[Manuuj]

Hi all!

A few days ago my white Mhawk Scorpio was broken into at night.

An attempt was made to steal it which is not very surprising as Scorpios seem to be the favorites among vehicles to be stolen..(one of ours was stolen 3 months after delivery)

I shall give a brief description of the attempt.

a) The passenger front door lock was removed so that a key could be made.

b) The DUPLICATE key made, the rear left window was broken and access gained..so not to trip the alarm as opening of doors would do so)

c) The rear air conditioning panel was unbolted and lifted under which the fuel cut off pod of the immobilizer is housed and wires disconnected.

d) Alarm disconnected

e) SHOCKINGLY the Autocop GEAR LOCK (which is meant to be foolproof) was unlocked and gear locking pin was calmly placed on the floor.

Upon complaining to Autocop later they REFUSED to believe that the Gear lock had been unlocked with a fake key choosing to insinuate that maybe we had not locked in the first palce..WE HAD!)

f) A duplicate NIPPON REMOTE with a Serial Number etc and Original Mahindra markings was used and the thief had Tried to "teach" this remote our Mahindra code..if he had succeeded in doing so it would have been goodbye Scorpio!!

e) The steering lock was opened and discarded like a banana peel..

Now the Questions that arise are..

1) Our first Scorpio was stolen a week after it came back from service..this attempt was made 3 days after this car came back from routine service where all keys were with the workshop staff for the whole day..ANY CONNECTION?

2) How did the ORIGINAL MAHINDRA NIPPON CAR REMOTE GET IN HIS HANDS? it is an Original remote with Serial Number..who does it belong to?

3) How was the" Foolproof" AUTOCOP GEAR LOCK OPEN WITHIN 5-10 MINUTES? (the person who saw the thief said they were in the car for this much time before he approached them)

4) The GPS device did not generate an alarm as the car doors were not opened and car was not started..maybe if the thief would have managed to start the car we would have got a message on the cellphone..

Luckily for us a Car cleaner who washes our cars came a bit early (it was 5 AM) and challenged the thief who ran to another waiting car after pushing and slapping him, leaving the duplicate key in the ignition and the Duplicate remote on the front seat.

He later told us that he saw some people get of and Indica and come to our car.

It was dark and he was looking away and washing another car some distance away. After about ten minutes he saw someone inside the car trying to start it..when he approached the car he realized it was a thief and challenged him..

It seems that as we had changed the immobilizer code from the factory default setting code of 1111.

The "Fake" Remote could not deactivate the System and the Car did not start..(so all you guys who have not done so yet..please do so!)


And by the way..the police have pretty much refused to lodge an FIR as it will mess up the monthly crime figures for their area!

Friends any Car Security Alarm that you are aware of and can Suggest to me that can get triggered when someone breaks into a car by breaking/ removing windows and moves around inside a locked car would be helpful..Cheers!

So far to protect this Scorpio we already have an Immobilizer, Gear lock, Steering lock, Chor switch under the seats, Car Alarm and GPS tracking incase it still gets stolen!! The only thing left to do is sleep inside it now..or maybe they will take me too alongwith the car..

[beejay]

Sounds like a professional thief was at it.

Do you mean they removed your front lock and made the duplicate key then and there?

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by beejay

Sounds like a professional thief was at it..

Do you mean they removed your front lock and made the duplicate key then and there?

Professional yes but undoubtedly with inside help at either Nippon/ Mahindra Service center/ Autocop..

The lock was removed sometime late night i presume..does not take much to remove the entire thing..the key was probably made some place else where they would not be disturbed.

[Samir Taheer]

Sad to hear this and the person obviosuly knew what they were doing. Have you thought about internal motion sensors?

[Sahil]

There certainly is some racket on with Mhawks, there have been other threads on them being stolen here.

Manuuj- I'm glad your RR was not a victim !

[sudev]

Instead of internal motion sensors it is better to get GPS system with move alarm / vibration alarm. Additionally whenever battery connection is cut you also get an alarm.

I am consulting for a GPS Tracking company but policies here do not allow me to post commercials.

