To steal a car first remove a headlight

[Peter Cobbold]

https://theconversation.com/car-thieves-are-using-increasingly-sophisticated-methods-and-most-new-vehicles-are-vulnerable-206466

 

[Bleednipple]

This thing has been in several news items recently but with no data on how prevalent this type of attack actually is. I think we can assume it's very rare at present. Meanwhile, as I understand it, most 'sophisticated' (ie tech-savvy) thefts ie not opportunistic ones are done by "relay attacks" involving hijacking the key fob data through the wall of the owner's house. As most of us don't put our key fobs in a metal bag or box. So poking around removing headlights etc to access the CAN Bus directly seems unnecessary hassle in most cases but I guess might become a common MO.

These types of thefts are anyway most often targeting the most expensive vehicles such as Range Rovers, high end BMWs, Mercs etc. Very few are recovered because they're usually straight into a shipping container (foiling trackers etc) then off to the port to be sold overseas either as complete vehicles or stripped down to sell the major assemblies.

Nigel

[stuart]

Dunno how as most cars now to replace a headlamp bulb you need to strip most of the front of the car off!

Stuart.

[james christie]

I think Renault give 5 hours to change a headlight bulb on a Megane- seems a long time to steal a car!
 

james

Edited June 3, 2023 by james christie

[Ian Vincent]

4 hours ago, stuart said:

Dunno how as most cars now to replace a headlamp bulb you need to strip most of the front of the car off!

Stuart.

The suggestion I read is that they can just smash the headlight to gain access. So what if they have to replace a £200 headlight?

Rgds Ian