How difficult would it be for a car thief to drive off in a modern car that requires a chip in the key? I’d like to think it would involve more than splicing some wires together but I’m not certain exactly how it works. It doesn’t seem like car theft has declined all that much since car manufacturers started employing this anti-theft technique, but maybe the thieves are targeting older cars.
I think all cars can still be hot wired: that is, bust the steering column open and short the relevant ignition wires together.
The chip technology only prevents one from making a cheap copy of the key.
I don’t think that is true. Without the chip the car still won’t start.
Googling around, you may be correct on that.
Yeah, that’s wrong. Busting open the steering column and shorting wires, you could get the starter motor to turn, but the engine won’t start and the car won’t drive unless the computer (which runs the fuel injection and pretty much everything else on the car these days) gets a signal from the chip in the key.
Chip keys have made traditional hotwire-n-go car theft pretty much impossible. For a dramatic illustration of this, look at the most stolen car lists. The list has been dominated by early and mid 90’s Hondas and Toyotas for about 15 years; this is because when they started using chip keys around '96, theft rates plunged even on models where the introduction of the chip key was the only revision that year.
Car security measures change the nature of car theft - you cannot hotwire a modern high-value car, so mugging, carjacking and burglary/home invasions are the more likely avenues to obtain car keys.
Si
This. You need the engine control unit’s (ECU’s) cooperation to run the engine. If it doesn’t see the chip, it won’t fire the injectors or spark plugs, and the thief is SOL.
However, your car still is value to thieves for parts. They can strip some items (wheels, stereo, etc.) where your car sits, or if they’re really industrious, they’ll get a tow truck and steal your entire car away to a chop shop where they’ll part it out completely.
Chipped car keys are said to be the reason behind an increase in carjacking in recent years: since it’s impossible to hot-wire a late-model car, thieves intent on driving your car away must resort to taking it by force while the key is in the ignition.
Car theft has declined. However, car-jackings have increased somewhat (though not as much as other thefts declined). Which is basically applying lead pipe cryptography to the chip-key/electronically controlled engine system.
That’s pretty much what I figured. I guess the chipped key is worth having even if it’s fairly expensive to replace. (It’s less expensive than a car for sure.) And of course it doesn’t prevent someone from breaking into your car, but you can reduce the odds of that by not showing them you have something valuable in your car.
Thanks for the answers.
If thieves value your model, then there is a kit out there that allows someone to drive off with your car in minutes. There is a much publicized kit for BMWs that was in the news recently. If you drive a less expensive car, they just haven’t gotten around to yours yet or there is not enough interest.
So, the large majority of cars are safe … for now. Isn’t that comforting?