Video Uploaded When Is Dodge Going To Address Protecting Our Cars From Getting Stolen

10078 Views 122 Replies 34 Participants Last post by cerd, 1 mo ago

FAST4DR

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago (Edited)

After enjoying the beast for over 18months and over 20K miles, my number came up last night. Car was stolen last night in front of my office, which was well lite and cameras. Once upon a time, criminals would never try and steal a car in a well lite area that was under surveillance on a busy street with cars passing. It seems that nobody gives a rat ass anymore, and criminals realize that its not a big deal in todays society. Risk is worth the reward since the punishment is minimal.

https://youtu.be/Scg-kX6OwWs

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powerfreak

· #61 · 4 mo ago

bbuff4 said:
Damn, that sucks. So violating watching that I bet.

I wonder why he went through the back window? Is it just that it won’t set off the alarm?

He sure took his time. Wish there was a camera inside the Durango.

I feel violated watching the video...and it's not even mine.

Reactions: 1

powerfreak

· #62 · 4 mo ago

Hopefully the cops can at least pull a plate # off the GC. Nice resolution security cameras you got there.

Automotive tail & brake light Vehicle Car Automotive lighting Motor vehicle

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Stonecoldtx

· #63 · 4 mo ago

That's probably stolen too . . .

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FAST4DR

Discussion Starter · #64 · 4 mo ago

powerfreak said:
Hopefully the cops can at least pull a plate # off the GC. Nice resolution security cameras you got there. View attachment 125175

As I mentioned earlier, I noticed the theft about 10m after it happen. Police had video 45m after it happen.

Ironically, the insurance company, the investigator working the case, and law enforcement all wanted a copy of the video since it captured in great detail the approach and departure of the crime. They were going to use it for educational reasons. This was before I uploaded it onto youtube.

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FAST4DR

Discussion Starter · #65 · 4 mo ago

Stonecoldtx said:
That's probably stolen too . . .

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! It Sure WAS

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Smitty73

· #66 · 4 mo ago

Kind of figured. Most thieves would either obscure, or remove the plate altogether. The fact they left it is a dead ringer for a stolen plate. HATE scumbags like this!!!

FAST4DR

Discussion Starter · #67 · 4 mo ago

Smitty73 said:
Kind of figured. Most thieves would either obscure, or remove the plate altogether. The fact they left it is a dead ringer for a stolen plate. HATE scumbags like this!!!

It will be one week tonight when this happen, still crickets from law enforcement.

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Smitty73

· #68 · 4 mo ago

Yeah, it took them a year to find my Grand Marquis. Wasn't the Phoenix PD either - it was the Bell, CA PD and the impound yard that contacted my parents, since the car was still registered in MA.

There was epoxy over the VIN number under the windshield, but the real VIN was still on the door. They weren't very smart thieves. Probably suckered someone into buying it, pocketed the cash, then when they tried to go through smog, they discovered the mismatched VIN numbers and impounded it. Phoenix couldn't be bothered. Cop was trying to joke around with me on the phone. I was LIVID that my car was gone! Thankfully I still had my motorcycle, or I'd have been screwed at the time. Didn't have 2 nickels to rub together at that time. The very definition of a starving student.

Stonecoldtx

· #69 · 4 mo ago

FAST4DR said:
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! It Sure WAS

Well, it seemed pretty obvious to me that since they made no attempt to disguise the vehicle, they weren't concerned about it, so it must've been stolen . . . they aren't going to be stupid enough to drive their own vehicle, let it sit there while the other vehicle is stolen, and then drive off again . . .

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FAST4DR

Discussion Starter · #70 · 4 mo ago

Stonecoldtx said:
Well, it seemed pretty obvious to me that since they made no attempt to disguise the vehicle, they weren't concerned about it, so it must've been stolen . . . they aren't going to be stupid enough to drive their own vehicle, let it sit there while the other vehicle is stolen, and then drive off again . . .

They obviously were not concerned about getting filmed either, but that could be stupid as it places both criminasl together. Find one and you have the other.

