Best way to avoid having your yaris stolen?

[gabriel2012]

Right now in PR there have been about 150 toyota yaris vehicles stolen this year. The main reason is people buy this car more than any other vehicle in the island and theres plenty of demand for its airbags/engine/trans.

Right now I have a base power nothing sedan, I always park close to the security guy at work and keep it inside my yard when I'm home. Every time I park I lock the steering wheel and use "The Club". Also, I make sure the red bulb comes on as I walk away from the car.

Is there any good aftermarket alarm that suits the yaris well? I was thinking of a viper but don't know which model to pick, I plan on adding aftermarket power locks to it.

[CTScott]

The flashing red light indicates that you have the engine immobilizer, which requires the transponder key to start, making it quite a bit more difficult to steal your car.

The question though is how Yaris are stolen down there. If they are nabbed with a tow truck to take them away and part them out, then an alarm may be worthwhile.

[gabriel2012]

Mines doesn't have the immobilizer(no ring on ignition), the red light is the basic alarm. They are mostly being stolen by people breaking in/hot wiring them.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by gabriel2012

Mines doesn't have the immobilizer(no ring on ignition), the red light is the basic alarm. They are mostly being stolen by people breaking in/hot wiring them.

OK. The engine immobilizer is definitely a better deterrent than a basic alarm. The non immobilizer Yaris are incredibly easy to hot wire. One very effective old school trick is to wire a hidden key (or even just toggle) switch in line with the starter wire, making the connection way up under the dash, so that it can't be traced without fully removing the upper dash assembly.

[gabriel2012]

like an old school kill switch?

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by gabriel2012

like an old school kill switch?

Exactly

[gabriel2012]

I'm not too savvy when it comes to car wiring, but ill see a local shop on installing one. Thank you scott!

[Kar98]

Originally Posted by gabriel2012

Every time I park I lock the steering wheel and use "The Club".

Don't use "the club". It's in fact counterproductive. All it does is tell people that's the only security measure taken. So you see "the club" from afar, you know there's no advanced anti-theft protection, all you have to do is saw through the steering wheel, use the club as a lever to break the steering wheel lock and throw the club away.

Also, it won't help you if your car just gets lifted on to a flatbed to be stripped of parts later.

[gabriel2012]

I use it simply because there are a large number of yaris in parking lots I frequent, when a potencial thief shops for a victim, he will most likely pick the yaris without the club since it would be a quicker getaway.

For example there are 52 cars at my work parking lot, 14 of those are yaris HB/Sedans.

Originally Posted by Kar98

Don't use "the club". It's in fact counterproductive. All it does is tell people that's the only security measure taken. So you see "the club" from afar, you know there's no advanced anti-theft protection, all you have to do is saw through the steering wheel, use the club as a lever to break the steering wheel lock and throw the club away.

Also, it won't help you if your car just gets lifted on to a flatbed to be stripped of parts later.

[nortonfb]

Leave a note on the drivers window, inside which reads "snake got loose, back in ten".
Friend that worked at the local pd used that for years. The locals would break into the lot & steal the cars belonging to the PO's.
Norton

[NEexpat]

What about something like this HERE

Not a true anti-theft per se, but could be very effective.

I've read about these devices in general and I can't speak to the quality of that particular brand, just listed it here as an example.

[gabriel2012]

Originally Posted by NEexpat

What about something like this HERE

Not a true anti-theft per se, but could be very effective.

I've read about these devices in general and I can't speak to the quality of that particular brand, just listed it here as an example.

thats neat but 99% of all stolen yarii have ended up totally ripped apart and burned within hours of being stolen.

I went to an alarm shop(thinking of installing an aftermarket with door lock actuators) and they offered to install a hidden kill switch at no charge. total for install on all 4 doors would be $250

[CoryM]

As CTScott suggested, sometimes a simple switch or two is all it takes.
On my old, modified camaro (unbelievably easy to break into and hotwire) I installed a starter switch that required you to have the fan position lever pushed all the way over to crank the engine. And I installed a button switch that killed the power to the IGN coil if you pushed on a certain spot of the console. Totally invisible, and way harder to steal.

