Tesla Broken into - twice in two weeks, weak spot?

[thefortunes]

sadly this is not an uncommon story in almost any part of the world.
I am not harping on you but people should know better than to leave their car full of possessions in an unsecured location!

Really? I've traveled all over the world the last 40 years and REGULARLY have possessions in my car on the way to the airport.

What do you do the last day of a vacation after you check out of your condo/hotel and before you head to the airport? Take your luggage into the activity/restaurant?

 

[f-stop]

My previous car (Audi S4) had seat fold down levers on the top of the rear seatbacks, but they were lockable (with a physical key). If the Model S similarly had lockable seat release levers, maybe this kind of break in could be thwarted?

Of course, the current placement of the MS seat release levers, on the back, not the top of the seatbacks, doesn't easily translate to a lockable lever like my old car - i.e. no quick-fix aftermarket mod to make the MS seat latch lockable... and also we MS owners don't have any physical key for the car and so probably people won't want to carry an extra key anyhow. but maybe something formTesla to think about if they ever change the seat latching mechanism, or if someone thinks of a clever aftermarket solution

OTOH this still won't stop someone determined to get in the trunk and willing to break the rear glass anyhow...

 

[jdc1]

Could we not add a simple broken glass alarm? I found several add on units that are cheap.

​

DEI 506T Audio Sensor - Glass Breakage Detector - for car alarms

Would need to tie into the alarm, or just tap into the open door circuit, so the alarm triggers an open door state.

Still its likely it will do no good, and your stuff will be gone and glass all over the seats, still I would like my phone telling me what to expect.

J

 

[demundus]

This is going to seem like an asshole question but... Why are you leaving your 6 figure car parked outside in Oakland?

4/6 of the people who "liked" my post are from California (per profile)
4/4 of the people who "disliked" my post are not from California (per profile)

My question is 100% legit to anyone who knows the general area. I'm not saying not to park on the street to run errands or go to dinner, I'm wondering why (if you have a house/somewhere to sleep, where you'd also somehow charge, which insinuates you have a garage) you would not park your Tesla in the garage in one of the foremost crime capitals in the USA.

Anyway, hopefully Tesla has something to combat this, although I don't know if I'll ever run into the same problem. I've had my alarm go off because the other Tesla owner at the office thought mine was his and was trying to shimmy the doorhandle open with a credit card (thought his key died). My sympathies for the OP

 

[kort677]

Really? I've traveled all over the world the last 40 years and REGULARLY have possessions in my car on the way to the airport.

What do you do the last day of a vacation after you check out of your condo/hotel and before you head to the airport? Take your luggage into the activity/restaurant?

all I can say that you've been lucky. I usually go direct from my hotel to the airport or if I have a late flight I have the hotel hold the luggage.

 

[stopcrazypp]

4/6 of the people who "liked" my post are from California (per profile)
4/4 of the people who "disliked" my post are not from California (per profile)

My question is 100% legit to anyone who knows the general area. I'm not saying not to park on the street to run errands or go to dinner, I'm wondering why (if you have a house/somewhere to sleep, where you'd also somehow charge, which insinuates you have a garage) you would not park your Tesla in the garage in one of the foremost crime capitals in the USA.

Anyway, hopefully Tesla has something to combat this, although I don't know if I'll ever run into the same problem. I've had my alarm go off because the other Tesla owner at the office thought mine was his and was trying to shimmy the doorhandle open with a credit card (thought his key died). My sympathies for the OP

Yeah, as someone from the Bay Area, everyone here basically knows what Oakland means in terms of crime.

 

[Canuck]

Tesla Broken into - twice in two weeks, weak spot?

From the replies, it seems it does have a pretty big weak spot, called Oakland.

 

[Zeromus-X]

I work in Oakland several times a week and I'm definitely not taking an Uber there from Sacramento every time. I feel like those saying "why would you park it in Oakland?" are sort of asking a silly question there. None of us would park our cars somewhere we didn't fully trust unless there was a damn good reason (i.e. that's the way we get to pay for the car).

Even here in Sacramento I'm parked in a fairly shady area (and I don't mean shade trees). I'm sure one day I'm going to wake up to graffiti or broken windows. That'll be my insurance company's problem, since that's what I pay them for. I definitely never leave anything valuable though, and I typically don't leave the rear cover in either.

If you wanted to be fully visible but still transport things, maybe use the bottom trunk cubby (assuming you don't have jump seats)? I'd be willing to bet most people don't even know it exists.

