New BMW's getting stolen using blank BMW keys

[fraz1001]

Simes205 said:

fraz1001 said:

So BMW called ypu just to tell you that? Has anyone else received a call like this?

I didn't trust the call and didn't give

them my details incase it was some undesireable looking to steal my motor.

It was definitely BMW customer service

Seems unfeesable to think their going to call every bmw owner just to tell them there is a fix coming out soon?

[youngsyr]

barrisimo said:

Even if they sort the OBD issues get ready for a ramp in your insurance. I was quoted by Elephant insurance that of £16.5m of stolen cars that they cover (Admiral group), £10.5m are BMW. He said premiums will be reflecting this soon.

Elephant were by far the cheapest insurer when I bought my po licy in September. They were around the amount I would expect for my risk profile: £600. Some insurers were asking nearly 3x that and my previous insurer (of a 400 bhp highly modified Evo VIII!) wouldn't even quote.

Now I know why. At this rate, I won't be able to justify insuring the car next year.

[Steffan]

barrisimo said:

Even if they sort the OBD issues get ready for a ramp in your insurance. I was quoted by Elephant insurance that of £16.5m of stolen cars that they cover (Admiral group), £10.5m are BMW. He said premiums will be reflecting this soon.

On the basis that this estimate is correct, then obtaining insurance on these cars, given the loading that these cars will attract may well be the one direct consequence that BMW cannot avoid. I suspect these cars will become effectively, uninsurable when parked unattended, on the road.

If, as it would seem, there is in reality no way these cars can be secured, then the insurers will not accept the risk. I think BMW will have a real problem with that. Good. It is a pity that this will not help the real losers in the fiasco, the BMW enthusiast owners, in any way whatsoever.

[cptsideways]

Steffan said:

On the basis that this estimate is correct, then obtaining insurance on these cars, given the loading that these cars will attract may well be the one direct consequence that BMW cannot avoid. I suspect these cars will become effectively, uninsurable when parked unattended, on the road.

If, as it would seem, there is in reality no way these cars can be secured, then the insurers will not accept the risk. I think BMW will have a real problem with that. Good. It is a pity that this will not help the real losers in the fiasco, the BMW enthusiast owners, in any way whatsoever.

r


This is where BMW is about to become very unstuck I think you will find. This type of thing was the downfall of many a hot hatch sale in the 90's & its no different to a whole brand range that might become uninsurable.

[pingu393]

I've got an E36 and E46, so I'm not affected - thank God.

If I were, I'd relocate the original OBD and install a dummy in the original location, but with an extra little buzz. Two 9v batteries in series = 18v. +ve connected to 1,2,3,6,7,11,14,15&16 and -ve connected to 4,5&10. It would fry their toy when they connect it .

Alternatively, wire a rape alarm into the circuit that would be actived when the OBD plug is used. (For info, 4&5 are linked in OBD cables and could be used as the loop wire)

Edited by pingu393 on Friday 2nd November 23:46

[Swervin_Mervin]

cptsideways said:

Steffan said:

On the basis that this estimate is correct, then obtaining insurance on these cars, given the loading that these cars will attract may well be the one direct consequence that BMW cannot avoid. I suspect these cars will become effectively, uninsurable when parked unattended, on the road.

If, as it would seem, there is in reality no way these cars can be secured, then the insurers will not accept the risk. I think BMW will have a real problem with that. Good. It is a pity that this will not help the real losers in the fiasco, the BMW enthusiast owners, in any way whatsoever.

r


This is where BMW is about to become very unstuck I think you will find. This type of thing was the downfall of many a hot hatch sale in the 90's & its no different to a whole brand range that might become uninsurable.

Do we really think they'll be hit more than other manufacturers? Colleague of mine had his Scirocco broken into the other night and emptied. No damage done at all to get in. And it was one of 8 cars done on the street that night without damage.

I believe the local plod are currently investigating a recent spate of thefts from VWs, BMWs, Mercs and Audis that have been done without forced entry, so they're finding a way into all of these permium brand German vehicles.

