GPS Protection

You can count on me doing some experiments later today in that vein!

On the other hand, my Z3 roadster doesn't seem to require even that to break in.

Fred

This is along the lines of using a tennis ball to unlock a car door. Mythbusters debunked that theory and I believe the same applies here. Don't believe everything you see or read.

i knew there was another use for a plunger then a hat lol

I agree, more than likely his assistant used a remote to open them timing the activation.
Some cars have remote trunk unlock features.
The plunger on the second car is hardly believable.

Another observation, unless youtube edited the video, why would a thief block the license plate number out on the first car unless it was his own.

Oh sure I've done it successfully many times. That's why I carry a toilet plunger instead of my car key now. What's that? How do I start the engine without a key? Easy, 1 pump would do it! NOT!

All faked!

dobs108

Can't believe you fell for that one
BTW my 260 has been in the car since 2008 and no plunger has violated the door.

I think his point was, after viewing the video and knowing it was fake, he felt safe and only by breaking a window could they get into his car.

Personally I wouldn't feel SAFE since there are other ways of getting into the car without breaking any windows.

.

There is a scam for everythihng!

yeah. i had 2 garmin units stolen from my car. the first time someone smashed my window. the second time i have no idea how they did it. my trunk was opened and my gps was gone.

I try not to leave anything of value in my vehicle. Those times that I do I make every effort to hide it from view. Leaving things in the open for anyone to see through the windows is advertising to thieves.

Buy a retired police cruiser, deck it out to look as close as possible to a cruiser and crooks tend to leave that car alone.

Buy a simple car (no fancy brand) keep every thing inside like expensive sunglasses, GPS receivers, shopping bags or anything of value out of plain view and the crooks most likely will bypass your car for the one next to it, it has kept my PND safe since 2008. (we park on the street)

And don't have any tell-tale circular marks on your windshield.

I found plunger/Vaseline marks on my car door the other day too, and mine was missing from my bathroom!

...and what in hell was that first gadget, I'll bet those are sold exclusively in San Francisco, kinky, pretty kinky!

If someone wants something in your car (or home for that matter) they will find a way to get it. Nothing is REALLY safe anywhere.

I once had an officer unlock my car in less than a minute using a similar device shown in the video... the air one.

Mythbusters busted this. The even used a shop compressor. No luck.

Police offices used to carry a slim-jim to break into cars. Do they no longer?

Having worked with NPS LE rangers, I've seen the kit they carry to handle visitor lock-outs. They have many options beyond slim jims and I think I remember that they said they prefer to try other options before they resort to slim jims.

I locked myself out one time and was told by the local that they would not unlock a car. That the reason was due to possible lawsuit from possible damage.

Once again fear of lawsuits prevent officers from doing what is right. What a country we live in.

It may well depend on the agencies' policies (and past history), but it also depends on the expertise of the officer and the vehicle involved. The LE folks I worked with would handle visitors' lockouts if they felt they could succeed with minimal chance of creating further damage. Some vehicles are more resistant to door opening attempts than others. The slim jim is the least preferred of the various options open to officers since the possibility of interior electrical or mechanical damage is higher than the methods I saw being used...and no, I won't go into details on the methods I saw being used. Slim jims may be common tools used by thieves, but they don't care about the damage they cause to access a vehicle's interior and contents.

I ask you all: if the choice is for an officer to refuse to attempt to open your door requiring the call for a locksmith as one option--and another possible outcome is the officer failing to open the door but causing several hundreds of dollars in damage to your vehicle and still requiring a call to a locksmith, which would you prefer?

I'd rather take the risk of an officer doing some damage (I believe the probability of such an occurrence is very low) compared to the guarantee of at least a $50+ locksmith visit.

This has happened to me, and I had an officer help open my door with no issues, and for free.

Nice vid. of something fake

Hmm - pretty crafty - not sure what the real use for the first item is.

Something tells me we may be WAY off topic here and could need to be moderated as jmkthird has eluded to....

I don't know if it is real or faked, BUT... I wonder why the car alarm did not go off.

