2022 RAV4 stolen

[Yugguy1970]

Aye, just surround it with a massive blob of resin or something. 😀

Why would plates invalidate the warranty?   If they go via the wheel arch liner couldn't that just be a metal one with the securing nuts only accessible from the engine bay side?

[kucyk]

Really all needs to be done is to make that plug harder or impossible to unplug. Even some glue will do the job. They won't be fighting with it or cutting cables, they will look for another car. Hopefully somebody will clarify which connector it is.

[Strangely Brown]

Some of these suggestions do not appear to be thought through, if thought about at all. C'mon guys.

1. Anything that makes the plug "impossible to remove" also renders the headlamp impossible to repair should there be a problem in future. The plug is there for a reason.

2. The problem with doing anything with the headlight or wiring to make the CAN inaccessible does nothing to address the damage that will still be caused when they rip out the arch liner or pull the bumper off. The thieves should be deterred for trying at all.

I do, however, think that metal arch liners that are secured from inside the engine bay may be obvious enough to a thief that something is different about this car that they may just move on. If a steering wheel lock really is too much trouble then this may be a viable alternative if you can find some way to manufacture and fit them.
 

[nlee]

Agree that some way to secure the plug would help. I'd read elsewhere that they don't necessarily remove the plug, just push prongs into the relevant CAN-H and CAN-L slots on connector block.

My very uneducated view is it is not the connector of the back of the headlight. There don't seem to be enough wires in there. I think it's more likely a connector somewhere between the ECU and the headlight, but I haven't been able to identify it yet.

The CAN-H and CAN-L are usually identified as a twisted pair. They are pink/white pair and green/white pair in the bottom of the front pillars (different colour on each side) but it's not uncommon they change colour through the route. This is often discussed in forums for fitting light bars where you need to access them.

[robo1]

2 hours ago, Roger_N said:

Did you take any pictures of the plug/socket you could post?

I took these photos couple of months back. Think this is the connector Terry was describing. There is handle like lever which is used to lock the connector in the socket. Thinking along similar lines to you  of putting a cable tie through the lever  and attaching the other end through one of the round holes in the chassis. Would delay removal until they get wise to the modification.

Edit But thinking about would need to attach cable tie round the plug not the lever 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by robo1
Spelling

[Terry10]

Hello, yes guys that is the plug and I have done just that with a cable tie as was suggested. Did it earlier this afternoon. Other people think the same as me ! )

Cable tie goes through that lever nicely and up to a convenient body plate hole above.Assume the lever pulls down to release. 

 

logically any theft normally takes place at night and they are working by feel.Not saying that this will resolve this diabolical design flaw by Toyota but at least it will make things more difficult for the scroats out there.

Terry

[robo1]

Terry

But is the lever attached to the socket not the connector? If it’s attached to the socket they will still be able to unclip it and remove connector. If that’s the case would need to put a cable tie around the cable near the connector end and then put your ‘ anchor ‘ tie though it 

[Terry10]

Only one way to find out. I will remove it and have a look when I get a few minutes spare. Fair point, so let's get it right. If it gives them some hassle then it's worth it.

Will get back to you .

Terry

[CharlesSP]

I do not understand how pulling the front bumper off does not trigger the alarm.

[Terry10]

They don't pull the front bumper off they pull the inner wheel arch down.

Terry

[Strangely Brown]

22 minutes ago, Terry10 said:

They don't pull the front bumper off they pull the inner wheel arch down.

Terry

One of the videos show the front bumper being pulled forward. It's only plastic and moving it slightly will likely allow better access behind the wheel arch liner.
 

[Terry10]

Would think that was butcher tactics then as when the body shop dropped my wheel arch liner there was plenty of access.

At the end of the day the scroats get into that headlight plug by whatever means.

What I don't understand is why it's only the near side one and not the drivers side as well.

[robo1]

When I had look thought there was more engine clutter on the offside making it harder to get your hand in. 

[nlee]

54 minutes ago, Strangely Brown said:

One of the videos show the front bumper being pulled forward. It's only plastic and moving it slightly will likely allow better access behind the wheel arch liner.
 

That's the issue, currently it seems the wheel arch is the weakest point. Remove that and they will seek out the next weakest point. Hence why the only real option at the moment appears to be a visible deterrent that makes it more difficult to drive away.

Just look at some of the ways they access the CAN on some other makes, even getting into the door sills.

[nlee]

7 minutes ago, Terry10 said:

What I don't understand is why it's only the near side one and not the drivers side as well

It looks like it would be really difficult to get an hand/arm in that side because of the washer bottle/coolant reservoir, etc.

Maybe that's a solution to the current issue, pack the passenger side area with a load of clutter!

