An 'unstealable' car? How a Toronto man defeated car thieves 9 times
As a wave of car thefts sweeps over Ontario, one Toronto driver stands out as an exception.
Surveillance video shows thieves have tried to steal this driver’s 2018 Grand Cherokee at least nine times in the last six months, but spun their wheels each time.
And in one incident, special security measures the driver installed delayed the thieves until the police could arrive. An officer took one of them down after a chase through a North York street.
“I wouldn’t say it’s unstealable, but it’s pretty close,” said the driver in an interview. “I’m confident it’s not going to get stolen.”
CTV News Toronto isn’t identifying the driver, because he doesn’t want the people targeting his truck to target him further.
Police across southern Ontario are warning of a rash of thefts involving certain brands, usually through copying the signal that the car’s key fob emits, or convincing a car that a dummy fob owned by thieves is actually the driver’s own fob.
Statistics show how powerful those techniques are: there are 54 vehicles stolen in Toronto and Peel Region each day in 2023 — a figure up by roughly 45 per cent from a year ago.
Stories of car owners defeating thieves are much rarer. The driver wishes they were more common, and is urging drivers to accept that the default security systems in these cars are simply obsolete.
“Anything you do is better than nothing. If you don’t do anything, you’re going to be the next victim,” the driver said.
On the outside, the driver uses wheel locks and a steering wheel club. There are several systems on the inside that he didn’t want to advertise.
The net effect is that it slows the thieves down to the point that one of them gets bored and sits on his stairs to wait for his partner, who appears frustrated that his usual tricks aren’t working.
Another system silently notifies the driver that something’s amiss, and in one case, he called the police. His video shows the officers roll up and give chase. One of the two thieves was arrested that night and faces charges.
“That was a pretty exciting moment,” he said.
Mechanic Ron Yossef of Toronto’s Car Systems Installation says he sees plenty of customers who have had their cars go missing, usually in the middle of the night.
“Some customers already had their car stolen, and this is their second vehicle. For some customers, it’s even a third vehicle,” he said.
Yossef offers something called the IGLA, which is a small device that can turn a car’s steering wheel buttons into a kind of computer keyboard where someone has to enter a password to turn the car on. It can also immobilize the car after it’s been started remotely.
“It’s very unique. It’s invisible, and the unit is very small, and it cannot be cloned or copied or bypassed,” Yossef told CTV News Toronto.
The cost can vary, depending on the type of vehicle and the complexity of the system, but it starts at about $900, he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.