protecting against break ins

[Uncle Paul]

Technique is to watch a car park. If you see the driver open the trunk to place something valuable inside, then that is the car you will hit.

If you put a back pack or lap top inside the trunk it will be gone in just a few minutes.

They will watch you walk away, and when you are out of sight they will do the smash and grab in just a few seconds.

In most liberal urban areas the police are instructed to do nothing. Petty criminals are kind of a protected class. If you are rich enough to afford a Tesla, then you on your own.

 

[Kandiru]

I got trained in the Balkans. Over there we even took the wipers and the radio head unit with us when parking

Another tip, dress poorly and bathe only weekly, wash car yearly.

 

[Leeclanual]

I got trained in the Balkans. Over there we even took the wipers and the radio head unit with us when parking

Another tip, dress poorly and bathe only weekly, wash car yearly.

Sounds like SFO or one of the nearby cities...

 

[pandam3]

Here’s a few ideas
1) install a 6 inch suspension lift + 35 inch mud terrain tires... the added height will make it harder to reach in and grab
2) hire someone to stand watch and quietly eliminate any thieves with extreme measures
3) design an automated attack drone. It can sync with Tesla’s up coming sentry mode. If it detects anything near then the attack drone can launch from the frunk and work with the sentry cams to track the thief + lock on and use extreme measures to protect the car and property... like a modern trunk monkey... but a frunk attack drone. Think I’m kidding? DJI drones have face tracking and follow mode already... only a matter of time till someone figures out how to use them for personal automated security and protection.

 

[mrbcc]

I would think maybe they carry one of these that has a spring loaded glass breaker.

https://www.amazon.com/Ztylus-Sting...&keywords=emergency+glass+breaking+tool&psc=1

yea that's what I was thinking too

 

[mrbcc]

Me and a friend have had the small-window-smash happen to us. My friend: twice.

But I haven't had a recurrence since I started leaving my seats down with a light on. I bought a cheap LED light that sticks to the bottom of the parcel shelf. The light runs for many hours.

In this picture, the window is down to reduce photo glare, but this is a fair view of what it looks when up, too.

As opposed to other approaches (alarms, locks, plexiglas or film), this has a good chance of keeping all of your windows intact. The only way it fails is if the thief just doesn't even glance in first at all. So far, so good.

This is not a bad idea!

 

[mrbcc]

My guess is the thug is going to break your rear glass (possibly 2) just to punish you for putting that sticker on the window.

I guess there is no winning. I'll let you know if it happens.

 

[Daniellane]

Perhaps Tesla will expand this upgrade to the Model 3:

Tesla Enhanced Anti-theft Upgrade Demo

Tesla Enhanced Anti-theft Upgrade Demo Part 2

 

[K-MTG]

In SF, I had my car broken into (non-Tesla) outside of Ghirardelli Square's on Fisherman's Wharf. They took my laptop bag & backpack but they did not take my camera bag. The windows are super tinted so they couldn't have seen inside.
BUT when I was leaving the car - I opened the trunk and took the DSLR out. So I am pretty sure that someone was watching as they didn't take that camera bag (that had a GoPro and other lens) since they assume I took the DSLR out already.

Since then I always park in garages when I go to SF and never had an issue.

 

[israndy]

This is a cool idea too: Tesla Model 3 rear seat lock by jonco223

I got a set of these from a friend and it works great for keeping stuff in your truck safe. If I am traveling I can lock stuff up on the truck and walk away. I may come back to a broken window but our stuff will still be there. Even safer than putting things in the frunk or in an S/X.

-Randy

 

[Runnergirl]

I'm disgusted this is a concern. I get it- it's reality --but all these locking mechanisms are reminiscent of the ginormous thingymabob that my grandma used to lock across her steering wheel every time she got out of it..

 

[israndy]

And I realize that if my power goes out there is going to be no way into the trunk after locking the seats. Fortunately, I don't think there is anything IN the trunk that would cause such a power failure.

 

[RayK]

And I realize that if my power goes out there is going to be no way into the trunk after locking the seats. Fortunately, I don't think there is anything IN the trunk that would cause such a power failure.

I think that's false logic. It's not that there would be something in the locked trunk that causes a power failure... it's that IF there's a power failure that takes out the 12V system (or whatever operates the doors/trunk), then you wouldn't be able to get inside the car at all.

 

[RayK]

So, here's my update after talking to some people at TAP Plastics...

The guy there says that he doesn't think that it would be possible (practical) to bond polycarbonate to the glass. His reason was that the glass and plastic have different thermal expansion coefficients. He figured that after some time either the plastic would separate from the glass or the glass would crack from the stress. So that might shoot down that thought. I'm back to looking at adding some security film.

When I first explained what I was trying to do, the woman that initially helped me said that another customer had come in and had them cut a piece of plastic in the shape of the Model 3's triangular window. It was two pieces of 1/16" sheets that were bonded together. I'm not sure why a single sheet of 1/8" wasn't used. She said that the customer had his window broken and was looking at options to make the car more secure. Given that the chrome trim and mounting pins seems to be glued onto the glass, I don't know how easy it would be to separate them and then transfer them to the plastic.

 

[SMAlset]

So, here's my update after talking to some people at TAP Plastics...

The guy there says that he doesn't think that it would be possible (practical) to bond polycarbonate to the glass. His reason was that the glass and plastic have different thermal expansion coefficients. He figured that after some time either the plastic would separate from the glass or the glass would crack from the stress. So that might shoot down that thought. I'm back to looking at adding some security film.

When I first explained what I was trying to do, the woman that initially helped me said that another customer had come in and had them cut a piece of plastic in the shape of the Model 3's triangular window. It was two pieces of 1/16" sheets that were bonded together. I'm not sure why a single sheet of 1/8" wasn't used. She said that the customer had his window broken and was looking at options to make the car more secure. Given that the chrome trim and mounting pins seems to be glued onto the glass, I don't know how easy it would be to separate them and then transfer them to the plastic.

Thanks for the update. I would definitely hold on to the triangular windows you bought. Would like to think you’ll never need but given how things are now at least you wouldn’t get stuck with finding out glass was out of stock for weeks and it was going to rain on top of it.

 

[Dana1]

how is everyone protecting against break ins and window smashing? starting to get paranoid

Park in my garage. Park under lights. Keep nothing in car. MVBs are a super common crime in Houston. Police take a report but it’s not going to get investigated.

 

[Malbrough]

Replace small windows with plexiglass. Install alarm system with audio sensor. A hit to the plexiglass activates alarm.

 

[Daniellane]

I had to delete and re-upload Part 2 video due to technical issues:
New Upload:
Tesla Enhanced Anti-theft Upgrade Demo Part 2

Perhaps Tesla will expand this upgrade to the Model 3:

Tesla Enhanced Anti-theft Upgrade Demo

Tesla Enhanced Anti-theft Upgrade Demo Part 2

 

[Knightshade]

Enjoy the polar vortex

Yeah it was awful, the worst days high actually got (barely) under 40 and I had to toss a jacket on!

 

[John Beans]

To me, making plastic replacements would be a quick cheap way to fix the window myself—or at least as an immediate temp replacement while the $190 part is ordered—and if broken into the plastic would shatter in a much easier-to-clean-up way than the glass. Most of the standard time to repair the glass is vacuuming up all of the tiny glass shards that fly around the car.

So somebody smashes your plastic window, it's easy to clean up, and you've got a stack of $5 replacements ready. Maybe with a little black vinyl overlay around the edges they wouldn't look TOO janky. Maybe.