[Baytree]

On 1/1/2023 at 11:41 AM, forkingabout said:

The lock barrel will be the weak point once the thieves study it & obtain the correct equipment to beat it.

The Milenco will also fit on the bottom half of the steering wheel, which puts the lock facing down towards the floor and harder to access. Slightly more difficult to lock/unlock but extra time needed to defeat.

[forkingabout]

15 minutes ago, Baytree said:

The Milenco will also fit on the bottom half of the steering wheel, which puts the lock facing down towards the floor and harder to access. Slightly more difficult to lock/unlock but extra time needed to defeat.

I would guess as the Milenco lock gets more popular at stopping various Rav 4 going walkies, the thieves / gang will invest in one to study it, then they will invest in the right equipment to defeat the lock barrel.

 

[ernieb]

Probably true Lee but more likely to use brute force. I still feel it’s worth the moderate cost just to add a little doubt, the more time they have to spend breaking their way into the car the better in my book.

The MILECO is police recommended so must put up a certain level of protection.

[Strangely Brown]

The point of the physical obstruction is that it is conspicuous and, hopefully, that message will be clear enough for them. The attempt to remove it will be noisy and, more importantly, it will take time. Noise and delay are the enemy of opportunist thieves.

ETA: In the group test posted previously both of the top two resisted all attempts by the security specialist to remove them. If that is the case in a lab environment with no concern about noise and access to whatever tools are required then I suspect that thieves would perform at least as poorly.

[Terry10]

Steering wheel lock is great as long as you use it every time you park! The day you say to yourself " I will only be 10 minutes is the day it will go.

Being a visibly deterrent is its biggest plus point.And storing it safely in the car is my biggest worry personally.

Terry

 

[Strangely Brown]

5 minutes ago, Terry10 said:

Steering wheel lock is great as long as you use it every time you park! The day you say to yourself " I will only be 10 minutes is the day it will go.

Being a visibly deterrent is its biggest plus point.And storing it safely in the car is my biggest worry personally.

Terry

 

That depends where, and when, you are parking. AFAIK none of these filmed thefts have happened in broad daylight in public places. They have all, AFAIK, happened outside or near the owners house and at night when nobody is around.

It's true that they may become more bold in future but, for now at least, they seem to prefer the cover of darkness and some degree of seclusion.

Personally, I fit the StopLock when I park up for the night or away from public view. Normal out and about stuff like supermarket car-parks the car is simply locked as normal.

It's about risk vs convenience and that is the level of compromise that I am prepared to make.

[ColinB]

I've just ordered the Stoplock from Amazon for use as Mark suggested - overnight and out of view spaces. Relatively cheap (half a tank of petrol) and worth it for peace of mind. Might get an insurance discount if I told them, but then you have to use it every time you at otherwise they might refuse any theft claim if it wasn't fitted.

Colin

[philip42h]

16 hours ago, Strangely Brown said:

That depends where, and when, you are parking. AFAIK none of these filmed thefts have happened in broad daylight in public places. They have all, AFAIK, happened outside or near the owners house and at night when nobody is around.

'Sadly' I went through the 23 pages of this thread so far - there have been five thefts of RAV4.5s reported by forum members. Four of these have occured in or around London; the fifth in the West Midlands - i.e. in major cities. All five cars have been recovered - none have been spirited away, shipped abroad or broken up for spares.

That's five cars too many and I don't expect the owners to be anything less than "very annoyed".

But I suggest that the rest of us might want to maintain a sense of proportion, and, as Mark suggests, employ additional security measures in relation to the perceived risk based on where we park our cars ...

[Rav Rob]

5 hours ago, philip42h said:

'Sadly' I went through the 23 pages of this thread so far - there have been five thefts of RAV4.5s reported by forum members. Four of these have occured in or around London; the fifth in the West Midlands - i.e. in major cities. All five cars have been recovered - none have been spirited away, shipped abroad or broken up for spares.

That's five cars too many and I don't expect the owners to be anything less than "very annoyed".

But I suggest that the rest of us might want to maintain a sense of proportion, and, as Mark suggests, employ additional security measures in relation to the perceived risk based on where we park our cars ...

My first thought from your post, is why did they nick them in the first place? Used for some criminal job then dumped I suppose..

[philip42h]

31 minutes ago, Rav Rob said:

My first thought from your post, is why did they nick them in the first place? Used for some criminal job then dumped I suppose..

... or maybe just to prove that they could ... ?

And that is, perhaps, a second point - these cars are not easy to steal. The would be thief needs to know both how and where to access the CANbus - and courtesy of this thread many more people know that now - and be in possession of the magic box of tricks to bypass security. I doubt that [m]any of us know either where to get or how to build one of those. (And that's not a challenge for more information to be added to this thread ... 😉 )