Hi,. I’m 3mths into owning a A500 and I keep stumbling across posts of Fiats and Abarth’s being stolen,. Every time I search “google” it keeps using the word keyless,. I understand my car would be stolen if the scumbag wanted it. But am I safe from OBD theft?

My car is not keyless, this week I will be buying an alarm or maybe next week depending on my needs,..
My car attracts attention even on our drive way at silly hours in the morning.
I have a tracker fitted, but that’s only going to help the police find the car, also a steering lock that is destroying my leather steering wheel each time fitted

Thanks Steve

The remote thefts of keyless cars require the key card to be near a door or window and not be within a metal box. I used to have a Renault with the plug in card shaped key (not keyless) but for all of them, I personally think they are a solution to a non existent problem.

See if you can get a better steering lock but be aware that attempts to break it can cause it to crack the windscreen so be careful how you attach it. Sadly, £40 worth if Lidl battery angle grinder will see it off in 30 seconds**.

How about some fold away bollards(?) but they will need to be pretty heavy to have any useful effect and be angle grinder proof on the locks.
You could fit a battery isolator switch with a 20A bypass fuse to keep the clock etc happy. Any attempt to start the car will blow the fuse and it wont be driving anywhere.

Alarms with the siren INSIDE the cabin make it impossible to drive the car with the siren screaming.


** These tools are not as powerful as corded mains machines but they work well enough with a slitting disc and are quite a lot less noisy.

Here's a telescopic bollard (can't be levered off the floor) but choose a padlock that will cope with angle grinder attack.
https://www.barriersdirect.co.uk/bo...MI84WYgL3G4wIVhbTtCh1mXwqQEAQYAyABEgIwqfD_BwE

It's not just keyless cars being stolen
Slot of the 500 arbarth models have normalkeys
They just plug into the computer and code a new key in takes them a few mins

chris3234 said:

It's not just keyless cars being stolen
Slot of the 500 arbarth models have normalkeys
They just plug into the computer and code a new key in takes them a few mins

Click to expand...

Kinnell

That makes the hidden battery isolator switch a must-have and as you say some physical security as well.

If it's a manual shift, then a toggle switch in line with the clutch safety switch ...(car will not start unless clutch depressed) .... will work. You just hide the toggle anywhere you want in the interior. Had that on my Corvette for years.

A lock accross the pedals also works well so you can't press just one pedal down you have the press them all at the same time