Toyota Hilux Thefts - Warning To All

Donkey Basher said:
Sorry to read of your loss - seems it’s not just Land Rovers that are suffering!

I’m not technically minded enough to know how feasible this might be, but surely someone can come up with dummy OBD port located where the real OBD used to be that ‘dumps’ a very very high DC voltage into the cons laptop frying it when they try to code a new key to the vehicle! Failing that, remove & hide the ODB port & fit a dummy one in its place?

I used to breath a sigh of relief every morning that I drew the curtains back to see my Defender was still sat outside - before I finally sold it I fitted a pedal box lock, steering wheel lock & had a hidden kill switch fitted. Problem was, none of these would prevent it simply being winched up onto a flat bed & spirited away - exactly what happened to a neighbour who was left with his removable steering wheel & no Defender to put it on!
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Good point on the ODB issue, I see that ODB metal covers are currently available for some commercial vehicles mainly vans. It's just a question of how far do you take things. As you say you can make your vehicle so secure that they just winch it away or they just car jack you when you are driving the vehicle (a big problem in South Africa).

I spent a lot of time in South Africa about 35 years ago, they had a different approach to these issues. You carried a gun in the car, some people even fitted everything from flame thrower systems and large spring loaded blades to the underside of their vehicles that could be activated in the event of being car jacked. Their key advice was to start shooting and driving if you were being car jacked as the car jacker would shoot you dead if you stepped out of the car, so that the car jacker could never be reported to the police or later identified. I'm not recommending these tactics for the UK but we need to do more than just ignoring property crime. Unfortunately I just don't see things improving in the short term management of crime, the system needs a refocus and a restructure if things are going to improve. There was a time that living rural provided some insulation from the crime that larger towns may experience, this is just not the case today.

We can't even write our real opinion of things today as we are held accountable for our thoughts! Maybe I just have to write my thoughts about crime reform to the Home Office and all of the ministers that come under that branch. Is the pen mightier than the sword and can we ever really achieve any change when we are already so far down the slippery slope of ignoring so much of crime that takes place in the UK?
 
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Too many folk from too many cultures now crammed onto a small island without any clear ways IMO to make a decent living since manufacturing collapsed seems to be diluting the sense of belonging and respect for others.
I agree the Police are overloaded with deskwork rubbish nowadays to be able to address the scroats.
 
Bavarianbrit said:
Jensen went bust and it became the Lagonda.
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I didn't know that. Thank you. I think the Tiger was done between the CV8 and the Interceptor or maybe the Jensen Healey? Mine had the usual removable small panels, one in each footwell, to remove the two rearmost spark plugs. One per side. It was the last car I owned that still had a foot dip for the headlamp main beam and a "ring" horn on the steering wheel.
 
enfieldspares said:
I didn't know that. Thank you. I think the Tiger was done between the CV8 and the Interceptor or maybe the Jensen Healey? Mine had the usual removable small panels, one in each footwell, to remove the two rearmost spark plugs. One per side. It was the last car I owned that still had a foot dip for the headlamp main beam and a "ring" horn on the steering wheel.
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The Tiger came after Volvo cancelled the P1800 project in 1963.
The Aston Martin Lagonda came about because Bill Towns owner of Ogle design in Bedford had done the styling/design and as Jensen was mainly owned at the time by the American Kjell Qvale they went down. The Interceptor replacement project is not even mentioned on Wiki, even though it was a big project at Motor Panels.
I learnt my compound section body drafting by doing every 25mm a section going through the "from twisted steel tube fabricated A Post" that needed a flange welded on for the windscreen seal and another flange welded on for the door seal.
That previous mentioned Jensen main body engineer Brian Dyson told me of a problem at Jensen with scratches appearing on the painted roof of occasional Interceptors. It took a lot of looking until when the tea break whistle blew the QUALITY INSPECTOR threw his clipboard onto the roof when he walked away for his tea break. A very British reason for our decline.
Funny what this thread has dragged up from my memory bank.
 
zambezi said:
"Electronic security" seems to be an oxymoron in the modern vehicle industry.

If access to a vehicle's control can be achieved by wireless/OBD apart from the [hardware] keys held by the owner, then clearly we need to augment security.

Back in the 80s, when cars could be opened with coat-hangers and ignition locks rotated with stout T-bar screwdrivers, I used to wire an earth lead to the far side of the condenser. The switch that toggled that off/on was hidden under the dashboard. Because it was not a factory solution, no criminal would know where to look for the switch. In the engine bay I hid the wiring behind the coil.

