[Pacman83]

Originally Posted by grzes

we can go out and get the best alarm currently available or install as many kill switches as we wish. If they want to steal our cars they will, they don't care if they get in or if they can start it up. They plan things well, they know which cable to cut to disable things. A good tow truck driver takes 30 seconds to hook up the vehicle and he do not care if he has the key or not They chop the cars for parts only so it is hard to trace them. The only way to make sure you can really recover if your car gets stolen is to have tracking device installed on its own battery back up and hidden well, and even that who knows if it will work as I am sure they have some scanners already for that

Completely agree. Like I said before, if a determined/professional thief wants a car, they will take it. OK, we don't want our pride & joys to go missing, but as long as you've taken whatever preventative measures you're happy with and it's insured, just enjoy it.

[Russbmw]

Originally Posted by Kerr

I've never understood how other car companies have managed to stay out of the firing line for car thefts, while BMW always get it in the neck.

On other forums numerous of Audis have been stolen. There is a few videos similar to the the very high profile 1M that was broadcast all over the internet.

However so far Audi have kept their name off the TV and as soon as you mention about BMW getting so much bad press for less, even the Audi owners shut up shop and go quiet.

Audi seem to have worse problems than BMW but they've somehow been saved the same exposure for it.

My car has had the security update from the first time around and I'm not worried in the slightest about my car getting stolen. There was blind panic on here before and in all that time my insurance has been going down and down.

My insurance dropped by a fair percentage again this year. I think it was only about £170-180.

It sounds as if my insurance company aren't very worried either.

Very true mate.

Audi, Mercs and even fords (such as the RS, not your average mondeo!) all have the same problem.

[dj219957]

great idea posting a picture of where you've put the switch.

[SO8]

In my experience the people who do this know where to rip the dash apart to look for relocated OBD sockets ... and make a big mess doing so. I guess it depends how much they want your particular car.

I think X6, X5 and 5 series are still the favourite to 'export'.

[Dan-]

Originally Posted by dj219957

great idea posting a picture of where you've put the switch.

As said above, good luck finding my exact car out of the millions registered to find my switch

[acerboo]

Originally Posted by dj219957

great idea posting a picture of where you've put the switch.

I think he was trying to say that its possible to put a similar switch in to do this job don't I recall he found this switch by chance?

[Dan-]

Originally Posted by acerboo

I think he was trying to say that its possible to put a similar switch in to do this job don't I recall he found this switch by chance?

Correct, found it by losing a £2 coin that got stuck behind the ashtray not allowing me to open it, found the switch by chance not knowing what it did, only when i followed the wire realised this is the reason Jamel couldn't connect to my car with the NCS expert and i couldn't do a diagnostic report at home.

[dj219957]

Address removed.

Ive got your name, full address, age and occupation (and also details of where you keep the switch! lol).


I do like to prove a point. Be very carefull what you post online.


Ill pm you with details of how to fix this

[Sensible_]

I believe the CAS update in late 2012 did solve this issue. To program your own blank key now with the Chinese tools / software you need an existing key present.

The problem is this was not widely advertised by BMW, so there will be thousands of vulnerable vehicles still out there.

Obviously that won't stop them poking a rid through your letter box and swiping a key because you've left them clearly visible! Most vehicle are still stolen via home invasion / burglary.

A thief could also theoretically replace two modules with a used pair and keys. But that requires time and knowledge. I won't discuss it any more here.

[AWSAWS]

So wheel lock and a tracker it is then.



Hopefully you get to the car before its stripped for parts or shipped abroad.

[dj219957]

The CAS update simply removes the comfort access window drop with key feature

[dy63]

i read on the daily mail few days ago apparently they are stealing these cars and in 60mins of stealing they are already on way abroad? but then again Daily Mail is very hard to believe

[bytejunkie]

Originally Posted by grzes

The only way to make sure you can really recover if your car gets stolen is to have tracking device installed on its own battery back up and hidden well, and even that who knows if it will work as I am sure they have some scanners already for that

there has been a jammer readily available for tracker for a while. not done a lot of research, but the wife (CID) told me not to bother when I mentioned putting tracker on my new to me 330d and showed me a jammer on ebeg.

[umut335i]

Originally Posted by SO8

In my experience the people who do this know where to rip the dash apart to look for relocated OBD sockets ... and make a big mess doing so. I guess it depends how much they want your particular car.

I think X6, X5 and 5 series are still the favourite to 'export'.

Correct, my friends X5 2012 plate got stolen but luckily enough recovered the other day. Apparently all that was missing was the "ECU"

However im not sure how accurate that information is as the car still drives unlocks etc. Any ideas why they would have done that?

Obviously everything in the car was stolen i.e. clothes money etc...

[dj219957]

report was a bit unfair. all the cars were already open! If they were locked the alarm would sound.

[Kerr]

Very strange that BMW got the lion's share of the article again.

Watchdog weren't happy with BMW's standard fob off like all manufacturers do.

Test the BMW and they can program a key in just over 12mins, so Watchdog aren't happy.

Test the Audi and it lasted 40 seconds and the Land Rover only 10 seconds. Ask the relevant manufacturer what the story is, get even poorer fob offs than BMW and they accept that and just move on.

The reporting of the issue is very biased.

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by Kerr

Very strange that BMW got the lion's share of the article again.

Watchdog weren't happy with BMW's standard fob off like all manufacturers do.

Test the BMW and they can program a key in just over 12mins, so Watchdog aren't happy.

Test the Audi and it lasted 40 seconds and the Land Rover only 10 seconds. Ask the relevant manufacturer what the story is, accept their even poorer fob offs than BMW and they accept that and just move on.

The reporting of the issue is very biased.

That is exactly what I said to my mrs.
To be honestly, TRP goes up if its about bmw. Who cares when they talk about Audi or RR.

Honestly, I watched it as bmw was mentioned!

[Sensible_]

Originally Posted by dj219957

The CAS update simply removes the comfort access window drop with key feature

I'm sorry, you are mis informed. The security fix is 2 phased depending on the current vulnerability of the vehicle:

In addition to the comfort access window vulnerability you can also have SOPT-enabled CAS (Car Access Sytem) firmware update. Cars with the SOPT-enabled CAS firmware, can only have a new immobiliser key programmed if another original immobiliser key is present. If you have had your car serviced at a BMW dealer within the last year, chances-are you already have the SOPT update. Older BMW cars fitted with EWS, EWS 2 and EWS 3 modules are not affected by this vunerability. New F-chassis BMW cars are also not affected by this vunerability, as they are fitted with CAS 4 modules which already have the SOPT feature enabled.

(Quote from FAL)

This seems to be little known and really needs to be put out to a wider audience.

[Hulla the Hulla]

trackers are little use if the thief knows their stuff. mate lost his tracked e92 M3 that was parked on his driveway. first thing he knew, it was on the other side of the country and the only reason the police knew where it was, was because the thieves had started to remove the tracker and it had pinged the tracking centre - never saw the car again.