[NEexpat]

Completely understand, I believe that some of these have the facility to alert you if the vehicle moves outside of a predefined area.

Ultimately a well hidden or disguised (CoryMs Camaro= very clever) kill switch, as has been mentioned, is probably your best bet and should be relatively inexpensive.

*I do recall years ago when kill switches were becoming more popular reading that some garages who did the install were working in concert with the car thieves, so if you do go that route and not do it yourself, chose a reputable place.

I like the double switch idea, belt and suspenders, rub your stomach, pat your head sorta thing..............................huh what? Sorry.

Cheers.

[gabriel2012]

Originally Posted by NEexpat

Completely understand, I believe that some of these have the facility to alert you if the vehicle moves outside of a predefined area.

Ultimately a well hidden or disguised (CoryMs Camaro= very clever) kill switch, as has been mentioned, is probably your best bet and should be relatively inexpensive.

*I do recall years ago when kill switches were becoming more popular reading that some garages who did the install were working in concert with the car thieves, so if you do go that route and not do it yourself, chose a reputable place.

I like the double switch idea, belt and suspenders, rub your stomach, pat your head sorta thing..............................huh what? Sorry.

Cheers.

I totally understand, but its a reputable shop, I've had car stereos installed for all of my cars there and they are pretty well known in town.

What I'm thinking off right now is where Im going to place the switch.

[gabriel2012]

Originally Posted by CTScott

Exactly

I got the switch installed. Its a hidden small button. When I put the key in the ON position it wont start and looks like:


When I push the hidden button it looks like:

Local shop charged me $30 to install. So far its working great, the guy put some sort of relay between the button and the car wiring(sorry not to familiar with wiring)

[bronsin]

Makes a lot of sense. Normally I advise people NOT to install aftermarket alarms and such. Not only is the Yaris not terribly sought after these aftermarket devices cause TONS of problems as any reading of posts to this and other websites having to do with cars or motorcycles will quickly confirm.

But this sounds like a great idea. Of course if they have a flatbed it wont help. But there are ways to protect against that too.

I know people who are from PR and I understand yes your Yaris could be stolen there. (and of course there are other places with the same problem)

I wish you luck with your $30 fix and hope it helps others.

BTW this might be a good time to mention some other of my suggestions like NEVER WASH YOUR ENGINE WITH A HOSE!!!

(or someday it might not start and costs $$$$ to fix it!)

(I know it sounds like "Why would someone do THAT!?!" but it happens...)

[gabriel2012]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Makes a lot of sense. Normally I advise people NOT to install aftermarket alarms and such. Not only is the Yaris not terribly sought after these aftermarket devices cause TONS of problems as any reading of posts to this and other websites having to do with cars or motorcycles will quickly confirm.

But this sounds like a great idea. Of course if they have a flatbed it wont help. But there are ways to protect against that too.

I know people who are from PR and I understand yes your Yaris could be stolen there. (and of course there are other places with the same problem)

I wish you luck with your $30 fix and hope it helps others.

BTW this might be a good time to mention some other of my suggestions like NEVER WASH YOUR ENGINE WITH A HOSE!!!

(or someday it might not start and costs $$$$ to fix it!)

(I know it sounds like "Why would someone do THAT!?!" but it happens...)

No aftermarket alarm, just an in line kill switch in the ignition wiring. I was thinking about an alarm but the yaris already has the OEM one and I usually drive alone so the other 3 doors are always locked.

for $30 its more effective than the club since the thief needs to find the switch/wiring which I made totally sure is hard for someone who doesn't know to find.

And yes, I see a ton of hand car wash places where the employees spray the engine bay. The way it should be done is with a damp cloth in order to keep it neat and safe.