We have a new 2015 Prius, mid size model. I parked the car out front of our house and locked the door. Both keys were in the house when it was found missing the next morning. The theft was reported to the police and the car was found about 1 mile from our house in good condition. I thought this was not possible with the Prius. Although greatly relieved to have the car back I'm left with the feeling that someone has the ability to take our car whenever they want. Not a good feeling .We don't have a garage so the car is on the street at all times when not in use. The police basically think I am lying and actually parked the car a mile away and forgot I did that. I am looking into ways to stop this from happening again. But does anyone know of this happening before?
could be the prius is capable of taking itself for a drive? the police always think we're lying. and berkley no less, is there nowhere safe anymore? you can have an immobilizer installed at an auto audio electronics shoppe.
I read recently that cars are being broken into with technology that reads the smart key code. Thieves sit waiting for victim to lock their car with smart key. They pull code from smart key somehow and then steal contents of car. Maybe someone has taken this a step further? Yikes!
I'm glad you got your car back. I mile, huh? Seems like an awfully short joy ride to risk a GTA beef over. I suppose LEO asked you if the car was locked, huh? I don't think that you're lying, but you may have left your car in Ready mode when you think that you locked it walking away. Here's the deal. 2 drunk rednecks with a skid truck can steal your car in less than a minute.....and in Berkley it would look like just another Prius getting towed either to the dealership or the impound lot. In other words.....there's no such thing as a car that can't be stolen or broken into. Priuses are generally protected from theft by the fact that they're Priuses. I mean....let's face it. Do you want to be the crook that has to tell fellow detainees that you got snagged for stealing a Prius??!! Engine immobilizers aren't new. Priuses have been using them for over a decade now as do many other OEMs which is why some dealerships and locksmiths get to charge a little extra for key fobs or RFID keys. If this really was a theft, and it was really random (not a prank, etc....) then to almost quote First Officer Spock, "Random chance seems to have operated in your favor." and you're probably done with the car theft thing for a while if you believe that dice have a memory. Verify your locking techniques, and try not to leave valuables in your car. Also try to avoid the temptation to blow four figures on (another) electronics based theft deterrent system. In Caly, car alarms are like barking dogs. Ubiquitous, and therefore largely ignored. Also, since the Prius has a notoriously small auxiliary battery adding yet another parasitic load to it might not be wise aaaaaand you stand the chance of having some 19-year-old college dropout do a slice-and-dice on your wiring harness and cause you to have a inoperative car when you need to go somewhere....or a car whose damaged wiring harness might lead to other problems when you go to sell your car. SPEAKING of which.... Did you report the car as stolen? What I mean is....after the cops called you a liar, did they actually generate a report with your vehicle's VIN? If so, you may now have a previously stolen car as far as CARFAX is concerned, which is kinda like having a previous STD where dating is concerned. Yeah...it wasn't REALLY stolen....or was it???? Perhaps your insurance record might get dinged as well depending on how deep a background check they do and whether or not you told your agent. You'll want to be careful about doing that too many times.
There's been some coverage of this in the news. Thieves are cheaply boosting the signal so the car thinks the key is close when it might be 300 feet away inside your house. They then unlock it and drive away or unlock it and steal contents. Car Thieves Hack Remote Keyless Entry Systems with $17 Device - Techlicious http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/style/keeping-your-car-safe-from-electronic-thieves.html?_r=0 You may want to show these articles to the local police; I have a feeling they're going to be seeing a lot more of these car thefts and break-ins.
You're story is unique. Although Prius can be stolen, and there are some stories of thieves using signal amplifiers to gain access, your story isn't common and off and locked usually means off and locked with a Prius. I can understand your apprehension in light of events. Maybe for the short term you can gain some peace of mind by turning off The Prius, locking it, then putting the fob in storage in your house as far away from The Prius as possible. You could, and maybe I would for a period, then go outside and check to make sure the doors are all indeed locked, and the vehicle is indeed off. Since we don't know exactly how it happened in the first place, it's hard to formulate an approach to keep it from happening again. I think the best you can do at this point is double check and verify that The Prius is actually off, and actually locked.
I think that srellim234 has the most likely explanation. Ways to counter this attack would be: 1.) Turn off the SKS 2,) Keep your key fobs in a metal box with a metal lid when you are not using them. Let them try to boost that. 3.) If you are really, really, worried about this you could screw the tow eye into one of the bumpers, tighten it down good, and chain it to a phone pole. It would look funny, but it makes yours the hardest car to steal on the whole block. Let them go look for something easy instead.
…good advice, and one reason I try to park next to a Bimmer, Merc, or Roller whenever I leave my car unattended. Not only will my car be less prone to any accidental door-dings, but any would-be felon would find much richer pickings much closer and leave my Prius alone!
I keep my key fob in a faraday bag. It will stop all signals. You can buy a small one, just large enough for the key fob and a house key or two. My wife uses a cell phone size bag for her large key ring. What is it with "new members" with only 1 or 2 posts and funny sounding names that write something provocative and sit back and watch the replies. I hear they are called trolls? Not saying this is the case here, but what do more experienced members think? Cheers! Amazon.com
