Chamz333

GLE theft in Italy

how did they disable park and electronic brake

https://youtube.com/shorts/4J1HES8q-hY?feature=share

suby01

Dang. Scary and thieves suck for lack of better word.
This is true life people dont understand that the new car tech while great and I do love all my features it is making it very easy for the bad guys to take over. Its actually probably even easier than busting open a ignition switch on a 1990's car to hot wire it.

wildta

Hopefully the owner received the theft alarm on their Mercedes Me Connect App and could track the vehicle location.

How easy is it for a thief to put the vehicle in neutral to do this?

kvelez

My friends left their GLE 450 unlocked outside their front door with the keys inside of all places Newark NJ. Some people took it for a joy ride and left their Pandora account playing James Bay’s ‘Stealing Cars’.

BenjaminKohl

Why anyone would leave a car unlocked, especially with the keys inside, anywhere in the USA baffles me. Locking a car and keeping the key in your pocket, especially a newer car with keyless go, is so easy. Doesn't make it immune from theft, but helps a lot.

mikapen

Maybe it's not a theft. It was an even numbered day, they had to move from that side of the street, were out of gas and a neighbor helped move the car? 🥴 Well maybe not.

superswiss

Yeah, this is rather interesting and curious how they pulled it off. They had to somehow get the transmission in neutral and release the parking brake, which as far as I understand requires the ignition to be on. Yet, they clearly didn't have a key as the alarm kept going. They also had to somehow defeat the steering column lock, or at least not turn it far enough so it locks. Even tow trucks have to drag these things onto a flat bed or put them on dollies, because there's no official way to put the transmission in neutral w/o the ignition being on, so I wonder if this was an inside job of some sort and while the car was in for service they disabled some things. Just thinking out loud.

kvelez

They left the front door of the house unlocked with the keys just inside the door. They just took the keys and ran with it,

TNS550

In the video (at the link) below, you will see how the thieves in Toronto spend some time doing something around the front driver's side wheel arch. That's how they access the headlight unit without much hassle. Because the headlight has a direct line of communication with the vehicle's electronic control unit (ECU), the people involved in this theft can reprogram it. They flush their own code, bypass the alarm system, and gain access to the vehicle. From there on, it's a matter of having a good driver available to take the SUV off the street before the Police are notified and able to look around. This theft method is relatively new, but it's named the "CAN injection." A wireless speaker-like device sold on the dark web can be turned into any key fob after bypassing the ECU. Similar reports have also been made in the US, but this is the first time we get a good look at how fast a car can be stolen by just tricking the ECU into thinking the rightful owner is there to drive.

CAr Theft

mikapen

According to the Interweb, that's the strategy for Hyundai/Kia.
I doubt that it's done the same way with others.

There would be plenty of TikTok posts showing the actual steps, as there have been on the S Korean cars.
They drive the Kia/Hyundais away without needing a push.
If the All Knowing TikTok hasn't provided instructions, then it's false. Of course.

superswiss

Yes, this is a widespread vulnerability of the aforementioned cars, because they cut corners and didn't install an immobilizer, so a thieve can hack into the CAN bus and tell the ECU to start the engine. The ECU will happily comply, because it doesn't require a code to be transmitted from the key fob to disable the immobilizer. MBs all have immobilizers to avoid this.

wildta

The Kia Hyundai thefts are much simpler than that. The thief simply pulls the plastic cover off the bottom of the steering column, unplugs and pulls out the ignition, and turns the ignition. See 6:00 min mark .

superswiss

True, they left out the immobilizer on the cars w/o push-button start.

tulkunam

Detailed breakdown on CAN injection. VERY good but long read.
https://kentindell.github.io/2023/04/03/can-injection/

mikapen

I'll try it if I ever lose my key. 😀