The thing about Sentry Mode is that it will detect glass breaking sound and trigger the alarm. Most thieves do not care about regular alarm because nobody will come over to check it out. But Tesla alarm is weird and people may come to nose around. And the owner will get notification on their phone even if they are inside the movie theater. So if the alarm is triggered, the thieves will have to leave their prime hunting ground for a while which means less profit. So it's more likely that they will skip the Tesla and go for the easier targets.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
My solution for quarter panel break ins
- Thread starter Clemmy
- Start date
The thing about Sentry Mode is that it will detect glass breaking sound and trigger the alarm. Most thieves do not care about regular alarm because nobody will come over to check it out. But Tesla alarm is weird and people may come to nose around. And the owner will get notification on their phone even if they are inside the movie theater. So if the alarm is triggered, the thieves will have to leave their prime hunting ground for a while which means less profit. So it's more likely that they will skip the Tesla and go for the easier targets.
linux-works
Active Member
also, avoid putting personal time and effort into the car, as that can get ruined by the bad guys, too.
I used to enjoy doing custom car audio work. on my own car, I would do really deep hacks, sometimes custom plastic work. it would take hours, as I only had manual tools (hobby). the next day after I did an install for my own car, I found broken glass and all my work ruined. its one thing to lose money or objects that you can just re-obtain and re-buy. when its your own one-of-a-kind work, that's really hard to take.
sadly, I never put that amount of install/effort into my cars again.
it seems that I have to have that same attitude and approach with ownership of my tesla, in the bay area.
better to know that now, I guess ;(
linux-works
Active Member
that assumes a lot. the whole path from the car, thru the public cell network, into the big public backbone (internet), then into your cell carrier and finally into your phone. that's a LOT to assume will 'always work'. and for security, it needs to be an 'always work' kind of thing, yeah?
Yeah. Well, not taking any gear in the car is about as practical a solution for me as not owning a car. So I am compelled to do what I can to prevent break-ins.
The reality does not support your contention that somebody will always break into your car after they decide that they wish to do so. There is almost always an initial assessment of risk/reward (I'm ignoring the people who are drugged out of their minds). If a first glance or first attempt slows the process, the likelihood that they'll break in is exponentially reduced or even eliminated.
There is much "common sense" that gets tossed around with this subject. And I get that. There is also study and data on it. We have the choice of throwing our hands up in defeat, or figuring out how to fix things. Only part of the fix is installing safeguards. The other, bigger part is working on the actual thieves.
It's all about the point of view from the thieves. If they see one owner running out from the massage parlor naked to chase them away... they will assume every Tesla with Sentry mode on will do similar. Thieves do not want challenges. They don't hate Tesla. They just want easy money. I am not saying that putting a cover on the small window is not going to help. It helps but only to the person who put it. Sentry mode helped everyone by making a reputation. I remember reading here that they already caught a bunch of thieves up north. It may not work everytime.. just a few and words of mouths are enough for most people.
linux-works
Active Member
MichaelP90DL
Active Member
No, it is as bad as ever in silicon valley. I think the posts died down because people got sick of hearing about it.
Also, the thieves started wearing masks more routinely.
Year in Review: Mountain View's biggest crime stories of 2019
Last edited:
Dan203
Active Member
Takes two seconds. This is likely what they used on the little window too. It doesn’t take any more time to use on the big window, it just makes a bit more noise. Which is why they usually just do the small window because it's the quieter method for them to pop down the seat and look in the trunk. If you shield the little ones they'll just break the bigger one. It's not that much louder.
Here in the Bay Area, the media's been echoing and some police departments are claiming some thieves are using apps to determine if a device with Bluetooth is emitting signals in the vehicle. It's been mentioned on local news. I'm not clear if this is an urban legend being spread or whether they've found evidence of this and/or thieves admitting to this.
But, if people leave their phones, tablets, laptops in the car emitting Bluetooth signals... And, something like this is pretty likely to happen in the Bay Area due to the # of tech companies and people into tech.
