Most stolen cars of 2023

[FROSTYBALLS]

Information provided by DVLA after a Freedom of Information request. Figures from January to December 2023.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-12982521/Most-stolen-cars-2023-REVEALED-vehicle-pinched-8-minutes-year.html

[Yugguy1970]

It doesn't say wether that's just the most overall or the most in proportion to how many there are on the roads.

[Bper]

Fortunately Toyota is not on the list which is good but I would like to see the new figures on CAT theft to see how Toyota fares.

I assume most of these cars are either shipped abroad or broken for spares☹️

[Nick72]

3 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Information provided by DVLA after a Freedom of Information request. Figures from January to December 2023.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-12982521/Most-stolen-cars-2023-REVEALED-vehicle-pinched-8-minutes-year.html

I'd love to see this data normalised to remove car popularity. See what the list then looks like. More popular means more likely stolen. Need to divide theft numbers by total number of that make and model in the UK then compare these resulting numbers.

[Haliotis]

Before we get too worked up, how many stolen cars are the result of their owners being careless?  Agreed that all owners are not careless, but I would bet a large percentage are.  I have a Faraday bag for each my key fobs, and my fobs are never left in the hallway.  When parking the car, I always place the fob back in its Faraday bag before pocketing it, and only take out again when I am at the car.

On of our daughters and her husband also have a keyless car. They say that, if it was stolen, they would not want to see it again, so they do not use a Faraday bag.  My feelings are that, if it was stolen, not using a Faraday bag could reflect on how much the insurers might refuse to pay due to  willful negligence.

[forkingabout]

I was having the Faraday pouch discussion yesterday with a friend who has just acquired a keyless equipped Golf mk7, they haven't owned a keyless vehicle before & their cheap enough to protect the vehicle from relay theft.

I did use Faraday pouches with my previous Peugeot vehicle that had keyless entry.

I don't use them with my Toyota as the keyless fobs go to sleep so pretty pointless using them. 

 

[Haliotis]

Forkingabout said, “I don’t use them with my Toyota as the keyless fobs go to sleep so pretty pointless using them.”

I have never had reason to believe the fobs for my C-HR “go to sleep”.  But surely this doesn’t mean they will not ‘wake up’ when someone activates them?

[forkingabout]

18 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Forkingabout said, “I don’t use them with my Toyota as the keyless fobs go to sleep so pretty pointless using them.”

I have never had reason to believe the fobs for my C-HR “go to sleep”.  But surely this doesn’t mean they will not ‘wake up’ when someone activates them?

The newer Toyota keyless fobs use motion sensing technology - if the keyless fob is sat still it stops transmitting the signal after a few minutes.

To wake it up again, you need to move the fob.

 

[Haliotis]

12 hours ago, forkingabout said:

The newer Toyota keyless fobs use motion sensing technology - if the keyless fob is sat still it stops transmitting the signal after a few minutes.

To wake it up again, you need to move the fob.

 

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will not still respond to an incoming signal.  For myself, when I am not actually in my car, the fob is in its Faraday bag all of the time.

[forkingabout]

2 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will not still respond to an incoming signal.  For myself, when I am not actually in my car, the fob is in its Faraday bag all of the time.

If the fob is sat still it will go to sleep after a few minutes - you then need to move the fob to wake it up again.

The newer keyless fobs have motion sensing technology built in. 

If the keyless fob is asleep it cannot transmit or receive any signals.

 

[Big_D]

I also use a Faraday pouch, as does my wife. 

When we first got the Faraday pouches, I tested them, and they worked fine. The cars wouldn't open, even when the buttons of the fobs were pressed (while inside the pouches)

The other day, my wife said her Yaris opened while her key was in the Faraday pouch. I checked her Yaris, and my C-HR, and both cars unlocked with the keys in the Faraday pouches.

Mine is about 18 months old, and hers is about a year old. At the  moment, we have the keys in the Faraday pouches, inside a metal cake tin just to be safe.

I've since ordered new ones.

[Haliotis]

Good point, Bob.  I’ve never seen or heard of any failure of these bags due to wear and tear.  It is certainly advisable to periodically check them for security, as you have obviously done, and it is fortunate that your wife spotted the fault.  I will be checking mine regularly now.

[mpm235]

My Step Son is a Traffic Cop. I asked him if it was a good idea to get one of those Faraday pouch things for my Auris keys. He said not really any point; he has never known a Toyota to get nicked, they are hard to nick and also don't really appeal to scumbags (Range Rovers and Audis very popular with the thieving vermin at the moment, also Ford Fiestas are apparently  easy cars too nick).

[Nick72]

28 minutes ago, mpm235 said:

My Step Son is a Traffic Cop. I asked him if it was a good idea to get one of those Faraday pouch things for my Auris keys. He said not really any point; he has never known a Toyota to get nicked, they are hard to nick and also don't really appeal to scumbags (Range Rovers and Audis very popular with the thieving vermin at the moment, also Ford Fiestas are apparently  easy cars too nick).

