IS A SOLUTION TO AUTO THEFT RIGHT BEFORE OUR VERY EYES?
A recent summit in Ottawa to address the escalating problem of vehicle theft in Canada resulted in a great deal of not much. More money to border security, more money to law enforcement, the outlawing of a gadget that is easily replaced with another gadget, a vague request for more legislation and a boatload of rhetoric from politicians proving many don't know anything about automotive security.
Mark Whinton is an auto forensic investigator and safety advocate in Ontario. He's been involved in the automotive industry for 42 years as a licensed tech, an instructor and a court-approved investigator for major insurers. He's had his own Youtube channel (Carquestions) since 2007. They should have invited him to that summit because he recently asked me a very good question: Why don't cars come with PIN codes?
Tesla does it. Teslas are famously hard to steal. In Canada, we know organized crime prioritizes the theft of upscale SUVS and pickups because their destination countries covet those cars. Electric vehicles haven't been on their shopping lists because EVS don't have much purpose in places that have no charging infrastructure. But what if it's because of something that Tesla has built into their vehicles that is also making the difference? A PIN code.
You lock your phone, you lock your computer, you lock your credit cards. Without a PIN code those things are of little use to someone else. Especially someone in a hurry. Just like your phone, you can opt out of a code. Owner's choice.
Why can't your car have the same security, right from the factory? Why can't manufacturers do what Tesla does, and lock the CAN bus (the communications hub in modern cars) in every vehicle with a PIN code?
What can manufacturers do to prevent auto theft?
According to Whinton, manufacturers could be doing more to thwart auto theft. “Most auto companies have patents, some more than a decade old that protect your car from electronic hacking. The solutions have already been developed and tested and have three things in common: 1. They lock up the cars computers, preventing a hack. 2.
You'll need a pin, a swipe, a smartphone, an eyeball or a fingerprint to get the car started. 3. They would like to be the sole owner of the password — not you.”
Tesla knows it's a tech company that makes cars instead of a car company that adds tech. It created security systems that resemble those protecting access to phones and computers because it recognizes it can be shut down the same way.
The major aftermarket theft deterrent systems are a combination of GPS tracking (like TAG) or cameras with sentry mode settings that babysit your car and alert you to someone too close (like Next Base IQ), or a combination of these things. Tesla uses both types along with their PIN to Drive. The anti-theft device GHOST from Autowatch Canada uses a version of a PIN. From its site:
“The Ghost uses the buttons in your vehicle such as those on the steering wheel, door panels or centre console, to allow you to make a unique, changeable, disarm sequence (like a PIN code) that must first be entered before you can drive your car.”
So. It uses the buttons already in your vehicle to allow you to set a PIN code. Buttons put there by the auto manufacturer. Great. The hardware is there. Tesla has been doing a far simpler version of this; the screen offers up a number pad (which switches each time to prevent smudges giving away the answer) and the driver enters their code. Why are manufacturers at an auto-theft summit not racing up the aisles with this elegant solution?
More importantly, why are consumers spending additional money — and often a lot of it — on their new cars (that have never been more expensive) to make them safer?
If you forget your Tesla PIN code, you can get sorted by connecting via your login credentials. If you want to allow someone else to drive your car but not give them the code, you can set it in valet mode. You control it. Are there burps? Sure. But the fact remains: Teslas rarely get stolen, and when they do, they have a great recovery rate.
LEGISLATION GUIDES AUTOMAKERS, NOT CONSUMER SAFETY
Last year, Équité Association called on Transport Canada to adopt stricter protocols to replace outdated legislation from 2007. I asked Bryan Gast, Équité's VP of investigative services what an effective PIN code idea could mean to Canada's theft problem. “Manufacturers should ensure that every new vehicle manufactured or sold in Canada includes effective anti-theft security in order to protect against modern theft technology,” he said. Some manufacturers are proactive; most are not. If manufacturers could thwart auto theft, it would be a game-changer.
Why would manufacturers be against keeping their products from being stolen so easily?
George Iny, executive director of the APA is succinct: “The last time Canada had an auto- theft epidemic was between 2002 and 2007. The insurance industry developed the standard that eventually became the electronic immobilizer and cut out over 90 per cent of joyriding, which was the majority of auto theft back then. The carmakers opposed the initiative (and an expenditure of even $10 or $20 per vehicle on the assembly line) for three reasons:
“It will make them uncompetitive; It will interfere with free trade — Americans will be unable to start Canadian vehicles exported as used to that country; Harmonization with American regulations is essential.”
Two other terms to slide in here when discussing who has access to your vehicle's systems: right to repair and future subscription services. The former will cost manufacturers money and the latter will earn them billions. Remember, you can already pay extra for GPS tracking in many cars — something VW discovered the hard way is not always a great thing to charge people for.
Consumers should take reasonable actions to protect their vehicles. Law enforcement should have tools to combat it and the courts should recognize vehicle theft as the growing international menace that it is. Governments need to enact legislation that reflects the increasing sophistication of thieves.
But the very people who make the product need to do more, and I'm happy to devote this space to any manufacturers following Tesla's lead.