[Jaggu]

You can try the security system with motion sensors, so that it triggers the alarm. Only issue is setting it up proper, otherwise it will start off even with a truck with heavy exhaust passing by.

EDIT: Sudev: GPS system works only once the vehicle has moved or does it sound as soon as its compromised? You can give lil more technical details for awareness and that should be ok with commercial activity policy.

[nairrk]

May be a thief with automobile engineering background or a guy who is well vershed with car mechanism. Definitely there can be a inside help from some one closely known this car.
Too many advanced features securing the car, still the theif do it with ease?

[kannan666]

There are a lot of car security alarms with sensors fitted all over the car that trigger the alarm once the car is touched, won't this help ? Problem here is that even things like a jet flying over, dogs barking, thunder etc. trigger it off not mentioning pesky kids who get a thrill out of this bigtime !

[ScorpMan]

Its not mere coincidence that the crime happened right after your car came back from service. Someone somewhere inside the Mahindra Service Center is definitely involved in it.

After reading your story, i am pretty scared of leaving my Scorp or rather any of my cars at service centers or leaving the keys at parking lots.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by Sahil

There certainly is some racket on with Mhawks, there have been other threads on them being stolen here.

Manuuj- I'm glad your RR was not a victim !

hahaha!..its in a locked garage..also very difficult to sell once stolen..not so with the Scorpio!

Originally Posted by sudev

Instead of internal motion sensors it is better to get GPS system with move alarm / vibration alarm. Additionally whenever battery connection is cut you also get an alarm.

I am consulting for a GPS Tracking company but policies here do not allow me to post commercials.

Sudev please PM your number me so we can talk.

[quote=Jaggu;1535435]You can try the security system with motion sensors, so that it triggers the alarm. Only issue is setting it up proper, otherwise it will start off even with a truck with heavy exhaust passing by.

Are these easily available?..what would the cost be?..

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by ScorpMan

Its not mere coincidence that the crime happened right after your car came back from service. Someone somewhere inside the Mahindra Service Center is definitely involved in it.

After reading your story, i am pretty scared of leaving my Scorp or rather any of my cars at service centers or leaving the keys at parking lots.

I can only suggest that you leave only the ignition key with the service center and keep the gear lock and steering lock keys with yourself when you leave it for service.

[mobike008]

It's shocking to know that you have been targetted twice. Which part of Delhi you reside?

It's very common in Delhi for most owners to leave the car parked on the roadside due to unavailability of safe parking. That is like eye-candy for thiefs. Most colonies have special nightwatch men due to this menace. I know some colonies in Old Rajinder Nagar, Rohini keeping these guards.

Originally Posted by Manuuj

The only thing left to do is sleep inside it now..or maybe they will take me too alongwith the car..

Sorry, i shouldn't be. But, this really made me laugh a lot

[tabrez02]

You can go for Autocop motion sensor+Body sensor with immobilizer also. please check with the autocop dealer, i think you should not ignore this. Its terrible to hear this that has happen with all the security devices you have in your car.

[sudev]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

You can try the security system with motion sensors, so that it triggers the alarm. Only issue is setting it up proper, otherwise it will start off even with a truck with heavy exhaust passing by.

EDIT: Sudev: GPS system works only once the vehicle has moved or does it sound as soon as its compromised? You can give lil more technical details for awareness and that should be ok with commercial activity policy.

First, yes, vibration sensors when set at extremely low settings get triggered at least threshold like ball hitting the car or truck passing by. So trick is to find a compromise setting. Now GPS systems also come with built in vibration detectors.

Secondly first thing thieves do, even before trying to find where your alarm device is located, is cut out the battery (cutting ground) and GPS systems (again depending on type) will generate alarm when this happens.

Third is motion alarm which is triggered once the vehicle is moved beyond the fence range.

Additionally you can hook up door/hood sensors which will trigger alarm when the door/hood is opened. And also even more additionally (more money) have remote immobilising capability.

With GPS device you will be aware of the vehicle location even when the vehicle has been stolen. Helps in recovery with or without immobilising.