BMW Thefts

[drophead]

frosted said:

How difficult is it to disconnect the battery every night ?

Doesn't that mean that all the alarm systems will be disabled, resulting in a car that can be broken into without a sound and then just be pushed down the road?

[drophead]

Also found this.

Gives an insight into how they might do it

Apologies for the lack of sound.

[MX7]

drophead said:

frosted said:

How difficult is it to disconnect the battery every night ?

Doesn't that mean that all the alarm systems will be disabled, resulting in a car that can be broken into without a sound and then just be pushed down the road?

And no insurance.

Great idea.

[LukeSi]

All that jazz said:

Yours? Surely you mean your dad's?

Easier to type mine. Doesn't really matter anyway. The post in general is the main point.

[Doniger]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I can't speak for BMW but I can tell you that when I worked at Audi the UK customer services people knew absolutely squat about things customers were buzzing about - either that or were told to claim ignorance.

Someone above asked what people expect BMW to 'do' about it and it seems to me from the responses that nothing short of a full recall or something physical arriving in the post would do for some. You can be certain that they do know about it though and are probably working on a way to deal with it. Sadly even if they come up with some new fangled update that fixes it one thing will remain constant: the demand for premium brand cars. They are desired all over the world and thieves here meet that demand. Back in the early/mid-90s a sudden glut of nearly new right-hand-drive BMWs and Audis appeared on the roads of a certain Caribbean island I lived on at the time...an island with no dealer for either marque and nobody could quite say where the cars had come from.
Two decades on security technology has moved on in strides, but black market demand is still there so the suppliers will always find a way to meet it.

[thinfourth2]

frosted said:

How difficult is it to disconnect the battery every night ?

You could always just take the rotor arm out and stick it in your pocket

[Shaw Tarse]

frosted said:

How difficult is it to disconnect the battery every night ?

Easy.
But what happens if you do?

[E30M3SE]

thinfourth2 said:

frosted said:

How difficult is it to disconnect the battery every night ?

You could always just take the rotor arm out and stick it in your pocket

Good luck finding a rotor arm on the age of the BMW's in question.

[frosted]

Shaw Tarse said:

Easy.
But what happens if you do?

I suppose someone who wants to get information from the main computer needs it to be powered and if it doesn't, then the car not starting would make it useless to a thief with a computer ?

[Shaw Tarse]

frosted said:

Shaw Tarse said:

Easy.
But what happens if you do?

I suppose someone who wants to get information from the main computer needs it to be powered and if it doesn't, then the car not starting would make it useless to a thief with a computer ?

Annd when you reconnect the battery to your BMW next morning?
Will it start ok?

[LukeSi]

Shaw Tarse said:

Annd when you reconnect the battery to your BMW next morning?
Will it start ok?

Good luck getting back in the boot to reconnect the fker. Electronic boot release.

[jonjay]

996 sps said:

Sorry to read that mate, any news?

Thank you, No use yet matey, just hoping they find the car. At first I didn't want car back but more I think about it the more I want her back.

[jonjay]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I can confirm this. Had a conversation with BMW HQ today and they say "unfortunately these are highly desirable cars and criminals find new ways to break into them".

What was interesting is that they said "they should not have been able to start the car without the keys". Well the fact they made their own key makes that statement true.

[thinfourth2]

E30M3SE said:

thinfourth2 said:

frosted said:

How difficult is it to disconnect the battery every night ?

You could always just take the rotor arm out and stick it in your pocket

Good luck finding a rotor arm on the age of the BMW's in question.

Isn't advancement great

[And172940]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-20...

Very good article on the cause of the problem

[V8A*ndy]

I have been living dangerous tonight and have had a think about this.....

Would it not be possible to have a custom ECU flash that programes a start sequence of your choice?

So for example when you put the key in you might say hit four buttons on the radio.

Pair that with some sort of visual deterent and your covered.

[essayer]

V8A*ndy said:

I have been living dangerous tonight and have had a think about this.....

Would it not be possible to have a custom ECU flash that programes a start sequence of your choice?

So for example when you put the key in you might say hit four buttons on the radio.

Pair that with some sort of visual deterent and your covered.

What a great idea!

Probably something in the E30 spares bin

[excel monkey]

V8A*ndy said:

I have been living dangerous tonight and have had a think about this.....

Would it not be possible to have a custom ECU flash that programes a start sequence of your choice?

So for example when you put the key in you might say hit four buttons on the radio.

Like the keypad immobiliser on mid-90s Saxos?

[thinfourth2]

essayer said:

V8A*ndy said:

I have been living dangerous tonight and have had a think about this.....

Would it not be possible to have a custom ECU flash that programes a start sequence of your choice?

So for example when you put the key in you might say hit four buttons on the radio.

Pair that with some sort of visual deterent and your covered.

What a great idea!

Probably something in the E30 spares bin

Didn't the E36 have something similar?

[NateWM]

LukeSi said:

As I said in the other thread. It is a piss poor attitude by BMW that they havent done anything until a celebrity car is stolen. I will admit I am slightly worried about mine being a potential target.

Why do insist on saying "mine" when it's your dads bmw?