Tacoma Thefts on the Rise

It seems that Tacomas are considered high-end luxury vehicles in Ottawa, Ontario. There have been a lot of Tacomas stolen from the east (Orleans) and west (Kanata) suburbs of Ottawa, from driveways while people are sleeping.
I keep telling myself that no-one will steal my truck because it is a manual transmission and has no button remote starter. My truck is just around the corner of my building and I get nervous every time these news stories pop up. I better go check that I still have a Tacoma back there.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-toyota-lexus-thefts-1.5919112

 

However, they are polite when they steal your truck.

 

I've gotten in the habit of disabling my key fob after every trip. I even do it when at the grocery store etc. If you're parked outside, you might want to consider a Club.

 

Buyers of stolen Candadian Tacomas in the mid east and Africa must not be aware that there currently is no fix for the fuel pump recall.

 

And a kill switch on the AM1 fuse.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tacoma-is-a-luxury-vehicle.702141/

 

How could Tacomas be high end luxury cars? Just because they are stolen? That doesn't make them high end. The most popular cars stolen in the US are usually Camrys, accords, f-150s, etc. Not because they are high end, but because there are so many of them. Given the shear number of Tacomas, it would make sense to be so popular with thieves. Car theft is about volume. It wouldn't make sense to try to figure out a way to steal Frontiers because you would spend hours on end just trying to find one.

 

Well hopefully they get after mine. Maybe it will help me make a decision on what the next vehicle is.

I don't hate my 3rd gen, but I do tend to get bored with the same thing after awhile

 

Really easy fix for this; Keep your keyfobs in a metal box with the lid closed. We've been using an old decorative antique tobaco box that is lined with stainless steel. The metal completely blocks the signal generated by the keyfobs. There is zero chance that a relay attack can be performed if the keyfobs aren't reachable.

Our metal-lined box is basically a faraday cage. Any metallic container that fully encompasses the keyfob will suffice. Hell you can wrap your keyfob in aluminum foil

 

Anyone could put a real time GPS tracker in their truck. The only thing is they have monthly subscriptions.

 

Some are surprisingly inexpensive. $110 unit and service is $20/year. Yep, $20 total for 12 months.
gettracking.net

 

Steal it I’ll just get another one

 

That's inexpensive insurance especially if you have tens of thousands $$ in mods and you really want your truck back.

 

Why not just turn the remote off/disable it. I do that when i’m not using mine.

 

Sure. It helps to know where your stolen truck is being driven.
The simple fact is the truck has already been taken. After the fact control.........kinda like closing the barn door after the horse has run away. Or putting on the condom after a smashing.

Multi-layer approach to make your truck a more difficult target.
Shield/obscure the VIN and key fob.
Kill switch on a critical circuit.
Lock it.
Alarms
Security cameras watching the parking location (more of a deterrent)
Motion sensitive lights overlooking the parking location (deterrent)
take a tire off.

Remember: The truck does have an engine immobilizer. I don't know how effective it is or how easily defeated.

Truth: Thieves have a "grab-n-go" mentality. Speed and ease make good $$ without effort and low risk.

 

My 2020 SR doesn't have push start, heard the push start cars are easier to steal.

 

For those who don't want to turn their fobs off, or have a Lexus CC key like me, I found these (or similar ones that are in-stock) little signal blocking cases work great for blocking fob signal

 

I have remote start with cel module.. it has a GPS tracker... I disable my key when in a sketchy neighborhood.

 

A well equipped thief will use a tow truck with a couple of dollys. Gone. Or a roll-back truck, just winch it onto the bed......Gone.

Then they can haul it off to a chop shop garage and have all the time in the world with tools to open the truck.

Cut it up. Sell the parts on FB or Ebay or..........shove it in a container, ship it off to a foreign land. Complete in just a few hours.

 

I’ve already had 2 cars stolen in my life. It is a feeling of violation that is hard to explain. The most recent one was in 2001. I just had liability on it because it was an older car. They found it but I had to pay for the repairs and it was never the same. I sold it at a loss.