[youngsyr]

Swervin_Mervin said:

Do we really think they'll be hit more than other manufacturers? Colleague of mine had his Scirocco broken into the other night and emptied. No damage done at all to get in. And it was one of 8 cars done on the street that night without damage.

I believe the local plod are currently investigating a recent spate of thefts from VWs, BMWs, Mercs and Audis that have been done without forced entry, so they're finding a way into all of these permium brand German vehicles.

I know a BMW M3 that was recently broken into on a street that hadn't had a reported car crime in the past 10 years. Plenty of other nice cars on the street too, Audis, Mercs, even some newer but lower spec. BMWs. His was the only car targetted.

Anecdotal obviously, but just more support for the fact that it's only BMWs of a certain age and model type that are being targetted.

[eliot]

pingu393 said:

I've got an E36 and E46, so I'm not affected - thank God.

If I were, I'd relocate the original OBD and install a dummy in the original location, but with an extra little buzz. Two 9v batteries in series = 18v. +ve connected to 1,2,3,6,7,11,14,15&16 and -ve connected to 4,5&10. It would fry their toy when they connect it .

Alternatively, wire a rape alarm into the circuit that would be actived when the OBD plug is used. (For info, 4&5 are linked in OBD cables and could be used as the loop wire)

Edited by pingu393 on Friday 2nd November 23:46

18v wouldn't fry the box, the ports would be buffered - you would need in excess of 50v i suspect. Plus if they thought you had zapped their box, I suspect they would vandalise/burn your motor - or worse.

[DpchMd]

Possibly the dumbest question of the thread, but here goes.

I have a look E93, so both my front seats can be pulled forward to allow passengers to enter the back seats.

Would pulling these seats forward obstruct the thief enough so that they would have to set the alarm off in order to restore the seats to their normal positions?

[t8cmf]

DpchMd said:

Possibly the dumbest question of the thread, but here goes.

I have a look E93, so both my front seats can be pulled forward to allow passengers to enter the back seats.

Would pulling these seats forward obstruct the thief enough so that they would have to set the alarm off in order to restore the seats to their normal positions?

This question got asked in the thread a few months back although I don't think it was ever fully answered. It may be worth giving it a go yourself. My gut instinct says there will be sufficient space for the thief to get his arm down the side to access the OBD port without having to move the seat back to the upright position.

It's certainly not a dumb question.

[themonkey]

Add me to the list :-(

My '11 plate 320D M-Sport Coupe taken with no keys, overnight on Thursday/Friday.

If only I had seen watch dog, or knew about this then I've even now found youtube videos showing you how to do this, and also posting you to sites to buy the devices.

BMW customer services are going to be getting a call on Monday. Needless to say, whereas I was going to get a like for like, I'm not even confident to go BM at all now. Not when the 'high tech security' can be sidestepped by all the complexity of keeping your hand near the door, and effectively plugging a cable into the car then waiting 60 seconds....

[Timbola]

Gutted for you mate.

Whereabouts are you? Midlands somewhere? Or London?

[t8cmf]

I've noticed from trawling various forums that BMW has started contacting owners of vehicles other than X5 / X6 owners over the last couple of days informing them that their upgrade / update will be ready in a week or two.

Has anybody on here been contacted by BMW saying that they will be upgrading their firmware very shortly?

If anybody does go in could you ask if there is a Service Information Bulletin (SIB) associated with this issue? If so, could you find the number. My dealership are very evasive on this matter and I like to be armed with some official BMW reference number or correspondence the next time I go in.

[Kuroblack350]

Well, just received and fitted my OBD Lock.

To be honest it seems ok, it's a slightly different design from the pictures, presumably to take account of the newer lock design. Unfortunately this makes the lock 'stick out' a bit more, it's not as low profile as the original picture.

On the plus side it's a very tight fit, I had to turn the key quite hard to get it to engage - so it's not going anywhere soon. The trim around it seems well fixed enough, although with the door open and a few tools it would be defeated fairly quickly. However, security as I understand it, it about layers, and this provides a useful additional layer.