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Hellcatdevotee

· #71 · 4 mo ago

Smitty73 said:
Friggin thieving SCUMBAGS. I seriously would bring back public hangings just for people like this. People that take from others (government included) have a special place in hell reserved for them.

Back in the day, it was super easy mechanically to just jam something in the ignition switch, or cut the wires and twist them together, etc.. My '86 Grand Marquis was stolen in Phoenix, AZ back in 2000. They found it almost a year later in Bell, CA. I paid $500 in fees to get it out of impound and drove it 5 hours back to Livermore, where I was living at the time. The thieves put 7k miles on it - my oil filter was still there on the engine. They broke the quarter glass and pushed the power lock button on the driver's door using a rod, popped the plastic on the column, jumped some wires and off they went in the middle of the night. I woke up to a pile of glass in my parking spot, but no car.

This was NUTS how fast they were able to drive off! Under 6 minutes in a modern vehicle is amazing to me. Clearly the fault of the manufacturer. They're the ones making these things so complicated to troubleshoot electrical problems on ... and they can't be bothered to build a better anti-theft system on a vehicle that costs 6-figures? NO is right!!!

As much as I despise lawsuits, I hope someone with the motivation gets a class action suit going. This is a case where this is well warranted.

My condolences to the OP. I know the feeling. Don't forget to claim the loss on your taxes the next tax season.

Too bad it isn't like the old west where stealing a man's horse was an offense punishable by hanging - just as you say.

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FAST4DR

Discussion Starter · #72 · 4 mo ago

Crazy Ass Day My Friends! I had several law firms reach out asking if I would be the spear for them to file class action lawsuit against Stellantis/Dodge. Apparently they feel my video initiates, details , and confirms the gross negligence of systems from the factory. Stellantis/Dodge in their own voice has publicized that the current theft protection measures from factory are faulty and compromised. I feel like the modern day Erin Brockovich.

Social Media and one pissed off owner can be the catalyst to make a difference. Had no idea the shit storm my video would create. 🍿

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powerfreak

· #73 · 4 mo ago

FAST4DR said:
Crazy Ass Day My Friends! I had several law firms reach out asking if I would be the spear for them to file class action lawsuit against Stellantis/Dodge. Apparently they feel my video initiates, details , and confirms the gross negligence of systems from the factory. Stellantis/Dodge in their own voice has publicized that the current theft protection measures from factory are faulty and compromised. I feel like the modern day Erin Brockovich.

Social Media and one pissed off owner can be the catalyst to make a difference. Had no idea the shit storm my video would create. 🍿

Go for it! Good luck. If you want/need help passing the video around on social media just let us know.

Hellcatdevotee

· #74 · 4 mo ago

FAST4DR said:
Crazy Ass Day My Friends! I had several law firms reach out asking if I would be the spear for them to file class action lawsuit against Stellantis/Dodge. Apparently they feel my video initiates, details , and confirms the gross negligence of systems from the factory. Stellantis/Dodge in their own voice has publicized that the current theft protection measures from factory are faulty and compromised. I feel like the modern day Erin Brockovich.

Social Media and one pissed off owner can be the catalyst to make a difference. Had no idea the shit storm my video would create. 🍿

sounds good - in the meantime a 850 dollar or less Ravelco unit installed would have prevented this theft as they didn't have a truck to load it on to - IGLA would have worked as well (a little more expensive) - i only make the point for others who haven't had theirs stolen to consider. i haven't seen much chatter about IGLA or Ravelco on this forum while it is a major point of discussion on the TRX forum. perhaps i have just overlooked it.

FAST4DR

Discussion Starter · #75 · 4 mo ago

Hellcatdevotee said:
sounds good - in the meantime a 850 dollar or less Ravelco unit installed would have prevented this theft as they didn't have a truck to load it on to - IGLA would have worked as well (a little more expensive) - i only make the point for others who haven't had theirs stolen to consider. i haven't seen much chatter about IGLA or Ravelco on this forum while it is a major point of discussion on the TRX forum. perhaps i have just overlooked it.