Although the CANbus attack is very easy to do on the RAVs. I'm still not clear on whether it applies to my 2021 RAV PHEV. Steering lock just in case.

Perhaps the robbers overlook the potential as a loot vehicle. AWD, very fast, lots of room, reliable.

[Haliotis]

2 hours ago, mpm235 said:

My Step Son is a Traffic Cop. I asked him if it was a good idea to get one of those Faraday pouch things for my Auris keys. He said not really any point; he has never known a Toyota to get nicked, they are hard to nick and also don't really appeal to scumbags (Range Rovers and Audis very popular with the thieving vermin at the moment, also Ford Fiestas are apparently  easy cars too nick).

The Faraday bag does work and is inexpensive.  The principle of the Faraday cage is a well known fact. Considering all the positive information regarding car theft, my own feeling is that it is wiser to invest in one.

[bigblock]

I don't use a Faraday pouch now as I have discovered the trick to disable the signal coming from the key remote after locking the car. This works on the current Corolla but I think it works with most Toyota keyless remotes. So once the car is locked, on the remote you press the lock button and hold it down while pressing the unlock button at the same time. The remote will flash red 4 times. The remote is now not sending out a signal to the car. To test it try opening a door with the remote in your pocket. It will not open. To open just press the unlock button on the remote. There is a video on You Tube demonstrating this. This defeats the convenience of keyless entry because you have to press a button on the remote to unlock the car but it will stop some low life with a scanner trying to steal your Toyota. 

[mpm235]

8 hours ago, bigblock said:

I don't use a faraday pouch now as I have discovered the trick to disable the signal coming from the key remote after locking the car. This works on the current Corolla but I think it works with most Toyota keyless remotes. So once the car is locked, on the remote you press the lock button and hold it down while pressing the unlock button at the same time. The remote will flash red 4 times. The remote is now not sending out a signal to the car. To test it try opening a door with the remote in your pocket. It will not open. To open just press the unlock button on the remote. There is a video on You Tube demonstrating this. This defeats the convenience of keyless entry because you have to press a button on the remote to unlock the car but it will stop some low life with a scanner trying to steal your Toyota. 

Great advice, good post Michael

[Haliotis]

Hi Michael.  Whilst I find your post useful, I do have a query.  To release the locking of the fob, does the fob have to be within range of (close to) the car, or would it be released if the unlock button was pressed regardless of the fob’s location?   Even using this secure method, I would still put the fob in my Faraday bag - the button can get pressed accidentally whilst the fob is in one’s pocket.

[Cyker]

That is the downside with using the buttons to put it to sleep - As you say, any button press will wake up the fob again.

It would have been better if the buttons were recessed, or at least the unlock button recessed. One of my colleague's has a key is like that, so if you do press on it by accident, at least it's more likely to press the lock button!

 

[Haliotis]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

That is the downside with using the buttons to put it to sleep - As you say, any button press will wake up the fob again.

It would have been better if the buttons were recessed, or at least the unlock button recessed. One of my colleague's has a key is like that, so if you do press on it by accident, at least it's more likely to press the lock button!

 

Thanks for that clarification.  So, for myself, the Faraday bag remains the important factor for ensuring security.  A week or so ago, I did visit a VW franchise with a serious consideration to change to a VW Caddy Maxi Life.  In the process of checking out this car, I did note with some envy that it has a conventional ignition key.  Unfortunately, It fell short of a few practical features that I like on the C-HR.  On balance, the scales tipped in favour of staying with the C-HR, and which, even though I would be moving from a 21-plate to a 23-plate, still meant a £9,000 outlay for the change.

[bigblock]

On 1/28/2024 at 12:44 PM, Haliotis said:

Hi Michael.  Whilst I find your post useful, I do have a query.  To release the locking of the fob, does the fob have to be within range of (close to) the car, or would it be released if the unlock button was pressed regardless of the fob’s location?   Even using this secure method, I would still put the fob in my Faraday bag - the button can get pressed accidentally whilst the fob is in one’s pocket.

Yes. The fob has to be in close range to unlock the car when it's signal is disabled. Much like a normal non smart entry system. And true enough the unlock button could get pressed accidentally in your pocket. But it's a handy trick to know that your fob is not sending out a constant signal to your car especially at night when you are asleep. It also saves a bit of Battery in the fob too.

[olddriver]

Auto Express recon that the Defender Signal Blocker is the best:-

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product-group-tests/103187/best-faraday-bag-car-key-signal-blockers-2023

[olddriver]

You can’t insure a Land Rover:-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12955851/Britain-uninsurable-car-Range-Rover-insurance-firm-cover.html

[Haliotis]

At all times, when I am not in the car, both my remote fobs are kept in their Faraday bags - the spare one, being left at home, is hidden in a place very unlikely to be discovered.

[Big_D]

Exactly the same as mine.