Hold on to your Haldex

[jeremyc]

Seems the scrotes round my way have taken to nicking Haldex units. In this instance from a VW Tiguan parked on a driveway (the Haldex unit located at the rear of the vehicle was stolen).

Met Police said:

Why are thieves targeting them?
The Haldex units are a valuable component and can often be quickly and easily removed from vehicles by thieves using simple tools, often without attracting much attention.

How will I know if it’s been stolen?
The vehicle is still driveable following the theft of these units, however the key indicators will be:

• Warning lights on dashboard (ABS/ESP/AWD)
• 4WD loss of power or functionality
• Wiring hanging down under the rear of the vehicle

What vehicles are most likely to be equipped with a Haldex Unit?
Volkswagen: Golf R, Tiguan, and T-Roc
Audi: A3 Quattro, TT, and Q3
Volvo: XC40, XC60, and V60 Cross Country
Seat/Cupra: Cupra Formentor and Ateca
Skoda: Kodiaq and Octavia 4×4

How can I prevent my car being targeted?

Thieves will look for an easy target. Anything you can do to draw attention to them or slow them down, will help prevent your vehicle being targeted.

Examples of measures you can take to prevent thefts include:

• Changing the units fixings to tamper proof bolts.
• Requesting a mechanic installs a bracket or cage over the Haldex unit, using tamper proof bolts to secure
• Using a type of forensic marking pen to mark the unit with the VIN for the vehicle, and add an anti theft deterrent sticker to warn thieves that forensic marking has been used
• Parking the vehicle strategically to make it more difficult for thieves to access underneath e.g parking within a garage, parking in tight spaces, reversing up against a wall etc
• Installing a tilt sensor. This is a device that activates an alarm when the angle of the vehicle changes from it’s normal position. e.g vehicle being jacked up. This adds a further layer of protection in addition to the vehicles factory fitted alarm
• Installing a dash cam that offers parking motion detection
• Parking the vehicle in a manner that ensures the rear of the vehicle is covered by security lighting and/or CCTV

Cost of replacement
In the event of the unit being stolen, they can cost in excess of £1000 to replace.

[Hoofy]

FFS. I suppose a higher 4x4 is easier to deal with. Much like the cat thefts. The issue is that dodgy scrap merchants are giving them money when they sell them. Dunno why this wasn't dealt with re cat theft.

[MrSpanky49]

I'll remove the 4x4 badge off the back of my Superb then...

[vikingaero]

Everything on a VeeDub seems so easy to thieve from the clippy on radar units that cost £1.5k to Haldex now. What next? Thump the headlamps and the whole unit drops out in one piece...

[Hoofy]

vikingaero said:

Everything on a VeeDub seems so easy to thieve from the clippy on radar units that cost £1.5k to Haldex now. What next? Thump the headlamps and the whole unit drops out in one piece...

I suppose because it's so common and there are so many people able to work on them, word gets about re certain parts.

[Ed Boon II]

Gah, we park our runabout Tiguan in the road, it’s a 4-Motion, didn’t know this was a thing.

It used to be VW badges back in my day

[LightweightLouisDanvers]

Haldex in my Freelander 2.
It is definitely not the work of 5 minutes to remove it.

[SimonTheSailor]

Not too sure how/what they are taking ? Nothing is going to be quick and easy.

I've given them a head start as my TT is up on blocks at the minute

[breamster]

This is a new one

And I've just parked mine up on the street in a dodgy part of town as the hotel has no parking.

[normalbloke]

The gen 5 Haldex has the control module mounted onto the rear differential carrier. It’s 2 bolts and a plug, and it’s off. This was a thing a couple of years ago even. The Gen 5 are susceptible to water ingress( who’d have thunk) so I guess the mouthbreathers are nicking them to order. Thing is, a repair and proper reseal by the best in the U.K. is<£200.