I have a Ford Fiesta Titanum X 63 reg. unfortunately my car was recently stolen (rather predictably) without the keys. They didn’t smash a window so I’m assuming it was a relay theft. Of course, I am partly to blame for this because the disk-lok I had purchased for it wasn’t in use at the time and although I had often considered purchasing the Autowatch immobiliser system, I never quite made the leap. 
 

The police have found my car and it is currently still awaiting forensics, and then analysis from my insurance company to decide whether they will fix it or not. 
 

Assuming I get it back, at some point in the future, I’m obviously going to be far more careful in the future and am looking to improve the security of the car. 
 

I’m wondering if anyone would be able to answer the following:

 
- How secure are the new ‘sleep’ modes in Ford’s keys? I have seen that I can have my keys upgraded to include this new feature at a cost of £65 per key - is it worth it? 
 

- Is there a way of identifying whether the thieves programmed a new key into the system when they stole my car, or is this another job for Ford? Roughly how much does it cost to have this third key coded out? 
 

- Are new Fiestas (the new shape) more secure than older ones generally? I found that my current Fiesta was quite expensive to insure, probably for the theft reasons. I’m wondering if new ones are more secure, whether it’s time to upgrade even if I do get my current car back. 
 

 

Key upgrade is only for Fiestas 2017 on and of course new ones 

Thanks. That’s that one out then. Is there any way I can tell if there has been a new key programmed in? Or do I need to take it to Ford and pay big bucks?

If you do get it back, I would get it to ford and get them to check if extra key programmed in. If there has been they can just reprogramme your keys and wipe the other one off. Won't be to expensive compared to having your car stolen with another programmed key by the thieves. Will be an hour's labour charge. 

On 4/25/2020 at 5:37 PM, Toucan1 said:

I have a Ford Fiesta Titanum X 63 reg. unfortunately my car was recently stolen (rather predictably) without the keys. They didn’t smash a window so I’m assuming it was a relay theft. Of course, I am partly to blame for this because the disk-lok I had purchased for it wasn’t in use at the time and although I had often considered purchasing the Autowatch immobiliser system, I never quite made the leap. 
 

The police have found my car and it is currently still awaiting forensics, and then analysis from my insurance company to decide whether they will fix it or not. 
 

Assuming I get it back, at some point in the future, I’m obviously going to be far more careful in the future and am looking to improve the security of the car. 
 

I’m wondering if anyone would be able to answer the following:

 
- How secure are the new ‘sleep’ modes in Ford’s keys? I have seen that I can have my keys upgraded to include this new feature at a cost of £65 per key - is it worth it? 
 

- Is there a way of identifying whether the thieves programmed a new key into the system when they stole my car, or is this another job for Ford? Roughly how much does it cost to have this third key coded out? 
 

- Are new Fiestas (the new shape) more secure than older ones generally? I found that my current Fiesta was quite expensive to insure, probably for the theft reasons. I’m wondering if new ones are more secure, whether it’s time to upgrade even if I do get my current car back. 
 

 

As soon as I got my 67 plate with keyless entry I bought a Faraday pouch.  Works really well and costs between 5 - 10 quid.  Also makes it harder to lose the keys in the house too lol:

THIS is the one I got specifically, but there are loads available:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=faraday+pouch&crid=2TS7W432M43T4&sprefix=faraday%2Caps%2C164&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_7

I got the same pouch for my Mondeo keys

Thank you. What is security like in the new Ford Fiesta? Have ford improved anti theft systems or are they pretty much the same?

12 hours ago, Toucan1 said:

Have ford improved anti theft systems or are they pretty much the same?

I wondered that when I got my present car. The only different thing I could see on the specs (compared to the Mk 7 Titanium I had some years ago) was that the alarm is now described as "Thatcham Cat 1" rather than just "Perimeter alarm".

I was surprised there was no flashing led to indicate the alarm was armed - I checked with my dealer to confirm that was not a fault.

The Fiesta remains high on the list of most stolen cars, but I suppose that reflects its popularity to some extent. From various threads on here it does seem a lot of members are taking the precautions mentioned in earlier posts - Faraday pouches or similar to store key fobs and mechanical locks such as diskloks. 

My wallet is a Faraday pouch.   Put my car key in my wallet overnight.

If your key is the older type, like this

then it was probably some scumbag using a Tibbe key, these are used by locksmiths to enter your car if you get locked out, no code needed. Amazon freely sell these aids to theft and will fit any Ford vehicle that uses this type of key. Once you have the 4 0r 5 digit key number you can have as many replacements as you like cut. If there was no entry or ignition damage to the car then I would say that is what they used.

 

 

32 minutes ago, Milkman said:

If your key is the older type, like this

The one on my Mk 7 (59 plate) was the "flip out" type similar to the Mk 8 I have now, so I would assume Helen's would have been the same. You're right about the Tibbe keys though - Amazon and Ebay etc are bit of a thieves den with some of the stuff on sale there!.

A good mate of mine had his works Transit broken into 18 months ago loosing all his tools, he's an agricultural fitter, no damage so it was an obvious Tibbe key job. When asking Amazon why they were selling these freely on their site and in effect supplying thieves with a tool to rob, the answer they gave was that 'they do not take responsibility for items they sell on behalf of third parties'. But they are responsible because they are the end seller/supplier. I believe that you need a license to be able to own one of these in Ireland.

Mine is completely keyless, so the key isn’t like the ones mentioned above. In all likelihood it was a relay theft, no damage to the mechanical lock and they haven’t smashed a window. A faraday pouch will be on my list as well as a disklok of course. I’m also considering the Ghost Autowatch immobiliser too. 
 

I’m considering part-ex my car for a new fiesta, but I’m wondering about security threats and whether it’s worth it. Cars of a similar age to mine (2013 onwards) seem to also be prone to car ‘cannibalism’ - although I haven’t heard of this happening to the new-shape models.