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unBRAKEable AutoLock PRO and Club Devices Are Useless: A Better Approach
Feb 22 '03 (Updated Mar 02 '03)
The Bottom Line In sum, unBRAKEable AutoLock PRO and Club Devices are useless; I’d recommend a kill switch.
I recently began looking for a cheap way to protect my car. I quickly discounted the club; as you know, thieves can remove it in 10-20 seconds. I next turned to the “unBRAKEable AutoLock PRO,” which I bought because its concept and design seemed impressive. Worried that I was missing something, though, I spend a few hours scouring the internet for a review of the device. Amazingly, I the only “review” of it I could find was of some guy on eBay. He was angry that someone stole his truck despite his having the AutoLock PRO installed and that the manufacturer of AutoLock refused to pay him the amount promised if your vehicle is stolen. Upset, the guy created a listing on eBay as a means of advertising the inferiority of the AutoLock. He had pictures showing exactly how the device can be quickly defeated using no tools whatsoever.
So I tried it. I installed the AutoLock on my own car in various ways. Aside from the setup the manufacturer shows in their pictures, I tried different angles, different heights from the car’s floor, etc. I even tried it with the device’s three bottom-spikes oriented in different directions (ie: I turned the AutoLock 90 degrees around its longest side from the way the manufacturer shows it installed).
No matter how I installed it, the AutoLock was useless. I was able to shift the device up or down the brake pedal ‘arm’ in such a way that I could then turn the AutoLock sideways, so that it lay lengthwise against the car floor. Each time, this took me a maximum of 30 seconds, and each time I could have then easily stolen the car.
What’s worse is that in overcoming the AutoLock, I was slowed by the fact that I was being careful not to damage my car. A thief, who may not care about harming the car, could probably have overcome the device much faster. In fact, because it’s so long, the AutoLock provides a lot of leverage – I suspect it would be easy to twist the brake pedal ‘arm’ if you were in a real hurry and didn’t care about hurting the car.
I returned the device the next day. The folks at the auto store were a bit hesitant to take it back, but quickly relented after I personally demonstrated how useless the thing is.
As of yet, I don’t know of any affective non-electronic immobilizes. So how might you protect your car? I’ve begun looking into kill switches. Though there many on the market, I’ve read that it’s easy to make your own for under $20. Plus, because your homemade device would be uniquely custom built, a thief would have no prior knowledge of how it works and thus how to disarm it. Obviously, cheap and affective is a great combo – I know what I’m trying next!
Kill switches are easy to do but you have to be familiar with automotive wiring, you can either install a hidden switch or set it up so the heater blower motor has to be in a certain position for the starter to work, the wipers or lights must be on, there are many possibilities. If your vehicle doesn't use a coded ignition key, you can install an aftermarket unit. Master Lock Wireless Anti Theft Vehicle Immobilizer : JC Whitney: Auto Parts & Accessories
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