Examples of this in the press:
Santa Clara Police Battling a Car Burglary “Epidemic” - The Silicon Valley Voice
Police: Car burglars using new technology to break into cars in Santa Clara
Tri-City Police Sound Alarm On Auto Burglaries, Thefts
(I never ever leave my laptop, tablet or phone in my car. If my laptop is with me, it gets hauled into wherever I'm going (e.g. store, restaurant, doctor's office, etc.) A co-worker of mine w/no Tesla has had his company laptop stolen out of his car at least two or three times. I sure hope he's learned his lesson by now.)
linux-works
Active Member
that's a little like what the guy said, that I saw in the shopping center parking lot (who just got hit by a smash and non-grab); he said 'dont they use metal detectors to know if there's something in the trunk?'.
so he probably meant a wifi/bluetooth scan. the model s is alum, so a 'metal scan' might actually work
but on the 3, we're all steel (aren't we?) so you can't scan thru steel like that. you can scan for RF of course and I guess its now a good idea to ensure you are always in airplane mode if you store a laptop/phone/etc in the car.
as for laptops, I guess this now forces everyone to have to run 'full disk encryption' so that even if they get the laptop, they won't get your data.
so he probably meant a wifi/bluetooth scan. the model s is alum, so a 'metal scan' might actually work
but on the 3, we're all steel (aren't we?) so you can't scan thru steel like that. you can scan for RF of course and I guess its now a good idea to ensure you are always in airplane mode if you store a laptop/phone/etc in the car.as for laptops, I guess this now forces everyone to have to run 'full disk encryption' so that even if they get the laptop, they won't get your data.
linux-works
Active Member
sometimes this can be a problem; a few months ago I was doing some food shopping and there was a sign on all the doors saying that customers may not bring backpacks (etc) into the store. I actually went to talk to the manager about that. leaving laptops in the cars is risky. their point was: people bring in backpacks, steal food and leave. I asked if their camera systems were not enough, and why did customers have to take risks by leaving valuables in the car? I did notice that the signs were gone a few weeks later, but still, what do you do if you run into a business that cares more about their loss-prevention than YOUR loss prevention?
Msjulie
Active Member
the model s is alum, so a 'metal scan' might actually work
Model 3 is mixed https://ww.electrek.co/2017/08/22/tesla-model-3-body-alloy-mix/
I make it an unhappy habit to drop the rear seat behind the driver's side (just closest) so that it is clear nothing is in my car. I also don't leave things in it because I don't want to lose stuff. Sucks but it is reality when breaking into a car and less than $1000 taken doesn't even get police attention very often: Neighbors car 'broken into' (car was unlocked) in their own driveway, a Mazda and since mostly nothing missing, police took the report but pretty much said nothing will be done.
I fully understand what you said before, and repeated here. I simply have not seen evidence of this actually happening... even if it may seem logical to non-thieves. I have participated in countless threads across multiple forums that discuss smash-and-grabs. I've studied the smash-and-grabs that have happened to others. I have watched every video that I can locate of successful and failed smash and grab attempts. I have studied my own smash and grab. I have spoken extensively with the independent glass folks in the Bay Area who contract with Tesla, and with the glass-replacement folks who work at Tesla. I have designed and installed my own security measures. I work in the field for my local police department specifically in theft prevention and recovery, and of course discuss this form of theft with the officers that deal with it day and night.
And I don't say any of this to be all that and a bag of chips. I say it only because I have learned that thinking "it makes sense that this is how it happens, and this must be how thieves think and operate" is almost never productive or useful. Again: I have no evidence that shows that if a thief can't get into the small window that he is likely to hit the bigger window. Of course that *could* happen, and probably has happened. But... Do you have any evidence of this? Once? At all regularly? The evidence I have shows that after a failed attempt at a quarter window, the would-be thief typically leaves the immediate area, and tries a different vehicle later. (Note that I'm only aware of invisible protection of rear quarter windows... or windows that simply don't break for whatever reason). I have no experience nor evidence with what happens if the rear quarter is obviously protected. Do you?
The one thing I'm confident in: Time is the enemy of a thief. Since the potential reward is unknown, the risk has to be near zero to make the attempt worthwhile. And the only way to make risk so low is to spend almost no time doing it, and to use small, simple tools. These things often last just a handful of seconds (no, not always but certainly usually). If plan A doesn't work, then a precious couple of seconds have been wasted, and they usually move on. There are infinite more targets, and little reason to spend any time on a failed effort with unknown reward.
From all my hours on threads that are basically identical to this one, I have compiled a list of the collective knowledge of what happens during a smash, and how to prevent smash-and-grabs from a Tesla. See if you can spot your favorite!
• California/SF Bay Area/SF sucks. Live somewhere else.
• This only happens in the Bay Area.
