Anti theft suggestions/ideas

[Buzzman12]

Up until now, I've kept my Stinger in the garage, and have only driven it locally. I have not been too concerned about theft.
I am planning a trip down to Syracuse for a few days, staying in a hotel. I am a bit paranoid about coming out to the parking lot in the morning and finding my car is not there.
It's the same concern I have about going to a big mall for the day and having the car disappear.
So, I have a few questions. Is the security system in the car good enough to deter theft?
Is there something I can do to the car to make it more difficult to steal? I'm thinking adding something like a kill switch?
Anyway, if anyone has any input or suggestions, it would be much appreciated. Thanks to all.

 

[Snicklefritz]

A kill switch would be overkill. Ha hah.
Use a fresh faraday bag for the fob. They typically start letting signal through after a month or three, but any reader would have to get pretty close to paint the fob in an older bag. Nobody is going to smash and grab your car if they can't start it. If you've rebadged your car, put KIA back on it, then, "it's still a KIA" will be added protection. I only partly kid, because some KIAs are among the most stolen vehicles out there. The Stinger is not one of them. The only Stinger theft I have heard of left the fob in the car.

 

[ElChanclo]

The only Stinger theft I have heard of left the fob in the car.

The gas station dude? Some say he's still waiting by the pump, dismayed.

AND FOR GODS SAKE turn your car off whenever you're getting out of it. That's gone awry too.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Do we know that the "gas station dude" hadn't left his fob in the car? Anyone who leaves their engine running while gassing up is already ignoring standard safety practices. You can't even do that at Costco.

 

[stoopid]

I put new sticker badges over anything with the Kia symbol (front hood, steering wheel, hub caps). Like you, didn't want some pimply bottom of their class teen thinking they were going to take it for a joyride (and deal with broken glass and/or steering shaft ripped apart, even though it's a push button start ).

Other than that, most actual thieves worth their salt won't see this as an easy target because it looks expensive and thus not some easily jumped budget vehicle and not old enough to have older tech.

Any thoughts past this about transceiver signal interception / relay gets into the weeds IMO, as it's unlikely in the time you'll be away from the vehicle a rando with that tech will happen by the moment you're near enough to the vehicle to take advantage of that strategy. Parked on the street overnight? Sure, anything's possible. Just don't keep anything irreplaceable in the car.

I'd be more worried about someone stealing the catalytic converter(s?).

 

[LordKOTL]

A kill switch would be overkill. Ha hah.
Use a fresh faraday bag for the fob. They typically start letting signal through after a month or three, but any reader would have to get pretty close to paint the fob in an older bag. Nobody is going to smash and grab your car if they can't start it. If you've rebadged your car, put KIA back on it, then, "it's still a KIA" will be added protection. I only partly kid, because some KIAs are among the most stolen vehicles out there. The Stinger is not one of them. The only Stinger theft I have heard of left the fob in the car.

Agreed.

Easiest test--have your fob in a faraday bag and try to open your locked car door. If your car door opened, you need a new faraday bag.

Source: I forgot to take my fob out of the faraday bag yesterday leaving work. After a 30 second WTF moment I took the fob out of the bag.

 

[Landshark]

get a trunk monkey

 

[Buzzman12]

Some funny replies. Thanks for the chuckles.
Anyway, I already use a faraday bag, so I will continue with that.
The car is always locked when I'm not driving it. I never leave it running when I'm not in it, so I'm not worried about that.
I'm also not sure there's enough clearance under the car for someone to steal the converter easily, so I'm not really concerned about that.
One comment was about rebadging or de-badging the car. I don't know about that. I probably won't go there.
The car has such a unique profile that anyone who knows anything about cars will know what it is, badges or not.
Thanks for the input folks.

 

[D.J.]

Do we know that the "gas station dude" hadn't left his fob in the car? Anyone who leaves their engine running while gassing up is already ignoring standard safety practices. You can't even do that at Costco.

I initially thought that.

But after scrutinizing the video, you can see the brake lights flicker slightly during the engine cranking.

It is almost certainly the key fob was left in the car, and the car was not running when the thief hopped in the car.


Further, thinking about that alleged theft, it really looks like it is staged by the owner, because what kind of thief would jump in the car, assuming that the key fob was left in the car!

 

[stoopid]

One comment was about rebadging or de-badging the car. I don't know about that. I probably won't go there.
The car has such a unique profile that anyone who knows anything about cars will know what it is, badges or not.

Common thieves and kia boys have no clue, even car people ask what the car is. Don't do it because you don't want to be bothered, but know that the reason you gave is bunk.

As far as catalytic converter theft -- they often jack the car up. They learned the Prius was one of the best (two expensive cats) and started targeting lower clearance vehicles/are prepared as a result.

 

[Ah GetFd]

Up until now, I've kept my Stinger in the garage, and have only driven it locally. I have not been too concerned about theft.
I am planning a trip down to Syracuse for a few days, staying in a hotel. I am a bit paranoid about coming out to the parking lot in the morning and finding my car is not there.
It's the same concern I have about going to a big mall for the day and having the car disappear.
So, I have a few questions. Is the security system in the car good enough to deter theft?
Is there something I can do to the car to make it more difficult to steal? I'm thinking adding something like a kill switch?
Anyway, if anyone has any input or suggestions, it would be much appreciated. Thanks to all.

