I had already parked at that lot two previous nights. It is very possible the put the car on a flatbed. I don't recall the miles or gas I had on it, although I couldn't find out. None of my electronics would start up when I turned the ignition (by turning the ignition, I mean sticking a screw driver into the space where the ignition used to be and turning it). The horn worked, as did the headlights, but nothing else did. One funny thing, when I opened my doors, the car dinged, as if to remind me that I still had my key in the ignition. Make sense to anybody?

As for towing the car, that might explain the marks on the front bumper. They were nearly symetrical, and a perfect distance apart. They were towards the side, so I'm guessing they attached something to the bumper, because if they had run into something, the very tip of the bumper would have been damaged, and it was completely fine. As mentioned earlier, they also knocked off/took off my front license plate. It was slightly bent, so I'm guessing they knocked it off by accident. Who knows.

 

That is insane. Sounds like quite a bit of planning.

 

These thieves were quite dumb I think. They used a flat bed to steal your car and all they stole was some pieces inside? They could of done that at the lot without going through all the hassle. Putting a car on the flat bed to me means they would want something bad like your engine.

 

i had a buddy that had his highly moded civic SI jacked. he was so pissed- UNTIL, the cops found it. everything stripped but still had the motor and most of the mods. his insurance company let him buy the car back from them after they settled, for 300 bucks, because they had no use for it at all. they figured the 300 was enough to cover what it sould cost them to ditch, and transport. so he gets it back, buys a new SI, and builds a mid 90's hatchback civic, with the motor from the SI. it worked out sweet for him. look into it, if they decide to just cash you out. or anyone else that finds themselves in the same situation, or someone they know. worked for him, and we have a hellova time in that old civic. its a honda, but who cares.

 

If you have to even marks on the front bumper it is most likely they took with a tow truck with a boom. Tow trucks with the older style booms can tow an awd car since nothing gets hooked up to your front wheels, just to your control arms or cross beams which let your front wheels spin freely while in the air. Thats the way most repo guys take cars that are awd. They also could have stolen a tow truck to get your car after they couldnt start it by pulleying the ingition. Also if they damaged the imobilizer the car will not start. From what I know off there is no way to bypass the imobilizer, I do alarms for a living so know bit about bypassing imobilizers.
Jose........

 

Live in HK, and the second most stolen car next to the Type R is the Evo's. Insurance is twice to 3x's as much for this car.

The first level of defense is not to park your car in a "bad" area. People that don't have 24hr security private parking garages here, don't buy evo's as the insurance co's won't cover them.

The Evo's here didn't come with the imoblizer. I have a Lo Jack system installed in my car along with a hood lock. That means I have a cylnder shaped thing that is the swiper, the spot to swipe it can be installed anywhere. In the US spec cars, I guess the swiper is in the key and the spot is near the ignition.

I have a turbo timer, and it works fine. When I asked the company, they said it is fine so long as it is set up correctly. Didn't ask for more details.

The hood lock helps because they can pop your hood with a screw driver somewhere under your fender as that is where the wire is. (May be they were trying to pop your hood, that's why the screen was peeled back.) If they can pop the hood, they can cut the alarm, which gives them more time/less risk to steel the car. I heard once they get the hood open, they can steal it even with the immobalizer. My hood lock replaces the original hood braket so that you have to stick your hand in the grill (cut a permanent hole in it where he described the "peel back") and use a key to open the lock as you would a pad lock, slide the pin out, and unlock.

Ontop of this, I have a club, which is useless... I just keep it there to deter the petty theives. A real car theif will have your car if he or she wants it. But as far is in car locks, the one that mounts on your brake, cluthc, or gas pedal is the best.

I've heard this but can not verify ... that they have jammers that can jam the GPS system while they steal your car. This also jams any alerts they can give to the police or you, and their ability to turn off your car.

Last line of defence... I have a hidden switch that actually cuts the fuel to the car. I use it when the area is real risky or if Im parking the car long term. Another point with this is that the theif will take your car, but will run out of gas with out knowing it, at which point, he'd probably ditch the car.

