Best antitheft routine?

[Dhawk12]

I have a 2002 Golf ALH 5 spd, and I am going to be moving into a neighbourhood that has a higher rate of theft soon. I have done too much work on this car recently to have it stolen and the insurance company give me nothing for it, so I am wondering what the opinions are for something to do under the hood to disable the engine that the average thief would not be able/care to figure out. Or are the immobilizers on these cars effective enough?


I plan on using a club on the steering wheel, and I was thinking about just removing the solenoid wire off the IP when I park for the night so it would crank but never fire. (Yes, I am aware it is a standard and that may be "antitheft" enough.)



Any suggestions?

 

[JDSwan87]

Leave it dirty, don't put fancy wheels on it, pull the ebrake every time you park it... the manual trans will stop a lot of it...

 

[burn_your_money]

Is it mostly addicts smashing windows and stealing stereos or actual car thefts?

 

[Momentslater]

My girlfriend had a friend that used to steal cars I asked her about how easy it was to steal our cars and she told me that most car theifts will never touch a car with a good immo system unless:

a) They can find a key
Or
b) It's left running.

 

[WildChild80]

Pull the 109 relay...

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[Dhawk12]

Well, its already dirty, and has the standard alum wheels on it so check there. I also leave the ebrake on when parked.


Well, I know for sure that my new landlords recently had their truck stolen from the driveway in the middle of the night, so at least one theft.


Good call on pulling the 109. Would be easier than taking a wire off every time. Pulling the 109 for longish durations won't cause any major issues with the ECU right?

 

[JDSwan87]

I think burn your money is onto something, is there a higher level of addict theft or ?

 

[Dhawk12]

Probably both, but as I said, the new landlord just had their truck stolen in the driveway.

On second thought the 109 relay might not be easier than pulling the wire given the amount of shrouding it's behind.

 

[WildChild80]

Probably both, but as I said, the new landlord just had their truck stolen in the driveway.

On second thought the 109 relay might not be easier than pulling the wire given the amount of shrouding it's behind.

My under dash has been gone for some time...don't notice it's not there until I go to work on it and notice that there's a few parts that I don't have to remove

Leave your wheels turned hard to passenger or towards a structure near the car

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[ToxicDoc]

Without the immobilizer, they aren't going to be able to hotwire it or force the lock and keep it running. and no one with enough capability to clone it is gonna be interested in a low dollar (relatively speaking) old VW.

If they really want it, they'll just tow it, so forget disabling it. Get good insurance and if you are attached to it, get Lojack or some equivalent GPS tracker.

 

[mjydrafter]

Keep the interior clean and empty. No change in the ashtray, etc.


If it doesn't look like there's anything worth stealing they'll move on to the next one.

 

[leafs]

Better than pulling the relay everytime put a hidden switch on it.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

You could pull fuse #11 that one kills the cluster. But I believe a hidden switch would be less hassle.

 

[WildChild80]

Better than pulling the relay everytime put a hidden switch on it.

Less wear on the socket too...

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[Owain@malonetuning]

Hidden switch for relay 109. Immobilizer can be turned off via obd and locks punched out in a couple minutes tops unfortunately. A lot of car theft in the Vancouver area, people are even using receivers with laptops to clone keys picking up the signal from within peoples houses on some of the newer stuff. Steering wheel locks work pretty well too but are a pita to use.

 

[WildChild80]

Hidden switch for relay 109. Immobilizer can be turned off via obd and locks punched out in a couple minutes tops unfortunately. A lot of car theft in the Vancouver area, people are even using receivers with laptops to clone keys picking up the signal from within peoples houses on some of the newer stuff. Steering wheel locks work pretty well too but are a pita to use.

The club was very effective until people realized you just take a hacksaw to the steering wheel and cut straight through and slip the club past it...they made one that had a frisby looking piece but that looked more difficult to use than just the club

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[Owain@malonetuning]

For sure, but at that point they could probably find an easier target.

 

[WildChild80]

The old saying that lock only keep honest people honest

You could make a circuit that needed power from the ignition and use the steering wheel illumination switch on the back side of the left hand controls...super Ninja...who turns off their steering wheel illumination anyway

For sure, but at that point they could probably find an easier target.

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[alex_tdi]

I think you're ok unless the thief is a TDI fanatic who has access to some type of OBD hack that disables the immobilizer. Other than that, a VW MK4 just isn't worth all that trouble. Our old-style immobilizer key is actually safer because it doesn't transmit a signal that can be cloned.

 

[ToxicDoc]

Hidden switch for relay 109. Immobilizer can be turned off via obd and locks punched out in a couple minutes tops unfortunately. A lot of car theft in the Vancouver area, people are even using receivers with laptops to clone keys picking up the signal from within peoples houses on some of the newer stuff. Steering wheel locks work pretty well too but are a pita to use.

Oh I agree and have seen how the cloning works, but to go through the effort they typically go after high-value vehicles. You're not gonna get as much $ from parting out an old VW compared to a Mercedes. So the risk to a thief has to be there. The hidden kill switch is a better idea than them pulling fuses/relays which will lead to wear or damage over time.

 

[Enabled]

If it's manual, then it's already a very good theft deterrent in North America.

These are getting quite old, I wouldn't think anyone would want to steal them.



Immobilizer off via OBD takes max 30 seconds. You don't even need a key to do it. Just power onto terminal 15.

 

[Dhawk12]

Hidden switch for relay 109. Immobilizer can be turned off via obd and locks punched out in a couple minutes tops unfortunately. A lot of car theft in the Vancouver area, people are even using receivers with laptops to clone keys picking up the signal from within peoples houses on some of the newer stuff. Steering wheel locks work pretty well too but are a pita to use.

Which of the three wires at 109 would be best to put the switch on? The ground to the ecu, constant power, or the switched power? Or does it matter

 

[Mike_04GolfTDI]

Put a sign on it that says “For sale. Cat pee odor is probably temporary. Make an offer.”

 

[steve6]

Probably both, but as I said, the new landlord just had their truck stolen in the driveway.

On second thought the 109 relay might not be easier than pulling the wire given the amount of shrouding it's behind.

Put power to relay 109 on a hidden switch...

 

[oilhammer]

If someone can get past the factory immobiliser and alarm system, they REALLY must want that car... and who really wants that car from a thief standpoint?

Most car thefts are smash and run, to get across town, to do a drug deal, C-store holdup, etc. For that, they'll go for the easy stuff. PLENTY of easier stuff out there than an A4 Volkswagen.

I'd not worry about it, just make sure nothing of value is ever left inside the car. Anything beyond that, consider not living there in the first place.

 

[JDSwan87]

Put a sign on it that says “For sale. Cat pee odor is probably temporary. Make an offer.”

This ^^^

 

[Mike_04GolfTDI]

If someone can get past the factory immobiliser and alarm system, they REALLY must want that car... and who really wants that car from a thief standpoint?
Most car thefts are smash and run, to get across town, to do a drug deal, C-store holdup, etc. For that, they'll go for the easy stuff. PLENTY of easier stuff out there than an A4 Volkswagen.
I'd not worry about it, just make sure nothing of value is ever left inside the car. Anything beyond that, consider not living there in the first place.

But it's...

 

[BobnOH]

I think the club, working iimo, older car, should be enough. My experience is nuisance break-ins, kids, cutting off the cat, ripping out the stereo, searching for valuables is 85% what usually happens. Small things like well light areas, barking dog, can help quite a bit.

 

[oilhammer]

Or they just carjack you....

 

[cleaver]

Or they just carjack you....

gotta love the no nonsense responses by Oilhammer… I think its why I still frequent this board.