I may be able to believe they defeated the physical lock, but how did it disable the electronic alarm portion of the system?

Only issue i have with gps protection is when we have it in the Jeep with the soft top on. Easy access, so we lock it up in the glove compartment.

Slim Jims are no longer used to open vehicles; at least not the newer models. All of the manufacturers have installed some type of shield around the lock linkage. There are some manufactuerers that will have the vehicle relock itself within .3 seconds if the door is unlocked without a key. BMW is one that comes to mind. I believe Mercedes Benz is also employing this on certain models. Unlocking vehicles is not as simple as it once was. When I began in law enforcement, I carried a Slim Jim. That changed about ten or so years ago when I started carrying a kit that had to be updated every year or so and cost upwards of $400.00.

Thanks. It's always nice to hear things straight from the horse's mouth and learn that issues aren't as simple as some folks expect.

The level of protection I use is based on where I leave my car. IE in my garage..everything is in the open to city parking lot where I take it all with me.

Thieves don't bother with slim jims or special tools - they just break a window. It has to be quick. They need to know exactly where the GPS is, grab it and run.

If you ever lock your keys in the car get a locksmith with the professional tools maddog67 mentioned. An untrained person might do a lot of damage with a slim jim or wire hanger. It is cheaper and faster to break a small fixed window such as on the rear door of a sedan. It is tempered glass and breaks into small chunks that are not as dangerous as regular glass.

dobs108

Agreed - I don't even want to go there. Some things must just remain a mystery

Like Gary, I have left mine in the car for over 6 years. I put it in the console. However, I never leave my holder on the window (no advertising). I have never had a problem.

I take the GPS with me and hide everything else. In the sun, inside the car can get very hot. Can't do the GPS any good, my main worry.

I'm not trying to convince anyone one way or the other but here are my own findings with regards to heat.

My Nuvi 260 has been inside the center console of my Altima since 2008 with no apparent damage other than a new battery installed last year.

Last month I placed a recording thermometer inside the center console of my car next to my "GPS" for two weeks, the highest recorded temp was 127ºf this is what Garmin recommendations are:

Garmin strongly recommends operating and storing the nuvi unit between the temperature range of 32°F to 140°F (0°C to 60°C). http://bit.ly/KnZDLd

So you can draw your own conclusions and weight the advantage of always having the “GPS” in the car with you and not forgotten on your kitchen counter when you need it against the possible damage of heat and theft.

Note: Because of outdated map this unit is used mainly for RLC warnings and only leaves the vehicle for weekly update to the RLC file

As a rough rule of thumb, the average temperature inside a stationary vehicle will not go more than 30 degrees F above the ambient temperature, even on a sunny day. (It can get hotter in the direct sun through the window, but that is a good value for the temperature outside of direct sunlight.)

Accordingly, you are probably okay in most places as long as your device is not in direct sunlight.

Of course, in locations like Phoenix in midsummer, all bets are off. An ambient temperature of 120 degrees F is not unusual there.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

The car is parked during the day under full sun/part sun and a sunshield in place so direct sun never reaches the center console compartment unless it is being driven.

I've got a small data recorder that does temp, light levels, and humidity that's not tied up currently. I'll put it on the GPS and see what happens.

When I'm not in the car, I put a hat over the GPS. If I've got the car parked in the sun (during warm weather, which we are currently experiencing) I put the windshield cover up, which helps control inside temp.

I know the GPS stays cooler than my radar detector, which is mounted up above the rear-view mirror!

Many tow companies will use a small airbag placed in the door. Inflating it opens the door enough to allow a flexible metal rod to be inserted and pointed at the door unlock button. I've seen the whole process take less than a minute. Without electric locks, it can be used to actuate unlocking manually, but it takes longer.

If your portable G.P.S. is stolen from your car most auto policies will not cover it. An exception would be the permanently installed G.P.S. from the manufacturer. Otherwise, it would be considered "personal Property" and would fall under your Homeowners policy and subject to whatever deductible you have.....
Some Auto Carriers may have an endorsement to add your portable G.P.S. but you would need to pay extra for it....