Vehicles targeted for theft, and a new con.

[mhughes165]

hey guys, just a heads up, that isnt just on rangers that u can do that, but mustangs aswell, same trick, and all year rangers u can rbeak into the same way. ive had to use that method many a times when people have locked there keys in the car/truck about 75% of ford vehciles can be opened that way

 

[mhughes165]

gl with that, thats the same holes that they use for the factory handles, just made them oversized

 

[LearjetMinako]

I took a quick look through those holes. Really not much is there except a cloth tube. My guess is that the cloth tube has the inside door handle cable inside of it. Just push on it and pop goes the lock. Looks to be also a quick fix. A simple plate inside should prevent simple access to that cloth tube.

 

[Bent Bolt]

Ok, I was listening to the radio today and the news came on about the newer F250 and F350 trucks. They are being targeted as an easy mark. The news clip was short and didn't say much but they did say for owners to either have an imobilizer installed or to have a steering wheel or peddle bar when the vehicle is not in use. I just heard this and thought I'd pass the news along.

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The 1999 to 2007 F-250 to F-550 are very easy to break into and steal because they don't have PATS. A screwdriver and a big pair of pliers and the truck is yours. Don't get wound up about how easy it is to break into. If someone wants into a vehicle, they are getting in no matter what. You can have the best alarm and jimmy proof doors all for naught by a rock through a window.
Because those Super Duty's don't have PATS is why they get stolen. Any Ford with the PATS installed cannot be stolen without a valid key as far as I know. The PCM simply will not allow the engine to start without it.

 

[Shoeboy]

I was just putting it out there, yes a rock will do, I forgot to mention that the news also said the police hate to see these vehicles stolen because of their size, and in the wrong hands, can cause major damage, much more then a Civic or a Caravan, or even a Ranger. You get a huge ass truck with tonnes of power and its not being stopped easily, a smaller vehicle however easier to stop. Vehicles are easy to steal if you know what you're doing, and a window isn't going to stop someone if they want in, the thing is that they want to make it so these vehicles can't be stolen, but thats not going to happen so to reduce the chance that they wont be stolen, put the steering wheel bar on or do something so no matter what they won't be able to start it at all, or they won't be able to move it after its started.

 

[Bent Bolt]

I did not intend to direct my rant to you Shoeboy , more like a general rant to whoever is reading.

 

[dranger21]

So why does it HAVE to be the antenna. Why couldn't you just use a screwdriver or something?

 

[Carlos Murphy]

scum bags

A gun sticker will get your vehicle broken into, they'll be lookin for a gun...

BMW's have the same type door handle but there is a shield over the latch assembly that makes it VERY difficult to "slim-jim" it let alone "antenna" it.

As far as those steering wheel anti-theft bars go, saw a demo on TV once and a guy cut threw a steering wheel in 30 seconds with a hacksaw, bent the wheel back a little and removed the bar.

 

[Hahnsb2]

The big thing in my area here lately has been to cut off catalytic converters, where ever the car may be. Good thing my truck doesnt have one anymore, dont have to worry about having a major exhaust leak when i come back out of the store. Dont know if anyone else has had this problem in your area, but its something to be aware off.

Older yota trucks are the biggest target for that, if you've ever looked under one, you'd see why.

 

[predator]

i carry my .45 on me every second of the day, and got glock stickers in my windows so peaple get the hint on whats going to come if they try some theft

or they will break into your truck when you are in the store looking for an expensive gun, ammo or to see if you have any other guns in the truck.

im a bowhunter and i dont have any stickers on my windows that might give it away, no lone wolf stickers, no hoyt stickers, no nothing,because at any given time during the bow season i might have 1000-2000 bucks worth of stuff in the back of the explorer, all you gotta do is bust a window and make off with my 750 dollar bow, 350 dollar treestand ect.ect.

 

[OilPatch197]

A screwdriver and a big pair of pliers and the truck is yours.

So true for the 1st gen rangers, you don't need no key, I can start my truck in five minutes and be gone with a good screwdriver and piers....my ignition switch has failed many times requiring me to replace it many times...

I am seriously thinking of getting a steering wheel lock, a.k.a. "the club" that is the really only way I can see to protect the easily stealable rangers.

 

[mhughes165]

Older yota trucks are the biggest target for that, if you've ever looked under one, you'd see why.

ive been under plenty of them, yotas have one BIG ASS cat with alot of platinum in it, cut em open and seperate out the metals and you can make $100 per cat easy around here....

 

[broken2wd]

who says you need anything to get in a ranger, if you have the sliding rear window, that latch is just about always broken and you can just get in that way. i've had to use that a few times when my locks have frozen.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I am seriously thinking of getting a steering wheel lock, a.k.a. "the club" that is the really only way I can see to protect the easily stealable rangers.

I think a hidden switch on the neutral start switch would be the way to go, the truck thinks it is in gear so it won't even crank.

 

[exbass94]

90's GM vehicles are really easy to break into too. If you have a key to a GM car, there's a good chance you can use it to unlock just about any other GM car. One time at work, I unlocked the door to one of the S10s so I could drive it. The key opened the door no problem, but wouldn't start the ignition. Turns out it was the key to the other S10. It was pretty lucky for me though, because later that day I accidentally locked the keys in the truck, so I used the other truck's key to unlock the door again.