Hi, as many will have noticed there have been reports in the news about an increase in thefts of Fiesta's

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-67309512

Do they have an inherent weakness that the thieves are using?  Is there anything I can do to provide additional security to my wifes 2017 ST Line?

She already has a steering wheel lock with a flashing end to show its there.

regards

As with any car, if the tealeaf really wants it he'll break into your house and threaten you for the key. That's the extreme. 

Having the steering wheel lock is one of the best visible deterants.

You could, if knowledgeable enough, have a dead man's switch fitted where you only know its location. Just a simple switch inline with the fuel pump wiring. Once switched off there's no chance of starting the car.

Myself and family all have our cars fitted with a tracker. It also has the ability to remotely disable the engine.

Increase in thefts?  Fiesta's have been the most stolen car in the UK for the last few years.

If it's keyless entry you can switch that off in dash settings.  Though the steering lock should be enough of a deterrent anyway.  Might be worth the hassle of cutting one off an ST but not an ST-Line.

Thanks All, just wondered what the weakness was.  She has a DIY tracker but always been reluctant to trust these cheap chinese Trackers with the fuel pump relay.  She doesnt have Keyless Entry/Go.  Just the old fashioned Remote unlock with physical key to start.

 

@unofix is this the official tracker or a DIY Chinese one like the TK03 etc?

The original weakness was the keyless entry, as with most ~2010's cars.  It can just be relayed (signal boosted) from the house to the car.  Newer cars now have 'sleepy' fobs to prevent that.

Second weakness on the Fiesta specifically is that the alarm doesn't go off with the boot open, so they can manually unlock the drivers door which triggers the central locking, importantly don't open the door, but then crawl in through the boot.  Once they reach the front seat, it's just a case of plugging in to the OBD port to override the immobiliser.

Moving the OBD port is one option.  But it's hidden anyway, so not a deterrent until they're already in.  You could get some fake 'port disabled' stickers as a deterrent.  But honestly they're not going to bother when they see the steering lock anyway.

 As an aside, I'm interested in what actually happens to these Fiesta's as they're still being stolen at such a high rate.  I know quite a few that have had theirs stolen, and seen many more on here and Facebook.  But I haven't seen a single person who has accidentally bought a stolen one so far! 🤔  They must be easy to sell otherwise they wouldn't get stolen.  High end Range Rovers are worth shipping abroad or parting out but wouldn't think a Fiesta is worth the hassle. 

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

As an aside, I'm interested in what actually happens to these Fiesta's as they're still being stolen at such a high rate. 

I suspect breaking for parts, given the number of wheels, interiors and other stuff for sale on the various internet sites.

1 hour ago, miffy said:

is this the official tracker

It's the real deal.

https://www.rewiresecurity.co.uk/

The type we use is this:

https://www.rewiresecurity.co.uk/db1-lite-compact-gps-tracker-tracking-device

12 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I suspect breaking for parts, given the number of wheels, interiors and other stuff for sale on the various internet sites.

I've broken quite a few cars for parts.  It's time consuming, takes a lot of space and isn't particularly lucrative.  Doesn't seem worth the hassle for a common car.

Maybe it's just me though, I'd prefer to be doing a heist on a Vegas casino, Hatton Garden jewelers or a van full of gold bars being driven through Turin...

When I had my RS Escort I used to have some chain inside a large bike inner tube and a chubb lock! What I used to do was tilt the seat forward, then push the seat far forwards as it would go, chain the wrapped around the headrest posts, then the chain is wrapped around the steering wheel & column, no slack in the chain, it was then locked up with the chubb.

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Doesn't seem worth the hassle for a common car.

Some parts aren't that common though, and supplies (legitimate or otherwise) could dry up now production has ended. Keep looking for a genuine spacesaver spare wheel/jack/brace etc kit for mine, but every time I spot one it's been snapped up. Might have to steal one! (Only joking😀)

 

Fitted a Ghost II immobiliser to mine after having my last Fiesta stolen.

Something else you can do is to put the key into a Faraday Box overnight.   Don't trust the Faraday pouches.   They don't last long in my experience.

3 hours ago, unofix said:

It's the real deal.

https://www.rewiresecurity.co.uk/

The type we use is this:

https://www.rewiresecurity.co.uk/db1-lite-compact-gps-tracker-tracking-device

Thats the one I use as well excellent bit of kit.

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I've broken quite a few cars for parts.  It's time consuming, takes a lot of space and isn't particularly lucrative.  Doesn't seem worth the hassle for a common car.

Maybe it's just me though, I'd prefer to be doing a heist on a Vegas casino, Hatton Garden jewelers or a van full of gold bars being driven through Turin...

You’re not thinking like the thieves do. if they steal an ST, the wheels, lights, seats, bumpers, skirts come off quickly, advertise them on Facebook groups where people complain about car theft but love a bargain, you’ve made a couple of grand. 

Re the keyless entry relay device threat, being tightfisted, rather than purchase,  I made myself a couple of (Faraday cage) pouches using four layers of kitchen  foil, doubled, for our two fobs, covered in tape for neatness (see photo)..  They do work, as I cannot unlock the car if the fob is in the pouch, even close up to the car. The pouch is large enough to close off the end.  Edge the fob out and it becomes active again.  There's several guides on making these on YouTube which I based ours on with mods.  Whilst at home, the fobs are always kept in the pouches and taken upstairs at night.

(The car is normally kept in a locked garage as extra security).

Unfortunately, the Fiesta has the obvious button on the door handle as a giveaway that it is keyless.

One question, I was surprised to get the 'Low key battery' alarm the other day even though I had routinely only replaced the batteries a couple of months ago using Lithium CR2032.  I'm sure they have lasted around a year previously.  Any idea why this should be?

 

1 hour ago, Magenta said:

Re the keyless entry relay device threat, being tightfisted, rather than purchase,  I made myself a couple of (Faraday cage) pouches using four layers of kitchen  foil, doubled, for our two fobs, covered in tape for neatness (see photo)..  They do work, as I cannot unlock the car if the fob is in the pouch, even close up to the car. The pouch is large enough to close off the end.  Edge the fob out and it becomes active again.  There's several guides on making these on YouTube which I based ours on with mods.  Whilst at home, the fobs are always kept in the pouches and taken upstairs at night.

(The car is normally kept in a locked garage as extra security).

Unfortunately, the Fiesta has the obvious button on the door handle as a giveaway that it is keyless.

One question, I was surprised to get the 'Low key battery' alarm the other day even though I had routinely only replaced the batteries a couple of months ago using Lithium CR2032.  I'm sure they have lasted around a year previously.  Any idea why this should be?

 

Did you use a different make  I tried Tesco own brand and they only lasted a month  - replaced with Energiser still good 6th months later

22 hours ago, Tiexen said:

Did you use a different make  I tried Tesco own brand and they only lasted a month  - replaced with Energiser still good 6th months later

They were Energiser (bought from Tesco) but not sure how old they were, not more than 1-2 years.

23 hours ago, Tiexen said:

  I tried Tesco own brand and they only lasted a month 

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