Keyless Entry & OBD Port Theft & How To Protect Against It
More and more vehicles are now adopting a Keyless Entry system as a comfort feature to the driver which allows you to start the engine simply by pushing a button but it hides a dark secret. In today’s blog we’re going to be having a quick look at the increasing rise of “Keyless Entry or OBD Vehicle Theft” and how to protect against it.
In 2015 it was estimated that 6000 vehicles were stolen just in London by Gangs using “Keyless” Techniques. It affects mainly vehicles with the Keyless Entry system as seen in BMW, VW, Audi and Ford but can also affect regular “key ignition” vehicles too.
So How are they doing it?
Firstly, thieves get into the car by breaking the window in a way that doesn’t set off the ultrasonic alarm sensor. Then they attach a sophisticated reader to the on-board diagnostics connector and once connected they can disable your vehicle immobiliser, de-activate the alarm, code new keys and then drive away! All of this can be done in less than two minutes. Most OBD ports are located on the Right Hand Side of the vehicle on the under trim above your shin!
By law, the data accessible by the OBD connector has to be openly available, meaning the vehicle manufacturer can’t encrypt the information.
You can see in the video above exactly how quickly it can take to steal a highly valuable car and what lengths they will go to…
On-board diagnostics (OBD) bypass tools are readily available online and took us less than 30secs to locate an online shop, add it to our basket all for less than £100.
How to Protect against OBD Theft?
Aside from having all the normal security options and parking in a safe and secure place there is a relatively cheap way of protecting your vehicle from this type of theft. It certainly isn’t bullet proof nor will it stop them breaking into the vehicle but it will at least buy you that all important thing, time! If the criminals can’t access your OBD port due to it being relocated to elsewhere then they don’t have the opportunity to access your on-board computer!
OBD Relocation
It’s as simple as it sounds. Move the OBD from its most common position in the driver’s footwell to another location in the car.
We’ve recently been working on some high profile 2017 Fords’ with keyless entry and this was top of the list apart from Front & Rear DashCams and Stolen Vehicle Tracking by Scorpion.
The OBD port was removed from the footwell, extended using a High Quality OBD Extension of ours and then relocated into the Glovebox! A simple but effective way of protecting your vehicle’s computer system. Remember the glove-box is just an example of a new location. The extension is 2m long so plenty of different locations around the vehicle that it can go.
Existing OBD Location:
Example of New OBD Location:
Now if you want to help protect your vehicle’s on board computer then checkout our OBD Relocation Wiring Loom by Clicking the Link Below. It’s a bargain at £49.95 and installed from as little as £99.
