How to Hack an Old Car (and Steal a Modern One)
You know what’s cool? In crime movies, when someone jumps behind the wheel of a car, kicks the steering column cover, crushes a couple of wires together and peels off. The car’s hot wiring is action-oriented, cool, and it feels like anyone can do it. But what about in real life? I learned this because I’m interested in realism for my upcoming feature (not because I want to steal cars), and it turns out that stealing a car isn’t as easy as Hollywood makes it seem, but it’s not impossibly hard either.
Which cars can be heated and which cannot
If you are going to hook up a machine, you will need to choose an older hupti/whisker/bucket. Shutdown for hot wiring circa mid to late 90s. In more recent vehicles, alarms and immobilizers are fairly standard, and modern vehicles use many different anti-theft technologies (more on these below).
Step by Step Guide to Hot Plugging a Car
Let me start with a disclaimer: these are instructions for “hot wiring” – starting a car without a key, not stealing a car. There is another steering unlock process that I won’t go into that applies to most cars made in the last 50 years or so. Also: It’s potentially dangerous to mess with your car’s wiring if you don’t know what you’re doing, so don’t do it. This is for informational purposes only.
The actual process of starting a car without a key is easy to understand (in theory) and only requires a few simple tools, but it’s nowhere near the 20 second operation you see in the movies.
Required tools:
- Screwdriver
- Wire stripper or knife
- Wire clamps
- Insulated gloves (for safety)
And here’s how it happens:
After throwing a spark plug out the window or using a hanger to open the door, remove the panel in the steering column (in most cars) with a screwdriver. This should show a bundle of wires that looks like spaghetti. You’re basically ignoring the key’s job of closing the circuit between the battery, ignition, and starter, so you need to find those three wires.
According to our sister site Jalopnik , the battery wire is almost always red and the starter wire is often yellow. However, the ignition wire can be any color. You can test each wire individually to find it, but your best bet is to consult your vehicle’s service manual – I’m sure it’s available online, at a library, or at your local AutoZone.
Once you have identified the correct trio of wires, strip enough of the insulation from them to attach the clamp. Attach a clamp to each wire. (You can cut the wires, but why cut them?) Attach the battery wire to the ignition wire. The gauge lights and other dashboard elements should light up, as if you had turned the ignition key, but not enough to engage the starter.
Finally, touch the third wire to the clamps (do not pinch it) and your engine should come to life. However, you probably won’t be able to drive away because you haven’t unlocked the steering wheel. To stop the engine, disconnect everything.
Theft of modern cars
Starting cars with alarms, key fobs, and other modern gadgets is harder than stealing old cars, but it’s not impossible. There is no one-size-fits-all method of cracking the starter/locks/alarms of all kinds of cars like hotwiring, but I’m guessing any car’s security system can be cracked with enough effort.
The main weak point of auto security is the fact that there must be a solution for the driver who lost the keys, so locksmiths and dealers usually have access to tools that make it easy to create keys, which is not the case. it would be impossible for an enterprising slacker to get their hands on this technology and knowledge.
Many cars have a physical key in the fob, and it is often associated with a code that allows a new key to be cut. Sometimes the code is linked to the car’s VIN, so if you have the VIN and access to the car manufacturer’s database, you could theoretically cut out a new physical key, open the door, and start the car. But you may not be able to leave. You would probably set off the alarm if you opened the car without the fob, but once you’re inside the car, you can (theoretically) connect to the car’s computer, turn off the alarm system, and pair the new fob to the fob. automobile. (Real hack stuff, huh?)
The thieves also reportedly used relay devices. If you leave your keyless entry next to a door, the device can send a signal to a nearby vehicle, allowing the thief to open the door, jump in, and drive away. They won’t be able to start the car again, but once it’s parked far away, a cloned key can be made.
To sum it up: if someone really wants to steal your car (or you want to steal someone else’s car badly enough), there is almost certainly a way to do it. But in practice, many car thefts are more like crimes of opportunity: people leave keys in unlocked cars and someone drives away with them. This type of theft accounts for a large (and growing) percentage of car thefts , so locking it up and taking the keys is as much as you probably need to worry about it. Life is short, you know, that’s why we have insurance.