The fact that the car did not fire up would probably suggest to the would-be thief that car was not a reliable runner anyway. On the one occasion my Morris 1100 was targetted for theft , they gave up and settled for nicking the battery!

Not sure what version of this would best suit modern ECUs. Ideas? There must be a logic rail voltage that is essential to ignition. Perhaps have a switch that leaves that open circuit? I.e. interrupt the relevant feed going through the fuse box.

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How about this idea? Identify the ignition/ECU logic rail and find the associated fuse. Then:

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I often found I could leave my Dmax unlocked anywhere and it was always where I left it.
 

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After my disco 5 reversed off the drive one night 😡 did a bit of digging and apparently the current modus operandi is a modified jbl Bluetooth speaker and they can disable your immobiliser, turn off the alarm open the doors and start the ignition and can connect into the system from anywhere even your wing mirror, it's called a Cambus attack , scum !
 
Bavarianbrit said:
Funny what this thread has dragged up from my memory bank.
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I used to shoot pistols at Spon Street in Coventry with a Mick Gidlow. he was, he said, the last ever apprentice that Daimler took on as an independent manufacturer. His first job was putting the screws in the dashboard of the SP250 and said you had to get them "timed" right so that all the slots in the heads lined up.
 
Humber were the same about their chromed screw slots this was before those abominations Philips headed screws had arrived on the scene. I still do that if ever nutting up a row of slotted screws.
My pistol baptism was a Humber experimental chap who took me to his club range on Mile lane in one of the factory building. He had a .22 which I fired and a Canadian Highpower 9mm with wooden holster/stock which i drooled over but never fired.
 
Old farmer, long since gone told me 100 ft of good stout chain attached underneath his tractor and at the other end secured to the barn RSJ worked for him. He swore that the one and only time his pride and joy had been taken they found it up the lane exactly 100 ft away and two front teeth were embedded in the steering wheel!
🦊🦊
 
Foxyboy43 said:
Old farmer, long since gone told me 100 ft of good stout chain attached underneath his tractor and at the other end secured to the barn RSJ worked for him. He swore that the one and only time his pride and joy had been taken they found it up the lane exactly 100 ft away and two front teeth were embedded in the steering wheel!
🦊🦊
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DNA for the future? You can age folk by teeth sectioning to find the age group of the perp too.
 
Just check dental records for all dentists in a radius of 100 miles after that date for "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" rather than my Day Lewis"s left foot. A no brainer for mr plod.
 
Update - I was negative about the police in my prior comments. Had a meeting yesterday evening with some very focused police personnel who are putting in a lot of sophisticated effort to shut down these gangs. Its unlikely that I will see my vehicle again but fortunately it was not my only vehicle and I'm insured and can afford to replace it. The positive prospect of finding the responsible parties and eventually locking them up will more that cover the inconvenience of dealing with losing my vehicle. I'm pleased that the police are putting in the effort and wish them success in cleaning the streets of these scum. I'd love to share more about their positive efforts but I think it's better that I do not post any of these details.

Manufacturers are also taking some responsibility even if its a reaction of being shamed, it's hard to stay ahead of skilled thieves.

Understanding that your vehicle is a real target at least allows owners to make some basic moves that may help. In my case, I could have been parked my pickup on the difficult side of my drive with limited access and another vehicle blocking the drive, it's also time for an updated version of a door camera, that notifies you of people on your drive and a replacement LED movement sensing lamp on the garage to cover the drive at night. Because I only drive my pick up several times a week, my new vehicle will get at least a pedal lock box.

Hopefully my post and this thread will have made you think about your vehicle security and you can make some minor changes to avoid being another victim to these scum.
 
After reading of your misfortune I have bought a steering lock for my hilux. Hopefully that will help discourage any potential thief. I am also going to
Investigate immobiliser.
 
zambezi said:
How about this idea? Identify the ignition/ECU logic rail and find the associated fuse. Then:

View attachment 413642
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This, pull fuses or relays before leaving veichle for long periods.

Was advice to me from a mechanic mate many years ago with farm machinery boats etc to give some protection from Caravan Utilising Nomadic Traveler'S and others of similar ilk.

other option is to run undesirable veichles 🤣 don't think anyone's looked twice at a banged up astra and a 20yr old rav 4 😇
 
This chap has been quite successful according to follow-up videos on the toob.
My friend suggests a dbl 12 bore with a string to the back doors, naughty boy!
🦊🦊
 
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