How did the thief start my accord?

Hi,

So I bought an accord a while back (1992 SW) and 10 days later, it was
stolen. a month later, the police called and said it was a few miles
away in a nursing homes parking lot. It had different wheels and tires,
but the ignition was not visibly torn up. (there was damage to the
window gasket from forced entry) I stuck my key in and drove it home.

How did they drive it without a key? Do they now have a key? Its a
small town, hope not. Maybe they just stuck the dangling wires up into
the ignition when they left it, that seems like a lot of trouble
though.

Thanks! Tor.

Gonna install a kill switch just in case.

 

locks on old cars get pretty worn. mess about with enough old keys and
you'll get one to fit easily enough. or they had a skeleton of some
kind. or they can just cut their own. i once watched a locksmith with
a file & a jewellers loupe cut a key for a lock-out in less than 20
minutes. from blank. no serial numbers, no secret sauce. damned
impressive. and scary how quickly he did it.

anyway, consider replacing all the locks [or at least the barrels - the
bits that wear the most]. it costs a few bucks, but it's peace of mind.
put in your own disabler switch too.

 

They could have just towed it...

 

I'm not sure where the Key Code Number is on a Honda. However, with that
number, the thief can just go to a professional lock smith and he will look
it up in a table of key cuts.

I know that some older VWs had the key code on the right door lock assembly
that is easily removable once the door is opened.

On a Nisson I had in the '80 the key code was on a tag that had been left in
the glove box.

Often the key code for the ignition switch is stamped on the cylinder and
once the trim is removed from the column, it just takes a mirror to read the
code.

One of the advantages of having different keys for the doors and ignition is
to prevent a key being made for the easy removeable door cylinder that can
be used in the ignition.

Then of course, there is always the more obvious possiblity, that someone
else still had a key to your car. Maybe a friend or relative of the previous
owner. However, then, why would they have jimmied the window.

Bottom line, I think they opened the door, removed a lock cylinder and made
a key to fit the whole car.

 

with a $10 kit and 2-3hrs of pratice its easy to pick a lock. they
also only make so many different keys, and you can often find ’master’
keys at garage sales. I once picked up a keyring at a sale for free
and found one that would open my honda, and my neighbors. but since
they pryed the door open I would guess you either had a key inside
(wether u knew about it or not) or they just picked it. often people
forget about keys that were stuck under seats, or in the jockey box
even by previous owners.

 

Put in TWO that control different stuff, and hidden in different locations.
A thief may find one, and jump when the car still won't start. Try to fit
them in places that are NOT easily reachable when sitting in the driver's
seat.

eg set up relays that your switches control for fuel pump power, injector
power, starter relay.

You could stick a dummy switch in the glove compartment ...

Stewart DIBBS

 

There are risk involved with putting a dummy switch on the fuel
pump and injectors. These are mission critical components and
could be very hard to diagnose in the middle of traffic.

The best method, and widely accepted method is interrupt the
starter relay. Install a relay rated for the starter solenoid under the
hood. Then reroute the hood release and install a dummy cable on
the original hood release. And always have easy access to open
the hood in case of engine fires. Yes, I've douse two fires on my
Honda.

 

Getting off on the tangent of engine fires...

A few years ago I had an engine fire in my Nissan (leaky injector - I had a
replacement in the car waiting for the weekend). I did everything wrong - I
opened the hood with no particular plan in mind, then saw it was only
insulation burning at that point. So (*don't try this at home!!!*) I leaned
down and blew the flame out like a candle! Barely a second later the
injector hose burst where it had been burned and sprayed about a tablespoon
of gasoline where the flame and my face had been. Sometimes it is better to
be lucky than good.

I talked with a fireman, and he said it is okay to pop the hood release -
but don't open the hood - and blast an extinguisher in the gap. If that puts
out the fire, great! Otherwise the pros just make sure the fire doesn't
spread beyond the car.

Mike, the lucky idiot