquis is always hot, so even if the engine is off, it will stay on, until it would drain the battery.

So i just bought a hardwire kit and will get a shop to install it for me, directly to the fuse box and/or battery. I think it has a relay in it that goes in the fuse box that detects the charge level of the battery and cuts off parking mode recording if it gets below a certain voltage, so that it will have enough juice to start in the morning snd recharge.

The steering club is a deterrent to most thieves here in Chicago. Unless they plan on bringing an entire torch to get it off or spending 40 minutes with a sawzall, I think it’s a good layer of additional protection in the majority of cases.

I have the factory passive alarm but it’s not very good. Haven’t heard it ever go off once and it doesn’t seem like it’s working, the car doesn’t beep or anything if you try to open the door handle snd it’s locked, doesn’t go off when there’s fireworks, etc. but I do have a remote start on it, which has its own immobilizer for when it’s on with no key. Also the car itself has a chipped key, hence an OEM immobilizer.

No, there was an incident yesterday that prompted this. Came home, couldn’t find parking in my street so I went to the next one. Parked as close as I could to the limit for fire hydrant parking so I can be the last car (or first car) before the yellow line since you need to be 15 feet away to park from a hydrant. Anyway, there was still a spot, but a small one left between me and the next car up, but only for something like s Honda Fit or a Yaris. A guy started yelling at me from his window saying I’m a piece of shit for taking up two spaces. I explained to him I’m just trying to park as close to the line as possible and that if I park up closer to the car in front, then that same amount of space would be behind my car, but would fall on the hydrant yellow line for whoever parked behind me, so it’s not a legal parking space. I think he grasped what I was talking about but was in rage mode so he was arguing back and forth and insinuating that this is Chicago and that “things can happen to people who take up two spots on purpose.”

I didn’t engage, I just removed myself from that situation snd found a spot in another street. But I took pictures of my car all around for documentation and also a photo of him in his window so I know who and where, in case of vandalism, is most likely the culprit.

In Chicago, it happens all the time. My car got keyed a month or two ago for no reason, so I don’t doubt this jerk could definitely do something similar.

In regards to the AirTag, the range is short only for YOUR specific iPhone it’s synced to, but it relays and bounces GPS info to you if you put it in lost mode based off ANY iPhone in the area. So let’s say the car is stolen and the tag is hidden somewhere. All it needs is for SOMEONE with an iPhone to pass within 30 feet of it and it will relay those coordinates to my phone. There are hundreds of millions of iPhones, so somewhere, sometime, one will pass close to it, snd I’ll get the location. It’s the poor man’s GPS tracker but works well for the purpose.

And yes, I live in Chicago, enough said.

Tried to edit my last one to format it better but it timed out so now I’m typing this again.

I have Progressive full coverage mainly for the comprehensive coverage in case my catalytic converter gets stolen. I also carry a lot of expensive tools and kits in the trunk. Like 4 Craftsman sets with all sorts of wrenches, sockets, ratchets, bits, etc. as well as a digital air compressor, a Hulkman pro battery jump pack, and several subwoofers, several amps, tons of Rockford Fosgate speakers inside, a good headunit, integrated iPhone controller, etc.

So I have a lot of valuables in the trunk. My spare tire is in the rear seat along with a big clear bin where you can see it’s just s bunch of rags, fluids, small tools, cleaners, etc nothing if value. I locked the trunk release button from the inside so only the master key or the key fob for the remote starter can unlock it..

That’s really my main concern is the theft. I live in a semi decent area of Chicago but lately, crime has been everywhere, all areas, regardless of demographics, even in the downtown snd the good areas.

Not really, IMO. Most people have an iPhone nowadays, most of them use Bluetooth for connecting it to their cars, location is usually enabled for maps and most apps require it for normal function, and who doesn’t have internet on a cell phone? Unless you purposely keep the Bluetooth off, everything else is pretty much gonna be fine. And most iPhone users I’ve seen also use a smart watch of some sort, so in all likelihood, the BT will be on, too. Also lots of cars driving by have Apple CarPlay, so that will also bounce the signal off too. But these are all just speculation. But statistically, from the hundreds of millions of iPhones around in a dense urban environment, somewhere along the way, someone will trigger it and give me an idea of the location.

Sure, they sell dedicated magnetic underbody-mount standalone GPS trackers, but they require their own subscription to what basically amounts to another cell phone line fee a month. It’s not worth it IMO. An AirTag is somewhat of a compromise.

I know all about vehicle thefts and vandalism. I work for the Chicago police department and was just coming home from my shift. I live only minutes away from the station too, luckily. I have to keep my anger in check snd keep a cool head, which is why I decided to just move my car. As you can imagine, it probably wouldn’t be hard to find out exactly who that person was, as I took a photo of him and where the building was and his floor. So I’m not too worried about him per se. But proof and documentation is everything— and big words and insinuations aren’t justifications for escalation, and the last thing I want to do after doing that with people all day, is to get into it with some jerkoff for something as dumb as a parking space. I always assume everyone else here is armed too, so I always walk away if possible because things can escalate quickly snd unnecessarily. But I appreciate your advice for sure, it’s definitely true in most cases.

the thieves casing out your car will see exactly what you're doing. So will everybody else.