Dangers of 4runners being stolen

Hi all, I live in a city and my neighbors cars are getting stolen left and right, some older models but also some newer models. I have a 2020 4runner. I have read of ways that thieves can amplify the signal of your key fob to open the keyless entry doors but that would not be enough to start the car. Is my car in danger of being stolen? Are there any security features in the 2020 for this?

 

I'm not sure where you live, but the odds of getting a new 4Runner stolen are very very low. If someone had a signal catcher, which is highly unusual, all that would give them is access into your interior. Most of the new 4Runner keys are micro-chipped, meaning the ignition doesn't work if that RFID key isn't nearby.

Machines like a signal catcher are specialized and typically only used by someone looking to steal a high-end vehicle and have it on a shipping container bound for the middle east in 24 hours.

You can do 3 simple things to almost guarantee your 4Runner isn't stolen. 1. Buy a steering wheel "Club" and put it on & lock it. 2. Don't leave your vehicle unlocked. 3. Don't leave an extra set of keys (or the valet key) in the vehicle.

You'd be amazed at how many people leave their spare key in the center console. You are practically begging to have your vehicle stolen if you do that.

 

If you’re worried about it, take the throttle position sensor relay out, or just unplug your mass air flow sensor. Quick and easy, and your common theif nut won’t know what to do and will likely give up.

 

Pull out the starter fuse if your really worried and want a quick fix. The starter fuse is not something they will check, and will give up and move on

 

Unless of course they happen to browse the forums.

 

The club won't slow an experienced thief down one bit.

My dad puts one on and doesn't even lock it. Most rookies will see it and move on to the next car. The experienced ones you are not going to stop.

I'm still sticking with my big black dude. (Not being racist)

 

A cheap Faraday box from Amazon might be a good way to store your keys -

https://youtu.be/qMtRQKvPIbM

 

Just wire in a toggle switch somewhere inconspicuous to disable the starter relay.

 

I've always been partial to the inconspicuous toggle switch being wired to the fuel pump relay. The truck won't start without it, and if you ever find yourself in a runaway acceleration situation, you've got a fantastic way out. It won't matter if the accelerator's out of control if the fuel pump isn't pumping fuel.

 

Get a pit bull and leave him in the back without a collar I’m sure people will think twice

 

Just a suggestion that you can do for free if trying to slow down the thief that has a tow truck.
When you park it for the night, turn wheels to the left or right. So when you pull out your keys, the wheels are locked in a turn.
And put the transfer case in 4H. So if it’s hooked from the rear, the front tires will just skid and alert onlookers.

And I know that a locked steering wheel can be defeated but, that takes time. And might be too much time for the would be thief.

I hate thieves and their faces should be put on milk cartons.

If you know what I mean....

 

I use full coverage insurance

 

Take the fuse with you, chances of them having one are extremely low. Better yet, take two or three if my you’re in a risky area.

 

On that subject, I strongly recommend umbrella coverage. Typical full coverage tips out at $100,000 property damage and $300,000 bodily injury. With the value of new cars nowadays it’s pretty easy to exceed $100,000 in property damage in an accident, I have $120,000 vehicle in my driveway right now.

 

$120,000 vehicle would be in the locked garage! I let my $2,000 S-10 outside for the stealing thing.

 

It’s a customer released vehicle that I get for personal use while it data logs drive cycles and occasionally gets sent for emissions to prove long term compliance of the powertrain. I get a 6 figure, 600hp car for about 3 weeks, then I’ll swap it out. But my point is if someone hits me in it and totals the car, they will exceed the coverage limits of full coverage and then they are on the hook for damages above $100,000. Let’s say they total this thing and their Camry - congrats you’re now $50,000 in debt.

 

Cool!

 

i edited the post to get to back to the point

 

I live in the Philadelphia suburbs (about an hour away). I can tell you from experience that key cloning happens and it's not for your high end exotics. I have a client that had their Highlander stolen from their driveway. I have a friend of mine that's a Lieutenant in the Philadelphia police dept that his daughter had her 2012 Honda Passport stolen from the street in front of her house. While she was home and awake. It was explained to me that the thieves have scanners that pick up the codes to the keys. If I recall correctly, the scanners can search up to 250ft and can even detect keys placed on a table in your foyer. You can buy a small pouch that blocks the scanners (RFID?). With all that said, I do not have one nor anything else to prevent it from being stolen. I would likely install a kill switch. I've thought about installing a dash cam that has motion detection.

 

Yeah, why not spend 20 bucks for some added safety. As per my test on the video on post #8 the key is not detected even when the box is right next to the car. At least it gives me some level of peace of mind at home.

 

Yeah, that keyless start crap is crap. One of the reasons why I was happy to go with a non-premium 2020. Mine still has a key. It's a key with the added bit of electronics like had been used forever, but the key itself gives you old school protection. It's not bulletproof, but it's something.

"Hey, I'm broadcasting this signal! Please don't clone me!" So stupid. That's why I haven't upgraded my credit card to RFID. I got an email from them saying "we noticed you don't have tap to pay on your card, click here to get upgraded" and I was NOPE. I know I'm going to end up with it eventually, but at least for now I don't have to wrap my wallet in tinfoil.

 

HomeLink is a vulnerability

 

Back in the day we would interrupt the starter circuit with the cigarette lighter. You had to have the lighter pushed in to start the car. So silly but it worked.

 

My SR5 has an old school ignition key also, so not too worried about that.

 

In my neighborhood thieves literally just will drive around, walk up to a car, check the door and if it's locked they move on. People will leave their cars both unlocked and sometimes a spare key IN the actual car. I mean... at least make a veiled attempt to safeguard your shit. 9 times out of 10, if the car is unlocked and there is no easy way to take it, they'll rummage through for something then leave. The police that live near me all say, just lock your car and don't leave fancy stuff in there, best you can really do, sadly.

Not like it does much but I just tint the bejesus out of my cars and toss a sunshade in. Makes it reasonably dark at night I suppose. One day I'll get the garage size increased and toss my wife's 4Runner in there for some added peace of mind.

 

Ok, thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will get the lock case for my keys and think about fuses. Isn't there a way to track my car on the Toyota app? I upgraded from an 05 to the 2020 and so I don't know all of the new modern advantages but I thought the sales person said something about seeing where my car is (in relation to parking for example) and even being able to start my car with the app. But I don't see anything like that.

 

Flipping through the owners manual on my '20, I see the key fob has an energy-saving mode that puts the fob to sleep and stops it from receiving radio signals. It can be manually activated by pressing and holding 'Lock' and pressing 'Unlock' twice. The LED on the fob will flash 4 times indicating it's asleep. Press any button to wake it up. The manual says the smart key system can't be used when the fob is in energy-saving mode. I just tried it... The doors remained locked when I grabbed the handle and had the keys in my pocket.

Wouldn't that prevent someone from key-cloning? It seems this be just as effective as an RFID blocking bag.

 

Not if someone is waiting for you to press the button and send your signal all over the place.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong. My understanding is 1 only transmits when you press a button or inserted to the ignition vs 2 always transmits RF signal.