[Vians]

21 North used to allow us to import products and use the gift option to avoid import duties. Is that the same 21 North doing this service now?

[Comrade]

cloning the chip in key is very easy these days. Takes like 5 minutes. Most local locksmiths have these machines. These machines can also be setup in the back of a car or truck like a mobile locksmith to your door.

This is not manufacturer recommended method for making duplicate keys. It doesnt give us something like a key-1 and a key-2. It just gives two sets of key-1.

[Thermodynamics]

It appears easier than it sounds. There are devices such as this, to reprogram key code and start the car effortlessly. All a thief needs is to slip into the car by whichever door he finds faster to open.

Apparently, old school steering locks deter better than all modern sophistications .

[Accius]

Originally Posted by venkikewl

Probably to disable the beep sound which Hyundai vehicles have for locking/unlocking. Not sure of the sensor for this would be to the left rear or not, but my 2 cents to it

Actually, I have observed one thing since many years. If you buy a car which has central locking with remote, the alarm sensor is usually only available on the driver side door of the car. So if someone should forcibly somehow open the passenger or the rear doors of the car, the alarm won't sound and the access can be gained into the cabin area.

This is I guess a cost cutting measure by car manufacturers, as if your car is of a base model and doesn't have central locking, the remote key which you install as an accessory also has a certain part to be fitted on all the doors of the car which means if any of the car door is forcibly opened, the alarm sounds.

[Storm2.0]

Slightly off topic but I think a car can be stolen if the thieves disable the immobilizer by fiddling with electricals.
Two years back my uncle was about to lose his Innova(top end V model) to thieves which luckily didn't happen due to alert neighbours. When he saw the car , all the dashboard components on the driver side were open and wires dangling from here and there.

[ADEY]

Most of the new age cars come with Immobilizer Chips in the key fob. And to get a duplicate chip, the manufacturer is the only source. So how do the thieves bypass this process or how do they get a duplicate key with a legitimate immobilizer chip?

[car-dent]

Actually all these electronic systems are making it easier for the thieves. A physical key is still more difficult to access and clone rather that intercept some electronic code and signals.
Maybe that's the reason mostly top-end variants are targeted.

I have felt that most of the time it is Hyundai cars that are stolen that way (I may be wrong in my observation).
Also, I have observed that Hyundai cars have a large VIN sticker and bar code on the left side for everyone to see and scan.
Does it have a correlation?
By the way, I can't think of any good reason to have such a large permanent sticker with Barcode containing all the information about your vehicle.

[sumeethaldankar]

It's best to fit the car with a mechanical lock such as gear lock or steering lock and make sure the keys of the same are not handed over to service centre personnel when the car is giving for service. I make it habit to remove such keys before handing it over to any personnel for repair etc. I understand that even anti-theft devices like steering locks etc can be defeated but the idea is to make things more difficult for the-would-be thieves.

[dksv]

Originally Posted by car-dent

Also, I have observed that Hyundai cars have a large VIN sticker and bar code on the left side for everyone to see and scan.
Does it have a correlation?
By the way, I can't think of any good reason to have such a large permanent sticker with Barcode containing all the information about your vehicle.

This misdemeanor of theirs is carried over to KIA as well. The first thing that I did after getting my Seltos home was to strip the large VIN sticker from public display.

In fact, at my dealer, they had printed the price charts on re-used paper that had confidential information on the backside. It had lists of customer names, their addresses, variants, VINs, delivery dates, etc!! They were lying on desks for potential customers to pick and take them away. Such is the disregard to protect customer information.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

I had a Punto too and I'm sorry to disappoint you but it's fairly easy to make a duplicate key nowadays. And all they need to do is bypass the immobilizer. There are videos on YouTube that teach you how to do that!

Yes. It is very easy.
My son's Honda City key was stolen. He then went to a key maker referred to him, and got the key made. The new key has a chip similar to the old one and the key maker cloned it easily.

[Chhanda Das]

Originally Posted by dksv

This misdemeanor of theirs is carried over to KIA as well. The first thing that I did after getting my Seltos home was to strip the large VIN sticker from public display.

In fact, at my dealer, they had printed the price charts on re-used paper that had confidential information on the backside. It had lists of customer names, their addresses, variants, VINs, delivery dates, etc!! They were lying on desks for potential customers to pick and take them away. Such is the disregard to protect customer information.

I did the exact same thing to my 2017 Creta what you did to your Seltos but I had the dealership people do it for me just before officially taking delivery. That sticker has every possible confidential detail about the car ...

[2000rpm]

I have a very solution to this problem.

Buy used, driver enthusiasts / modest sales cars! These cars are difficult to dispose off and hence thieves stay away.

A common car like Swift, i20, Innova must be having tremendous market demand than say my Polo or a Civic or a Hexa.

Finally I found some positive for VW / Skoda owners! The badge makes the car almost thief proof :P

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by ADEY

Most of the new age cars come with Immobilizer Chips in the key fob. And to get a duplicate chip, the manufacturer is the only source. So how do the thieves bypass this process or how do they get a duplicate key with a legitimate immobilizer chip?

Unfortunately that is not the case. There are machines available that can clone or add a new key to the immobiliser system quite easily. Some of them are legally licensed while others are grey market. My Passat had an issue with one key not working and even VW wasn’t able to code that key back. They wanted around 15k for a new key. I knew a trusted mechanic who recommended a key guy. He came with a machine and was able to make the second key start working on the smart entry lock system in minutes. However he couldn’t get it to start the car. So he called a senior person and came back a couple of days later with a new machine imported from Turkey for 6 lakhs. With this machine, he was able to code the other key perfectly. You have the option to add another key by cloning the existing one or even to reset the system and generate totally new keys. The mechanic stated that the machine came with a few hundred licenses and then he had to pay a sum to purchase a new batch after they were exhausted.

[coolkurt]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Yes. It is very easy.
My son's Honda City key was stolen. He then went to a key maker referred to him, and got the key made. The new key has a chip similar to the old one and the key maker cloned it easily.

It's amazing and frightening at the same time the ease with which the unorganized sector finds ways around new technology.

Which is why I was asking about the embedded sim on the Hector and Seltos forums. The location of the embedded sim in the car will determine if the same can be extracted/ disabled. The cars come with geo fencing which cuts off fuel supply if the car goes out of a prescribed range. So let's see how the thieves find a way around that.

And I'm seeking more information from MG regarding what will happen if the sim is somehow removed or damaged. Can the car be driven off?

[Reinhard]

No matter how many devices we add to block a burglary, there will be work arounds. I think car thefts will continue. Best is to limit the number of people who can get access to our car. Like never using a pick & drop facility. But then - in reality many people may find that impractical due to other commitments / responsibilities etc. So when inevitable - one has to give away the car to someone.

I think the security we should implement with our cars should be containment security rather than preventive security. For people who need to give cars to pick-up drivers / someone else once in a while and don't have a trustworthy garage to go to, best is to get a hidden GPS tracker installed in the least accessible parts under the car with hidden wiring. This way at least finding the car quicker is possible - before the miscreants find the GPS and remove it.

The only real blockers to theft indeed would be theft-slow-down devices like gear locks & external steering locking devices.