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Security - how did someone break into our locked vehicle


mysterymm
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Hello - I am looking for ideas or thoughts

 

Someone gained access to our car while it was locked - no alarm sounded - no sign forced entry. Both sets of keys were accounted for. I have only used the keypad once to ensure I could use and no one has seen me use it.

 

Yesterday when my husband and I were got home I listened for him to lock the vehicle and it beeped twice to signal it was armed. (the vehicle is new to us so I was listening to ensure he locked it properly). The keys were then hung up and not touched till I went to work this morning. No one else lives with us so there is no other person who would have used the keys. Both sets of keys I have are accounted for. If the alarm had beeped we would have heard it as the car is outside our bedroom window.

 

I am baffled as to how someone gained access to our vehicle last night. There is no sign of forced entry, no broken windows, no sign they used a tool to unlock the doors as the moldings all look excellent. But someone was in the vehicle as some things were missing and every compartment was wide open and the trunk left open. We were very lucky as this person just took a few things and did no damage.

 

Any thoughts as to what happened or how to prevent this in the future?

Thanks

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Hello - I am looking for ideas or thoughts

 

Someone gained access to our car while it was locked - no alarm sounded - no sign forced entry. Both sets of keys were accounted for. I have only used the keypad once to ensure I could use and no one has seen me use it.

 

Yesterday when my husband and I were got home I listened for him to lock the vehicle and it beeped twice to signal it was armed. (the vehicle is new to us so I was listening to ensure he locked it properly). The keys were then hung up and not touched till I went to work this morning. No one else lives with us so there is no other person who would have used the keys. Both sets of keys I have are accounted for. If the alarm had beeped we would have heard it as the car is outside our bedroom window.

 

I am baffled as to how someone gained access to our vehicle last night. There is no sign of forced entry, no broken windows, no sign they used a tool to unlock the doors as the moldings all look excellent. But someone was in the vehicle as some things were missing and every compartment was wide open and the trunk left open. We were very lucky as this person just took a few things and did no damage.

 

Any thoughts as to what happened or how to prevent this in the future?

Thanks

 

Hi mysterymm. Sorry to hear about your misfortune. However, if the information you provided in your post is correct, it seems your vehicle was not locked.

 

Here is why: You stated that the car "beeped twice to signal that it was armed". Unfortunately, two beeps signal that something (a door, the trunk or hood) was not closed properly and the system did not arm. In other words, two beeps is the "something is wrong" warning, not the "all locked" signal

 

If you check your Owners Manual, you will see that the horn will beep once when all doors, the trunk and hood are closed properly and the IKT remote lock button is pressed twice.

 

Here is a copy and paste of that section from the 2010 Fusion Owners Manual: "Note: If any door or the trunk is not closed, or if the hood is not closed in vehicles equipped with the perimeter alarm feature, the horn will chirp twice and the lamps will not illuminate."

 

While you do not mention what year your vehicle is, this is also the way my 2007 Lincoln MKZ Perimeter Alarm System operates and the way all Fusions/Milans/MKZ operate to this point in time.

 

So unfortunately, it seems the car was accidentally left unlocked. :banghead:

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited by bbf2530
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Hello

 

I appreciate the responses and you are right if it had beeped twice the car would have not locked.

 

But I posted the problem wrong - In my quick typing to upload this post as I posted it wrong (I should have first read it out loud)..... we pressed the remote button twice to lock the car and it beeped once.

 

Thanks

MM

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Hello

 

I appreciate the responses and you are right if it had beeped twice the car would have not locked.

 

But I posted the problem wrong - In my quick typing to upload this post as I posted it wrong (I should have first read it out loud)..... we pressed the remote button twice to lock the car and it beeped once.

 

Thanks

MM

 

I don't see how you could have been confused about that - you clearly said you were listening and heard 2 beeps. But it's obvious you either never locked it or you unlocked it by accidentally hitting the unlock button on one of the remotes. It happens a lot - usually with the Panic button.

 

If it was locked then the alarm would have sounded if any doors or the trunk were opened. The only other explanation is that the alarm system is defective which I've never heard of.

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I don't see how you could have been confused about that - you clearly said you were listening and heard 2 beeps. But it's obvious you either never locked it or you unlocked it by accidentally hitting the unlock button on one of the remotes. It happens a lot - usually with the Panic button.

 

If it was locked then the alarm would have sounded if any doors or the trunk were opened. The only other explanation is that the alarm system is defective which I've never heard of.