You can't stop professional thieves targeting a particular car.

Recently on the news a Tow Truck pulled up in a shopping centre carpark, hooked up the rear of a GM G8 V8 (Commodore here) in broad daylight and drove away. No-one noticed because it was a tow truck. It was caught on CCTV.

So make it hard. Park where it is difficult to access it. Park in well lit areas or in high volume areas like outside the hotel where there ar lots of people.

Thieves are cowards. They like to hide in the shadows....

BUT the simplest deterrent is to buy a steering lock that extends across the steering wheel with a key lock.

You can't turn the wheel. It can be drilled out but it would take time so the theory is they will move onto the next car.

 

[stoopid]

BUT the simplest deterrent is to buy a steering lock that extends across the steering wheel with a key lock.

You can't turn the wheel. It can be drilled out but it would take time so the theory is they will move onto the next car.

 

[cbr629]

THE CLUB....

 

[ht_addict]

evcX Throttle Controller to suit KIA STINGER 2017 - 2023

EVC evolved, EXPLORE the power of your vehicle with the wireless-enabled evcX Throttle Controller. Features: • App controlled• Ultimate9 TC app - iOS/Android compatible• 8 Driving modes, 32 levels of adjustability• Lock Mode• 10-minute installation, 100% plug & play• Removable user interface...

www.ultimate9.co

Has a lock feature so your gas pedal does not function when the unit is removed.

 

[Transmetal]

The club is a joke. I literally work at an impound lot. You know how many Honda Civics I've seen totally stripped (no interior, no motor/trans) but the club is still sitting attached to the steering wheel? Obviously it didn't keep those cars from getting stolen. If the car is gonna be parked for awhile, how hard is it to pull the fuse for the fuel pump? Anybody try that? I keep both my key fobs wrapped in tinfoil at all times. Tinfoil works better than a faraday bag since it'll continuously block the signal if it's wrapped good. Obviously a bag is easier more user friendly but I don't care about that, I just use what works consistently.

Unfortunately, I do know a guy that got his Stinger stolen but he left the key fob in the car by accident so he made it easy for them.

 

[midwest Stinger]

Up until now, I've kept my Stinger in the garage, and have only driven it locally. I have not been too concerned about theft.
I am planning a trip down to Syracuse for a few days, staying in a hotel. I am a bit paranoid about coming out to the parking lot in the morning and finding my car is not there.
It's the same concern I have about going to a big mall for the day and having the car disappear.
So, I have a few questions. Is the security system in the car good enough to deter theft?
Is there something I can do to the car to make it more difficult to steal? I'm thinking adding something like a kill switch?
Anyway, if anyone has any input or suggestions, it would be much appreciated. Thanks to all.

any kill switch will delete your computer and presets of everything unless installed in the starting circuit only ,not an easy thing to do and prob expensive by a shop, I put a Carlock on my stinger which does not kill the starter but gives realtime tracking (GPS ) viewable on your phone,and alarms to your phone if moved or bumped( vibration) not very expensive monthly or yearly service, basic service s 113.00 yearly , this was to me quick and effective antitheft, the phone notification will wake the dead be warned

 

[D.J.]

any kill switch will delete your computer and presets of everything unless installed in the starting circuit only ,not an easy thing to do and prob expensive by a shop, I put a Carlock on my stinger which does not kill the starter but gives realtime tracking (GPS ) viewable on your phone,and alarms to your phone if moved or bumped( vibration) not very expensive monthly or yearly service, basic service s 113.00 yearly , this was to me quick and effective antitheft, the phone notification will wake the dead be warned

Sounds like more of a "post theft tracking" and less of an "Anti-theft"

 

[Transmetal]

Sounds like more of a "post theft tracking" and less of an "Anti-theft"

I was gonna say the same thing.

 

[socalvn]

Rent a car

 

[Volfy]

Passive anti-theft devises try to make the car less theft vulnerable and/or attractive. None of them are 100% effective but might be enough to make a less determined thief give up and look for an easier target.

If you want better security beyond passives, consider getting an alarm system that has active paging, which sends RF signal to a fob, which has a display to indicate the type of intrusion sensed (glass break, motion, door open, etc.). Some advertise paging RF range of up to 3-miles. In reality, with buildings and other obstructions, effective range is more like less than 1/4 mile, but still plenty far enough most of the time. Some can add on an LTE module that extend paging range indefinitely. But then again... what good is that if you are not parked within range to investigate?

Speaking of that, if you do have a system that can page you actively, you should think real hard about whether to approach an on-going theft. The bad guy(s) could be armed; so should you for self-defense, if your locale allows it. Whether the risk is worth your insurance deductible is a judgement call.

Not a cheap option, so really only feasible if you intend to keep the car for a long while. Plus such systems often can also add remote start with the same effective range as the alarm RF comms.