E70 LCI STOLEN !

[bubbabear]

So last night my 2012 X5 was stolen in the early hours of the morning. Both sets of keys were in the house , neighbours cctv shows the cars lights being switched on and 60 seconds later driven away.


Does anyone know how this type of theft can ocurr i thought having a key to insert into the dashboard would make it less prone to theft compared to a keyless car?

Thanks

[Don Coffey]

Really sorry to hear this, these scum of the earth make my blood boil!

I’m not sure which models had an issue, but there was a thread some years back about how thieves can code a blank key by plugging into the cars On Board Computer. If I remember correctly there was a recall to allow BMW to fix the issue.

Don

[bubbabear]

My car was up to date with all software. It was serviced last month at main dealer and had the security patch update last year. so if you think your E70 is secure and cant be stolen then you are wrong mine was GONE IN 60 SECONDS !!!other than steering wheel lock and cctv outside house what else can you do to prevent car theft ?

How do i value my car it was 2012 LCI 7 seater with comfort seats 20” alloys and pro sat nav. FBMWSH 63k miles , 1 prev owner and 4 new tyres with new discs and pads last month.


Thanks for any advice

[tj67]

Gutted for you mate !!

What about a tracker ?

I use a steeering lock and a tracker, an old iphone 4 and hooked it up in the boot/trunk 12v, with a £5 pm goodybag from giff gaff on auto top up from bank, using the app find my iphone.

[marti]

Really sorry to hear about your car.....some thieves have key readers, so if your keys are just in your house hung up etc. they can read/ scan the key then programme a key they have and away they go....its not just BMW's.....I always keep my spare in the safe and user key in a metal tin lined with lead, that blocks them trying to scan the key.

[tj67]

It's mad when you think how much these motors cost, and the software security is void, all you can do is use hardware security measures, and a tracker for when they fail.

[Don Coffey]

My car was up to date with all software. It was serviced last month at main dealer and had the security patch update last year. so if you think your E70 is secure and cant be stolen then you are wrong mine was GONE IN 60 SECONDS !!!other than steering wheel lock and cctv outside house what else can you do to prevent car theft ?

How do i value my car it was 2012 LCI 7 seater with comfort seats 20” alloys and pro sat nav. FBMWSH 63k miles , 1 prev owner and 4 new tyres with new discs and pads last month.


Thanks for any advice

I’d be interesting to hear what BMW have to say!!

Regards the value of your car, might be worth speaking to the dealer. They may write a quote for you, although I suspect the insurance will just go by the glasses guide that doesn’t take most options, or recently purchased tyres etc. into account.

Don

[X5Sport]

Really sorry to hear about your car.....some thieves have key readers, so if your keys are just in your house hung up etc. they can read/ scan the key then programme a key they have and away they go....its not just BMW's.....I always keep my spare in the safe and user key in a metal tin lined with lead, that blocks them trying to scan the key.

Unless I’m misreading the initial post, this wasn’t a keyless entry/ignition car so the scanning trick doesn't work.

Almost certainly key cloning via the OBD2 port as it took that long. The security update didn’t completely solve that issue and has very likely been got around again.

OP, Really sorry to read this and absolutely gutted for you. It leaves a horrible sense of vulnerability as well as deep anger.

Glass’s Guide is used by the trade to give some indication of value - and will almost certainly be what the insurer uses. A local BMW Dealer may help out with value as you need to pay to use Glass’s.

[Leslie]

Sorry to hear that , you need to find values of similar specced cars for sale as the insurance will be offering bottom "trade" price for it I'm afraid being the sharks they are ....

[bubbabear]

Thank you all. Is it fair to say that a 1990 vw golf is harder to nick than a 2012 X5? Why the f dont bmw use proper keys on these cars since they are expensive . I think tracker on my next car will be a must if i buy a german brand.

I found out today that 2 Audi Q5s got stolen the night before mine and a Q7 on the same night as mine disappeared so clearly both BMW and Audi have work to do to improve security, i wish these manfacturers would be held accountable to the FCA and get fined like banks !!

[X5Sport]

All car manufacturers have some work to do. Time after time I see reports of insecure systems or unbelievable poor management decisions. VW group at one time had less than 30 security codes across their entire range!

It’s the same with the Internet of Things too. Hard coded passwords, insecure protocols and bad programming. The industry just doesn’t ‘get it’ and with options being locked in so that a hardware change is needed rather than a firmware change that just adds to the ineptitude.

Unfortunately even good old keys don’t make the cars more secure. It just takes a few seconds longer to get past them. There is a technology war going on between the have’s and have not’s.

The internet age has just made it so much easier to steal things as there is always someone willing to leak secrets or offer the tools to get around the security measures.

2FA (Two Factor Authentication) is probably at least the next step but will only apply to new models and not those on the market today. Car manufacturers are not interested and have to powerful a lobby to be forced. It will take customers refusing to buy and insurers refusing to cover before anything happens.

[marti]

Really sorry to hear about your car.....some thieves have key readers, so if your keys are just in your house hung up etc. they can read/ scan the key then programme a key they have and away they go....its not just BMW's.....I always keep my spare in the safe and user key in a metal tin lined with lead, that blocks them trying to scan the key.

Unless I’m misreading the initial post, this wasn’t a keyless entry/ignition car so the scanning trick doesn't work.

Almost certainly key cloning via the OBD2 port as it took that long. The security update didn’t completely solve that issue and has very likely been got around again.

Ah.... I see its only newer models they scan the keys......so just wondering how they gained entry and got to the OBD2 port without the alarm going off....?

[X5Sport]

There’s a ‘hole’ in the coverage. I’ll say no more than that.

An alternative could have been getting the VIN and sourcing a key from someone on the dark side.

[Pat Mustard]

I know its a bit late now but im using one of these which not only allows you to track your car but you can also disable it from your phone via the supplied app.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 1136139882

[kenniff]

Sorry to hear that , you need to find values of similar specced cars for sale as the insurance will be offering bottom "trade" price for it I'm afraid being the sharks they are ....

Just to present the other side to this view..... A lady who worked for me a few years ago had her Mercedes estate car up for sale and had nobody willing to pay near the price she was asking. It was (genuinely) stolen and the first offer she got from the insurer was in excess of her asking price.....