I agree, and hopefully this could help a fellow owner. Law Enforcement and Private Investigator seem to agree that my car is way off the reservation being a week already. These guys were professionals, and they destroyed all GPS to the car since Guardian was reading bogus information. Looks like I will be dealing with my insurance and the claim process next week. Only silver lining is that I have new car replacement benefits on my policy.

On a side note, the investigator told me that he had a case that someone had TRX stolen after only 2 month of ownership the same way mine was. Its a crazy world we have to live in.

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powerfreak

· #76 · 4 mo ago

Hellcatdevotee said:
sounds good - in the meantime a 850 dollar or less Ravelco unit installed would have prevented this theft as they didn't have a truck to load it on to - IGLA would have worked as well (a little more expensive) - i only make the point for others who haven't had theirs stolen to consider. i haven't seen much chatter about IGLA or Ravelco on this forum while it is a major point of discussion on the TRX forum. perhaps i have just overlooked it.

I was on the fence about getting a ravelco, but after watching the video, I'll be making an appt.

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Usraptor

· #77 · 4 mo ago

Fast4dr, I really sorry to hear that. Hope you get it back in short order. Wow, I recently bought a 2022 DD and now I find out; 1 that the DD's security system is easily compromised and and has been for years and; 2 that it apparently is one of the easier cars to steal along with the Kias and Hyundas. Mine isn't a Hellcat so hopefully it won't be as targeted as much as the HC. Either way it sucks for Fast4dr. I know last year I bought a used 2019 Challenger WB SRT 392 and got a recall notice to upgrade the security system and key fobs (key fobs at additional cost??) but haven't got around to taking it in to have it done yet. I guess I better get on the ball and get it done after reading this. For those of you blaming the OP, as a retired LEO we used to have a saying that a lock or alarm is only useful against the "opportunist" thief. A professional or determined criminal knows how to defeat and by pass locks and alarms especially if they are targeting a specific item; and in this day of the internet that is even more true than ever. It sounds like the OP did everything correct in trying to minimize the chance that his car would be taken. However, as I said before if his car was targeted there wasn't a whole lot more he could have done to prevent it's theft. We can always Monday morning quarterback him or ourselves if we are the unfortunate victim about what more we could have done to prevent it; but there comes a point where you must go to ridiculous extremes to protect your valuables, especially when we live in a day and age when prosecutors are more concerned with their conviction rates than actually punishing criminals and treat car thieves the same as shoplifters. I often think all these "new" keyless security systems give us a sense of false security when the manufacturer tells you that if the "fob" isn't recognized by the vehicle then it can't be entered and or started. I now have two cars with these keyless systems and even my Harley's security system says that it won't start unless the fob is within a certain distance. I'm beginning to think that we were better off with the old vehicles that required a key to start the car. At least then the thief either had to punch the ignition or know how to hot wire a car to get it started.

All that being said, I do have a question about Mopar's security system. On one of my older GM vehicles the owner's manual said that if you just used the switch on the door to lock the car that it would not arm the cars security system. It said that you had to use the key fob to lock the car to "arm" the system. Does anybody know if that is true with the Mopar security systems?

My DD came with a dealer pre-installed "security" system, for an extra $1K, to supplement the factory system. While I remember them showing me how it could "track" the vehicle at all times if stolen and I could use their app to schedule maintenance etc., I don't remember if it added any additional protection against actual theft over and above the factory system. I guess I'd better call them back and ask.

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Kalispimenta

· #78 · 4 mo ago

Would this work? Anyone have experience with this?

Hellcatdevotee

· #79 · 4 mo ago

Kalispimenta said:
Would this work? Anyone have experience with this?

That's an IGLA system - I have one on a hellcat vehicle and yes it works as advertised - as does the Ravelco (also have those) - IGLA is 1250 plus tax (fixed price) and Ravelco ranges from 650 - 850 depending on the installer - either would have prevented the theft this thread is about - neither prevents loading on a truck but the vast majority of thefts are just like the one in the video. Check the ram-trx.com forum for countless stories like this and extensive discussion of IGLA and Ravelco.

Kalispimenta

· #80 · 4 mo ago

Awesome thank you

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