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"The Club" or other anti-theft locking device for Prius?

Discussion in 'Local Prius Club Main Forum' started by howardbc, Sep 23, 2008.

  1. howardbc

    howardbc Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2008
    154
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    Location:
    Scottsdale, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Does anyone have any suggestions or feedback for a good anti-theft locking device for the Prius? Is it really necessary? I'm thinking about something like "The Club" or something similar. Thanks.
     
  2. rigormortis

    rigormortis Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2007
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    Location:
    san jose, ca
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    nah the club sucks, they will just use freon to break it or cut the steering wheel.

    its not necessary

    if you want something more anti theft then the immobilizer offers, you can always take it to the toyota dealer to have the alarm activated, they might do that for free. or you could get the alarm activated & have the glass breakage sensor installed (costs money), or maybe even get a lojack system if you are really paranoid ($695)

    or maybe spend the extra money on lowering the comprehensive deductible?

    find a good insurance company that offers a really low glass deductible?

    the immobilizer makes the car very hard to steal, not impossible to steal.

    to steal a prius you need a diagnostic tester, or to steal the owners key, borrow the owners key to copy it (no diagnostic tester needed), borrow the owners key to crack/clone/sniff it, or by grabbing the handle of the hatchback door, hoping someone left a spare near the back door sensor

    i heard sniffing a prius key and cloning one only takes an hour? but i think buying a used fob on ebay and just using the car to make a new key, would be the easiest way. borrow key, open and close door a few times, done. i am making this sound simplier, but all prius cars allow you to make copies of the key.. smart key or no smart key.. the remote buttons might not work?? the smart start might not work,but the car will start..

    the downside of the prius alarm system is that toyota does not judge using the mechanical key (whether the mehanical key is borrowed, the lock is picked, or the lock is punched out) as "breaking in" the prius. and the alarm will not go off.

    in order for the alarm to actually go off you have to open it without using the key hole on the drivers side, or by breaking the window (if you have the glass option)