 

[NikeWings]

How many volts do we have in these cars? I'd gladly 'spare' a few and zap anyone with unauthorized entry. We've got the best theft deterrent device ever......we've got a built in taser.

 

[Drone Flyer]

Really? I've traveled all over the world the last 40 years and REGULARLY have possessions in my car on the way to the airport.

What do you do the last day of a vacation after you check out of your condo/hotel and before you head to the airport? Take your luggage into the activity/restaurant?

I would suggest tinting your windows so crooks can't see inside.
Also makes the car really nice! Tinting helps to keep car cool in summer and keeps the heat in during Winter!

 

[FlatSix911]

Last night my Tesla got broken in for the second time in Oakland, in less than two weeks. I had just gotten my car fixed the day before... The thieves followed the exact same pattern both times.

The alarm was not triggered as the doors were not opened. Replacing the small quarter window is $1100 as they have to replace the whole frame for both doors, big window is about $400.

The first time a couple of guys "found" some of the belongings that were exchanged for money, very shady dudes; both homeless and one of them had a linkedin! that looked like a real scam (don't trust linkedin ) View attachment 217399

Sorry for your loss... this map may help illustrate the problem with parking in Oakland

 

[Tech_Guy]

I also have a blackvue but you should also get the just released tamper proof case for it.

Link?!

 

[K-MTG]

Link?!

BlackVue DR650/DR550 Tamperproof Case for Front Camera

 

[deonb]

How many volts do we have in these cars? I'd gladly 'spare' a few and zap anyone with unauthorized entry. We've got the best theft deterrent device ever......we've got a built in taser.

Yes, we need the Tesla equivalent of this:

 

[thefortunes]

Really? I've traveled all over the world the last 40 years and REGULARLY have possessions in my car on the way to the airport.

What do you do the last day of a vacation after you check out of your condo/hotel and before you head to the airport? Take your luggage into the activity/restaurant?

I would suggest tinting your windows so crooks can't see inside.
Also makes the car really nice! Tinting helps to keep car cool in summer and keeps the heat in during Winter!

So I am now to tint the windows of RENTAL cars? Do people even read before they post? LOL.

 

[DJ999]

Sorry for your loss... this map may help illustrate the problem with parking in Oakland

View attachment 217560

Cool map! geee it really looks like public parking in Oakland with a Tesla is a big no no. I never had any issues with my BMW M3 though... I guess there is not much space there to load stuff.

 

[4SUPER9]

Years ago, I lived in Brooklyn. Park Slope to be exact, just prior to it's gentrification. Cars were broken into regularly. I have a few great (?) stories:
1. The lock to my trunk was busted during a burglary, so for years I used a screwdriver to open it instead of a key. My brother used to judge me heavily for not fixing it. When I moved away, I donated the car to him. He immediately and proudly fixed the lock. The very next day, someone busted it to get back in.
2. I put a laminated sign on the window of my car that said "Nothing in Car". It worked for awhile, until one day when I noticed another break-in. I could not find what they wanted, as nothing seemed missing. After all, there was nothing to steal. After a thorough search, a realized that they stole my sign!
3. My friend in the same neighborhood was so frustrated with break-ins that he put a fake stereo on the car and rigged it with a bunch of razor blades. Low and behold, he came in one day to find a bunch of blood in the car. The next day, his car was torched to the ground.

 

[Gizmotoy]

This is a relatively common loophole in alarms. I had a 1990 Toyota Celica broken into in this exact same way 20 years ago.

That said, you'd think we'd have made some progress since then.

 

[hybridbear]

OP - I'm very sorry your car was broken into twice. I hope that your insurance company is covering the damage & isn't raising your rates because of the claims.

I'll admit that I was shocked and bummed when I found out that the US Model S didn't have ultrasonic, glass breakage, and car jack sensors for the alarm. Heck, my 2007 Mustang GT has those from the factory.

My 2001 Saab had glass breakage sensors for the alarm too! I am also disappointed that US Teslas are missing this feature.

 

[f-stop]

BlackVue DR650/DR550 Tamperproof Case for Front Camera

Note that the tamper proof case will stop people from unplugging the power cable or removing the SD card, but it won't stop a determined thief from simply ripping the whole front camera unit off your windshield. Luckily the BlackVue is pretty discrete and if you disable the blinking LEDs there's a chance a thief might not notice it.

I think the case is really intended more for fleet use or families with teenage drivers - i.e. prevent authorized drivers from disabling recording - rather than preventing actual theft or destruction of the camera.