The finish is ok, but not great. My black one has some areas that the paint hasn't quite reached - not enough to reject it, but more of a sign that these things were requiring shipment urgently.

Also, as per the original version - it does not come with a black plastic cap for the lock, this means you've got a semi-chrome looking lock (10mm or so) showing when you look down and to the right. Not the biggest deal but it will bug someone. (me, in all likelihood)

But, having said all that - if I'm to believe what BMW tell me, my Sept 2011 isn't affected at all - I think I'll keep it on (ordered well before I BMW told me that BTW)

I'll get some pics up if anyone is interested.

[Kuroblack350]

themonkey said:

Add me to the list :-(

My '11 plate 320D M-Sport Coupe taken with no keys, overnight on Thursday/Friday.

If only I had seen watch dog, or knew about this then I've even now found youtube videos showing you how to do this, and also posting you to sites to buy the devices.

BMW customer services are going to be getting a call on Monday. Needless to say, whereas I was going to get a like for like, I'm not even confident to go BM at all now. Not when the 'high tech security' can be sidestepped by all the complexity of keeping your hand near the door, and effectively plugging a cable into the car then waiting 60 seconds....

Just spotted this - gutted for you - when was your build date?

[ejectorseat]

Hi

I have my eye on a 118d / 120d / 123d (can't decide which yet), probably 59-plate. Should I assume that these are susceptable to the "ineffective alarm, blank key & OBD reprogramming" combo attack discussed in this topic? If so, are these models being fixed/patched by BMW yet?

Are dealers generally telling prospective buyers that applicable models on thier forecourt have been (or will be) fixed against the vulnerability, or are they still denying that there is an issue?

Thanks

ps - I guess the presence of wheel-clamps or other security devices on the car might suggest the dealers confidence in the cars security system ...

Edited by ejectorseat on Thursday 8th November 21:01

[mpbcs]

My Fathers (previously my) M3 E90 saloon was stolen this Saturday night. Was parked on his driveway and taken at 2am. No alarm sounded and the dog didn't even bark. No broken glass either. I spoke to BMW customer services on his behalf about the key cloning issue and they claim rectifying it is an 'upgrade' not a 'recall' therefore not their liability. He was chasing them for the upgrade for the past 8 weeks and the car was due to be taken in to the dealership in 2 weeks to get the work done.

Has anyone on here had any success chasing this issue up with their dealer/BMW UK, and how should we proceed??

[youngsyr]

mpbcs said:

My Fathers (previously my) M3 E90 saloon was stolen this Saturday night. Was parked on his driveway and taken at 2am. No alarm sounded and the dog didn't even bark. No broken glass either. I spoke to BMW customer services on his behalf about the key cloning issue and they claim rectifying it is an 'upgrade' not a 'recall' therefore not their liability. He was chasing them for the upgrade for the past 8 weeks and the car was due to be taken in to the dealership in 2 weeks to get the work done.

Has anyone on here had any success chasing this issue up with their dealer/BMW UK, and how should we proceed??

Genuinely sorry to hear this - it must be absolutely gutting to have your pride and joy stolen from your own driveway.

Would you mind posting up the approximate area, so other owners can be warned if it's near them?

As for what to do now, seems to me that the thieves now know that there will in all likelihood be a valuable newish car turning up on your Dad's drive in the next month or so and that they can get away with stealing it if it's a modernish BMW, so the only option is to claim on the insurance, take the hit on future premiums and buy a non 2007-2011 BMW.

I'm assuming no non-BMW near where your Dad lives has been stolen recently?

[mpbcs]

Chelsmford area... so if you have a garage, put your car in it! I will definitely be advising him not to buy another BMW.

[youngsyr]

mpbcs said:

Chelsmford area... so if you have a garage, put your car in it! I will definitely be advising him not to buy another BMW.

I know of an E90 M3 targetted in the Brentwood area. Seems like the thieves are moving out of London and into the Home Counties.