Be careful is the best thing you can do. Atleast the insurance stateside is forgiving. The deductables here are like 5000USD, and they DO NOT cover mods. Good luck.

 

Are you sure that if someone installs a imobilizer there is no way a thieve can start your car? What brand would you say is a good alarm system and how exactly does it work? I was told that it just stalls them but if they know what they are doing and yank out all the wires from under then the car would still start.

 

If you have a device that cuts the feul line wont that damage your car because the fuel is electronically controlled? Can someone calirfy on this if this is true? I was going to install one but im afraid it might mess up the ECU?

 

The best deterrent I use is parking in the most highly visible spaces. You might have to walk further to your car but it will be safer. Dont park between two raised trucks either. Also keep in mind that people will park next to you even in remote places. Try to make sure you park in the last or first spot in a parking row. This way no cars can block the view. That is number one deterrent. Then you can also use fake lo-jack/ security stickers in the windows. Also put a club/autolock. These along with an alarm for a few moments of sound should help. If they still steal the car then it was fate.

 

There are pros and cons parking in a highly visible space. The only draw back is your car would be too visible and everyone will know there is a Evo in the lot. A pro will get into your car and wont care who's watching because he/she is confident they will get a clean get away. If they are out looking for a Evo they will search the whole lot, but if your Evo is sitting in a open space then it makes it even worse. Your car may attract other car thieves who just want to vandalize and a Evo will sure grab alot of attention. just my opinion

 

I don't think it will damage your ECU. But it is not good for the motor to run out of gas... small price to pay if you consider what it can save you.

 

Another possible preventative measure to the theives was my blow off valve. I VTA, and unless you know this, and now how to accomidate for it, the car will certainly stall on you at least once. Getting the car started once is difficult, but stalling it in the middle of the road and trying to start it up again would definitely be a task.

The more I read, though, the more it sounds like they couldn't get my car started. I just find it hard to believe that they'd have the ***** to pull into the Marriott hotel parking lot and tow my car. Granted, it was at like 3:00 or so in the morning, but still.

As for the peeling back of the wire mesh on the front bumper, it sounds like the theives were trying to disable my car alarm before attempting to break into the vehicle. Not sure if they accomplished this or not, but I think the immobilizer worked, as nothing works on my car now. I had just assummed the theives had pulled some fuses, but now I guess not.

Thanks to everyone who helped shed some light on this situation. I've definitely learned a lot from this experience, and will take some of the suggested measures offered here to help protect my Evo!

 

suks about your car man. glad to hear you got it back though
as far as prices. i know when i had to replace my front end, my one head light that i had to replace was $1200. thats just the headlight

 

Here's what I found out. I went to K-Mart and had a spare key cut with NO Immobilizer chip in it. Just a plain ol' $0.99 key. THen I went out to my car. First, I tried starting the car with just the copied key. It would crank, but not start up. After the 3rd try, the green security light started to flash on the dash. This whole time, I had the original key in my pocket. It wasn't close enough. I then took out the original key and started the car. Then I turned off the car and while the turbo timer was counting down, I inserted the copied key again and turned it to the ON position. I dropped the hand brake and the car kept running. Normally, this would have shut off my turbo timer and the engine. Then I shut off the car and tried starting it again, using the copied key, with the original key RIGHT NEXT to it, trying to be in close enough proximity of the immobilizer's antenna. It still wouldn't start. The original key had to be IN the ignition for it to start.

So, in conclusion.

Once the turbo timer is counting down, you can insert a copied key and the car will not recognize it as a copy. The immobilizer only looks for a proper key upon startup. The rest of the time, it could care less. It looks like it is simple circuitry that once properly biased, it stays latched until all power is removed. This is probably why it is so easy to defeat the immobilizer. It doesn't take some fancy code, just the correct applied voltage (or grounding) and you're in there.

 

Do all Evo's come with the immobilizer or is it an option?