 

 

 

 

Hi - I was stressed when I wrote .......but anyway according to everyone I talk to about this it does appear that somehow it must not have locked as there just does not seem to be any other explanation. Thank you all for your help - I have become very attentive to making sure I lock the vehicle ...and all in all I was very very lucky that no damage was done.

Thanks

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  • 2 years later...

A little bit of help.

This is driving me nuts. Last night I packed my car to head out of town. I hit button on remote and it locked my 2010 Fusion. This morning about to leave I see my pass rear door open. The driver door in the middle of the window on the outside has torn moulding. My stuff gone! What happen to the alarm? Any suggestions? Thanks

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They used the manual unlock method which will disable the alarm. It takes skill to unlock these with a slim jim, but it happens. The alarm is only good if they break a window and pull the door handle from the inside. Three things disarm it, the key in the door(or slimjim the lock actuator), pressing the door unlock button inside, or using the fob.

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They used the manual unlock method which will disable the alarm. It takes skill to unlock these with a slim jim, but it happens. The alarm is only good if they break a window and pull the door handle from the inside. Three things disarm it, the key in the door(or slimjim the lock actuator), pressing the door unlock button inside, or using the fob.

 

Thank you a ton.

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.... Three things disarm it, the key in the door(or slimjim the lock actuator), pressing the door unlock button inside, or using the fob.

Since the key has a transponder, the car's systems should have been programmed to check for its presence when the 'lock actuator' is moved (to distinguish between key in the door vs. a slimjim). I think this is an obvious oversight by the designers.

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Since the key has a transponder, the car's systems should have been programmed to check for its presence when the 'lock actuator' is moved (to distinguish between key in the door vs. a slimjim). I think this is an obvious oversight by the designers.

 

This is good info. The person who broke into my car knew exactly where it insert slimjim.

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Since the key has a transponder, the car's systems should have been programmed to check for its presence when the 'lock actuator' is moved (to distinguish between key in the door vs. a slimjim). I think this is an obvious oversight by the designers.

 

It's just a simple electrical connection (no key verification), so once they short it the alarm is disarmed. Yes, the thief must have been a pro.

 

If I may ask, what sort of item(s) were stolen?

 

Just for clarification, two quick horn beeps means something is open. You want to hear only one beep after pressing the button twice.

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I think he meant that he hit the lock button and heard it beep once to confirm it was locked then did it again, not 2 beeps in a row. If it was left unlocked they wouldn't have had to jimmy it.

 

As for detecting the key in the cylinder - sure that could be done but at a cost for something that would only come into play with a pro and if that didn't work, they'd just break the window so what's the point?

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Also if you have an emergency key in your wallet because you locked the keys inside and dont remember the code, those are usually plastic and dont have a transponder.

 

On the 13 they hid the key hole, you need the key on the key fob to removed the cover so you can use the key to unlock it.

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I just tried unlocking my car with the key, and here's what happened: I opened the driver's door and the alarm didn't go off, but the cluster started beeping and displayed a message that said: "TO STOP ALARM START CAR". The beeping reminded me of a ticking time-bomb in a movie, so I'm guessing you have a short period (perhaps 30 seconds) to start the car or else the perimeter alarm will go off. So granted a thief that opened the door would have time to grab something and flee the scene, but without a key the alarm would eventually go off unless the thief was skilled enough to cut power to the SJB before the alarm could sound.

 

McTamney, I suggest you try what I did to see what happens. Perhaps your car doesn't have a perimeter alarm if it's a lower trim?

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  • 1 month later...
...

 

Yesterday when my husband and I were got home I listened for him to lock the vehicle and it beeped twice to signal it was armed. (the vehicle is new to us so I was listening to ensure he locked it properly). The keys were then hung up and not touched till I went to work this morning. No one else lives with us so there is no other person who would have used the keys. Both sets of keys I have are accounted for. If the alarm had beeped we would have heard it as the car is outside our bedroom window.

 

I am baffled as to how someone gained access to our vehicle last night. There is no sign of forced entry, no broken windows, no sign they used a tool to unlock the doors as the moldings all look excellent. But someone was in the vehicle as some things were missing and every compartment was wide open and the trunk left open. We were very lucky as this person just took a few things and did no damage.

 

Any thoughts as to what happened or how to prevent this in the future?

Thanks

 

 

A 2013 model?

 

Make sure the trunk is closed/locked.

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