Stolen 120s

[starcees Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close starcees]

Re: Stolen 120s

Gday all, i also had mine stolen from NSW(Sydney) in January. The 120 and the 150 are very easy to steal once you see how they do it. The police explained to us that prados are commonly stolen. One way to stop this i believe is to install an after market alarm system. These gangs of thieves have replacement immobiliser, ecu and ignition assembly which renders any factory protection useless. Mine and two others in our area were stolen in an instant.

[Davros Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Davros]

Re: Stolen 120s

These gangs of thieves have replacement immobiliser, ecu and ignition assembly which renders any factory protection useless.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

I have until reading your post been quietly confident that my vehicle would be safe from thieves. I have had a vehicle stolen and trashed before and the feeling is not a good one. Especially when it had so much aftermarket goodies that I had neglected to inform my insurer about.

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Re: Stolen 120s

Heres one for thought guys,, how many people fuel up then go in to pay but leave there keys in the car ? Seen a car get stolen once while lady went in to pay for her fuel, i always take mime with me now ! :wink:

Besides being stupid it's also illegal in WA to leave the keys in the unlocked/unattended vehicle. People here have gone in to pay for fuel only to have the car driven off by some low life. There have even been a couple of incidents in WA where babies and small children were still in the car when taken.

You see it here all the time when the mum goes into the deli to buy fags and leaves the car running outside complete with infants inside. maybe she's hoping for someone to take the lot!

[Simo Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Simo]

Re: Stolen 120s

These are the horror stories that make me dread posting out of the NT. Nothing like living on patrolled Commonwealth land, on an air base

We rarely shut the front door of the house, let alone consider locking the car :shock: It is an aweful experience though having your car knocked off. Worse though when you get it back knowing the scum that were in it :evil:

[catoosa Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close catoosa]

Re: Stolen 120s

Here my story, I hope it helps someone down the track. My 2004 Grande and another 2004 Prado Grande from two doors up the road on our street were stolen at the same time last night. In both instances the thieves knew the Prados were there, as both cars were parked off the road and out of sight to passing traffic, both impossible to get out of drive ways without keys, or some mechanism to turn off the steering lock, and navigate to the road as neither driveway is not straight forward. They were not loaded directly loaded onto trucks.

Both cars were serviced at the same Toyota dealership location in central Sydney, both within the last two months. I believe , but have not yet confirmed directly with the owner, that a third Prado reported to the police as stolen on the same night, was also serviced at the same dealer.

They were only targeting Prados and drove past a number of X5s, Mercedes and a number of brand new cars to take the Prados.

I am asking the police to investigate the link with the dealership because these guys had keys or there is now someway out there to steal these cars very easily.

So if you see a Black 2004 Prado Grande with a grey hard shell wheel cover on the back, small yellow school flag sticker on the left hand back window, small amount of rust around the back bottom door hinge please call the police so these people can be caught.

The car from across the road is a dark blue Prado Grande.

[Prado BB Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prado BB]

Re: Stolen 120s

There is certainly evidence that some vehicles are the target of organised crime. Prados can certainly become such targets if the opportunity is there. It could happen to any make or model, depending on what opportunities are there. And yes, organised crime generally does involve a number of players, including anyone with legitamate access to your vehicle - yes your mechanic etc...

Have a look at pages 26-28 of this seminar presentation.
http://www.carsafe.com.au/documents/cam ... dified.pdf

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Stolen 120s

thats a real bummer catoosa, your first post on prado point is to say that some low life nicked your grande :evil:

hope the insurance works out ok if you dont get it back.

Cheers Andrew

[Offroader Member Find all posts View Profile Close Offroader]

Re: Stolen 120s

I wonder if the old, red steering wheel locks might be worth putting on again? Don't see too many around anymore, a bit of a nuisance to take on and off but might be worth it overnight? Hopefully these crooks will get caught!

[Mardi120 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Mardi120]

Re: Stolen 120s

I park mine in a locked garage with car doors locked every night along with our other car.
What more should you have to do to secure your vehicles. If these gangs want Prado's and target yours, they are going to get it no mater what you do. Especially if they are breaking into houses to get keys or working out of dealerships.
Might as well make sure the insurance is updated covering your accessories, be carefull not to invite thieft and don't buy any second hand parts of your dodgy mate (we all have one).
Mardi.

[catoosa Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close catoosa]

Re: Stolen 120s

Hi there, thanks for all the comments, the Prado was the best car I ever had in terms of not a single issue until the day it disappeared.
I think the comments about physical locks such as crook locks make good sense, at least that would slow them down.
Both the police and the insurance company mentioned a "master key" that can open any Prado. Can any one confirm or deny whether such a thing could exist?

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Stolen 120s

Back when cars were simple, before the advent of computers, i used to fit kill switches to my SS Torana and Datsun 1600 and the like, just a simple wire from the coil to a hidden switch which when activated sent the current to earth, simple. i wonder if anyone here is smart enough to design something similar for the modern car that doesnt affect the computer? something to disconnect the fuel pump maybe?

Cheers Andrew

[starcees Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close starcees]

Re: Stolen 120s

Yep that sound exactly like my story. Difference is my next door neighbour saw it happening and called the police who then caught the gang. They are an organised crime gang and there is many of them in Sydney just stealing prados. I am a bit peeved though coz they only charged one guy and he got a suspended sentence for first offence. My car also stolen after service, police also said can't prove it. They caught the gang with all the gear to do the crime, it seems simple when you see how it is done. As in my previous post best way to protect is after market alarm, at least this will deter them i.e when the service guys see you have an alarm they wont send there mates to steal your car. Dont get your cars serviced in western sydney dealer (main dealer out west) is my advice. As you can tell i am extremely peeved, and thinking twice about buying a prado again. I actually did contact Toyota and to date they have made no comment.

[catoosa Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close catoosa]

Re: Stolen 120s

I wish I had caught them....
Any clues on how they got the car so easily?
I have details on 5 Prado Grandes stolen in my area in a month. [Ryde, Putney, Gladesville]. if you have friends with Prados in this area I would be telling them.
Good advice on a separate alarm. One of the owners was going to install an alarm on the next service visit, i guess they thought they would get in early.

[catoosa Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close catoosa]

Re: Stolen 120s

Sorry, one more thing, I also contacted Toyota but they refused to comment.

[timmay5.7 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close timmay5.7]

Re: Stolen 120s

As in my previous post best way to protect is after market alarm, at least this will deter them i.e when the service guys see you have an alarm they wont send there mates to steal your car. Dont get your cars serviced in western sydney dealer (main dealer out west) is my advice. As you can tell i am extremely peeved, and thinking twice about buying a prado again. I actually did contact Toyota and to date they have made no comment.

When I worked in a dealership years ago as a trainee, I noticed a lot of customers provided a PO box rather than a house address. Makes sense now why they would do it.