Mohamed

The new owner of my old 4Runner called me this morning at 7:00 am to report someone broken into the 4Runner she bought from me about a few months ago and stole the subwoofer (12" Rockford Fosgate) and tried to get to the Punch Series Amp, but the alarm went off and scared them away. But they did get away with the subwoofer. I figured it would happen, as that Runner did turn heads, but I made sure to guard it from theft; she didn't and she lost out. Some safety tips:

1. Try to park you car inside a garage if you have access to one.
2. If you are going to park on the outside (or in a car port), get a deterent of some sort (notice I said deterent as nothing is a preventer)
3. If you are purchasing an alarm, get one preferably with a proximity sensor (as the front of the 4Runner was guarded, but not the rear, my mistake for not installing a rear sensor)
4. Be aware of who you share information of your vehicle about, Obviously don't share info with potential thefts and common sense comes into play.
5. Try to park in lighted situations (like under a street light or such)
6. And for the love of god, don't advertize what you have in your vehicle (meaning don't put up the "Fosgate","Kenwood", etc stickers on your windows.

These are just some, but just thought I would share this info with you all. Theives piss me off, even if it's not on my property.

HBoss

Geez, that really sucks. Tough buying nice stuff for your vehicle these days when there's thieves around to rip you off all the time.

You mentioned it had an alarm in it, how did they get the sub w/o the alarm going off in the first place? Did she leave the back window open or something?

Mohamed

It was a weak alarm, a Viper alarm (although it cost me $500). The rear however was never sensored and you litterally bang on the tailgate and the alarm wouldn't peep at all. I never put in a rear proximity sensor, so only the front of the SUV was guarded. Plus from what I remember, Circuity City didn't exactly put the sensitivity on a decent level when they installed the alarm.

sleepy1405

Okay wait, did the thieves break a window or did they open the trunk? Because if they opened the trunk and your alarm didn't go off, that's pretty bad, mine doesn't have a sensor ( I haven't upgraded yet) but if you break a window and open the door then it goes off. So at least I have some protection. I figure to steal anything really valuable in my car you are going to have to open a door.

BTOWN4RUNNER

I don't have an alarm, but I lock my 4Runner every time that I am out of it. Just for the fact I do have alot of money in it and on it, I don't want to give it away to some knucklehead to have. I would just lock it all and wish the best. Heck, broken windows are good evidence for the insurance co., not unlocked doors! :beaver:

Mohamed

They didn't open the trunk, you can't do that on a 2nd gen without first rolling down the rear window. My guess is that they slim jimmed the rear passenger side door and opened the Runner that way. She did mention they were getting to the amp, and then the alarm went off and the amp is located on the passenger side of the vehichle in the rear. It is a pretty bad alarm, the sensor was in a low setting and it's located under the driver's side dash (furthest away from the entry point). That's why I mentioned, you wanna get proximity sensors to mointor far distant points.

Beavah

Very true with the stickers as advertisements.

A while ago I read an article in an audio magazine where a guy had a beater car that they just stuck the stickers on for fun. It was covered in stickers.

It had no system to speak of. There were other cars in the parking lot that had systems in them and no stickers.

The car with the stickers got broken into repeatedly while they left the cars with the actaul stuff in them alone.

Finally, one of the thieves got frustrated I guess after not finding anything inside the car and broke a window for spite.

stretch786

The shock sensor is supposed to go off whenever it picks up vibrations. They probably didnt secure sensor good and adjust level properly. However, when any of the doors are opened it is supposed to trigger the alarm. Did that happen in her case?If you got the $500 model it should of been good. it could of been installed wrong. i dunno

Mohamed

That's absolutely true, but all I can say her lose, she should have been more aware of her surroundings and possibly gotten it fixed. All I know is, I like my stock stereo in my Tundra, and I am keeping it that way!