• This happens everywhere.
• Don’t park anywhere but in a secure location.
• Don’t park in a bad part of town.
• Don’t park in a good part of town.
• Don’t park.
• Always valet park.
• This isn’t only happening to Teslas.
• It is only because you drive a Tesla.
• This is no big deal. Suck it up and pay to play.
• Decrease your comprehensive deductible.
• This is a horrible design flaw that Tesla needs to fix.
• This isn’t Tesla’s fault.
• Take all your cargo with you when you park.
• Never use the trunk for cargo.
• Don’t leave anything in the car.
• Put all your cargo in the subtrunk/frunk.
• Leave the windows down.
• Leave the car unlocked.
• Don’t tint the back glass.
• Tint the back glass.
• Use security film on all glass.
• Leave both rear seat-backs down.
• Lock the rear seat-backs up.
• A visible seat lock will inspire a break-in.
• A visible seat lock will deter a break-in.
• Locking the seat release is so easy to defeat with ________.
• Because the glass will still be smashed, hidden locks are no use.
• Install a baby seat.
• Install two baby seats.
• Install three baby seats.
• The only solution is __________.
• A thief will never/always __________.
• That’s not how thieves think/this is how thieves think.
• There’s nothing that will stop a thief.
• The problem is liberals.
• The problem is that criminals have more rights than property owners.
• Use a gun.
• Booby-trap everything.
• Replace quarter window with something unbreakable.
• Don’t strengthen the quarter window, as then the door glass or trunk lid will be broken.
• All car alarms are useless.
• Be sure to use Sentry Mode.
• Use an aftermarket camera.
• Cameras are useless.
• The trunk lid can be pried open in a second.
• Leave somebody in the car.
• Trunk Monkey.
• California/SF Bay Area/SF sucks. Live somewhere else.
• This only happens in the Bay Area.
• This happens everywhere.
• Don’t park anywhere but in a secure location.
• Don’t park in a bad part of town.
• Don’t park in a good part of town.
• Don’t park.
• Always valet park.
• This isn’t only happening to Teslas.
• It is only because you drive a Tesla.
• This is no big deal. Suck it up and pay to play.
• Decrease your comprehensive deductible.
• This is a horrible design flaw that Tesla needs to fix.
• This isn’t Tesla’s fault.
• Take all your cargo with you when you park.
• Never use the trunk for cargo.
• Don’t leave anything in the car.
• Put all your cargo in the subtrunk/frunk.
• Leave the windows down.
• Leave the car unlocked.
• Don’t tint the back glass.
• Tint the back glass.
• Use security film on all glass.
• Leave both rear seat-backs down.
• Lock the rear seat-backs up.
• A visible seat lock will inspire a break-in.
• A visible seat lock will deter a break-in.
• Locking the seat release is so easy to defeat with ________.
• Because the glass will still be smashed, hidden locks are no use.
• Install a baby seat.
• Install two baby seats.
• Install three baby seats.
• The only solution is __________.
• A thief will never/always __________.
• That’s not how thieves think/this is how thieves think.
• There’s nothing that will stop a thief.
• The problem is liberals.
• The problem is that criminals have more rights than property owners.
• Use a gun.
• Booby-trap everything.
• Replace quarter window with something unbreakable.
• Don’t strengthen the quarter window, as then the door glass or trunk lid will be broken.
• All car alarms are useless.
• Be sure to use Sentry Mode.
• Use an aftermarket camera.
• Cameras are useless.
• The trunk lid can be pried open in a second.
• Leave somebody in the car.
• Trunk Monkey.
boriszima
Member
linux-works
Active Member
linux-works
Active Member
spent 12 hours (!) printing one of these, will give it a try when I find the matching metal lock that it was designed for.
Tesla Model 3 Rear Seat Lock by darknick
(solid prints do take a long time. hope its worth it for 2x 12 hours...)
Tesla Model 3 Rear Seat Lock by darknick
(solid prints do take a long time. hope its worth it for 2x 12 hours...)
Tesla is still equated with rich people. The owners are usually tech-forward. And the trunk is so easily accessed with a broken quarter window. Add all that up, and you can see some compelling reasons to target the Model 3.
@EVnut add to the list to park under street lights so criminal can see that you got nothing in the car.[/QUOTE]
Ah. I will add it. Grudgingly.... since it once again assumes that cars are useful when gear can never be taken with.
Similar threads
