Please Note BMW owners with the new key fob (stop/start button). Just some advice for you guys. My brothers 60 plate M3 was stolen in the early hours on Tuesday without the key. I hear this is mainly concerning all BMW cars from 2005 – 2010. I also hear that thieves have found a new method to steal cars by finding a floor in BMW’s security by developing a computer programme that overrides the alarm and immobiliser. If you do some research you will learn that many BMW’s with the new key fob are being stolen up and down the country and a car can be stolen in less than 30 seconds. So guys this may also concern the new Z4 so some after market security is definitely advisable for folks who own the current Z4 and for those folks like me who are looking to upgrade to the current model. Anyway I would like to hear if anybody has heard of the current Z4 model being stolen without the original key. Thanks for reading, looking forward to your thoughts.
BMW Security Concerns
- Thread starter lukeepic
- Start date
Loads of discussion on PH
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=72&t=1121571&mid=336428&nmt=New+BMW%27s+getting+stolen+using+blank+BMW+keys
and various BMW forums.
I think this affects any manufacturer with push button start not just BMW.
With regard to jamming the keyfobs signal when locking the car I think this has affected people who haven't checked if the door is locked afterwards. If you do this then you know its locked so only alternative is for the villain to smash the glass to gain entry.
I'm amazed at the number of people I see who never check that their car door is physically locked and just trusting the keyfob.
I'm not unduly worried as most models stolen are high end models i.e M varients/4x4s and down south of the country.
I not sure the Z4 is considered a high end model :?
You could always pull some of the pins on the OBD2 connection and fold the wiring up out the way so when mr thief plugs his code reader in he will get nothing, I know some 1 Series owners have done this.
Tim.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=72&t=1121571&mid=336428&nmt=New+BMW%27s+getting+stolen+using+blank+BMW+keys
and various BMW forums.
I think this affects any manufacturer with push button start not just BMW.
With regard to jamming the keyfobs signal when locking the car I think this has affected people who haven't checked if the door is locked afterwards. If you do this then you know its locked so only alternative is for the villain to smash the glass to gain entry.
I'm amazed at the number of people I see who never check that their car door is physically locked and just trusting the keyfob.
I'm not unduly worried as most models stolen are high end models i.e M varients/4x4s and down south of the country.
I not sure the Z4 is considered a high end model :?
You could always pull some of the pins on the OBD2 connection and fold the wiring up out the way so when mr thief plugs his code reader in he will get nothing, I know some 1 Series owners have done this.
Tim.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Not good news. You would have thought with all the millions put into car development they could come up with a system to secure our cars from the tea leaves.
I had posted about this here but now I can't find the thread.
Key Programmers are out there. The best ones will program a fob in about 10 seconds.
I came across this auction on eBay a few weeks ago.
Key Programmers are out there. The best ones will program a fob in about 10 seconds.
I came across this auction on eBay a few weeks ago.
They are stealing everything, but mainly M cars and X cars as well as the normal 1 3 and 5, apparently the nicer stuff goes out the country, more mundane stuff stripped for parts, or to eastern europe etc
Z4 doesnt seem to be high on the list from what I have seen on other forums...not as many about I presume...but all the cheap PCP deals may change that :thumbsdown:
Z4 doesnt seem to be high on the list from what I have seen on other forums...not as many about I presume...but all the cheap PCP deals may change that :thumbsdown:
cjp2k said:
According to howmanyleft.co.uk there were 6,287 e89s in all of the UK at the end of 2011. I'm expecting a jump in Q1 2012, but the total number of e89s will still be tiny compared to 1ers and 3ers.
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My advice to everyone is to make sure your Z4 is locks with the key before you walk away. Most of the thieves operating in the UK are using radio jammers to prevent the car from locking. Makes them even easier to steal.
lacroupade
Veteran
All these people need - in the absence of this alleged new software - to do is sit within 30-40 feet of your car with a laptop that picks up your remote signal and duplicates it to get into the car and bypass the immobiliser - which is usually the hardest part these days. The rest is easy.....
So if you spot anyone hanging about, take care. Or better still, take a photograph with your phone ....that will sort the men out from the boys!
So if you spot anyone hanging about, take care. Or better still, take a photograph with your phone ....that will sort the men out from the boys!
lacroupade said:
This is real. I found out about it early this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BPlK5imGJM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVmPfCFFkqQ&feature=related
If they are reselling the car abroad, the locks are very easy to decode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yCknwIuDMw
If you want into the car, they are easy to pick too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BPlK5imGJM
Would depend how thick your garage door is and how strong the radio signal between the car & fob is adamski. Bear in mind wifi signals will travel through some house walls (and yet be completely useless in other houses).
This story has been growing in momentum on places like PH and BMW blogs/forums for a while now. It is hard to believe BMW are still sticking their heads in the sand over it, and that someone like Watchdog or the Daily Wail haven't cottoned on to it and caused a much greater fuss.
Would make a nice tabloid story if a large part of the BMW Olympic fleet went missing within a month or two!
This story has been growing in momentum on places like PH and BMW blogs/forums for a while now. It is hard to believe BMW are still sticking their heads in the sand over it, and that someone like Watchdog or the Daily Wail haven't cottoned on to it and caused a much greater fuss.
Would make a nice tabloid story if a large part of the BMW Olympic fleet went missing within a month or two!