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Warning :VW Jetta "All Window Open" Feature may make your car vulnerable to thieves
IMPORTANT WARNING TO VW OWNERS WITH POWER WINDOWS!!!
I have a 2000 Jetta 4dr with power windows. A month ago I woke to find that all my windows were open. My car had been thoroughly rifled through and anything of value stolen, however the doors were still locked and the alarm was armed. The trunk and it's contents were safe. Although I was certain all windows were closed the night before, the lack of any physical tampering made me wonder if the "all window open" feature may be malfunctioning. This morning I discovered that it was probably not a malfunction. Once again, the windows were all open, the car had been rummaged through (though this time I left nothing for them to steal). This time however, it was clear that they had gone through the driver side key lock, as there is significant damage to it. There is something stuck inside the key hole, and the trim is completely damaged. I spoke to a mechanic briefly and he believes they were able to "hotwire" the all window open switch. Apparently this does not require security authorization from the transponder chip in the key nor does it require the alarm be disarmed, which is why the alarm did not go off. They were careful not to open any doors or the trunk which would have set off the alarm. My street alternates parking from one side of the street to the other every 2 weeks and both times this happened the driver door was on the sidewalk side, providing better cover for them to work the door lock. Don't assume your factory alarm is going to prevent this from happening, it appears that as long as they can hotwire the all window feature open switch, they can open your windows and help themself to whatever they can grab. Anyone have any suggestions to fix this? I am going to remove the fuse for the windows until I can have a mechanic look at it, and hopefully cut the wire that supports this feature in the doorlock. In the meantime, I am going to write VW a letter about this and I recommend all VW owners with this feature in their cars do the same. Thanks for listening. |
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#2
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Warning :VW Jetta "All Window Open" Feature may make your car vulnerable to thieves
The door lock doesn't know the difference if the key cylinder is turned with
your key or is forced and held in the open position. Such as drilling it out and using a large flat blade screwdriver. In order to get the windows to auto down the door is unlocked first. Once the door is unlocked... the alarm will not go off. Send me a picture of the damaged lock/handle and then I can comment. Sorry to here your misfortunes > wrote in message oups.com... > IMPORTANT WARNING TO VW OWNERS WITH POWER WINDOWS!!! > > I have a 2000 Jetta 4dr with power windows. A month ago I woke to find > that all my windows were open. My car had been thoroughly rifled > through and anything of value stolen, however the doors were still > locked and the alarm was armed. The trunk and it's contents were safe. > Although I was certain all windows were closed the night before, the > lack of any physical tampering made me wonder if the "all window open" > feature may be malfunctioning. > > This morning I discovered that it was probably not a malfunction. Once > again, the windows were all open, the car had been rummaged through > (though this time I left nothing for them to steal). This time > however, it was clear that they had gone through the driver side key > lock, as there is significant damage to it. There is something stuck > inside the key hole, and the trim is completely damaged. > > I spoke to a mechanic briefly and he believes they were able to > "hotwire" the all window open switch. Apparently this does not require > security authorization from the transponder chip in the key nor does it > require the alarm be disarmed, which is why the alarm did not go off. > They were careful not to open any doors or the trunk which would have > set off the alarm. My street alternates parking from one side of the > street to the other every 2 weeks and both times this happened the > driver door was on the sidewalk side, providing better cover for them > to work the door lock. > > Don't assume your factory alarm is going to prevent this from > happening, it appears that as long as they can hotwire the all window > feature open switch, they can open your windows and help themself to > whatever they can grab. > > Anyone have any suggestions to fix this? I am going to remove the fuse > for the windows until I can have a mechanic look at it, and hopefully > cut the wire that supports this feature in the doorlock. In the > meantime, I am going to write VW a letter about this and I recommend > all VW owners with this feature in their cars do the same. > > Thanks for listening. > |
#3
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Warning :VW Jetta "All Window Open" Feature may make your car vulnerable to thieves
> wrote:
> Anyone have any suggestions to fix this? I am going to remove the fuse > for the windows until I can have a mechanic look at it, and hopefully > cut the wire that supports this feature in the doorlock. In the > meantime, I am going to write VW a letter about this and I recommend > all VW owners with this feature in their cars do the same. The window opening can be disabled by a VW dealer or by using VAG-COM. -- Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo' http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300 - Alfa 75 TSpark Alfa 156 2.0 TSpark Lusso - Passat 1.8 Turbo SE - COSOC KOTL BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC # |
#4
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Warning :VW Jetta "All Window Open" Feature may make your car vulnerable to thieves
Lost In Space > wrote:
> The door lock doesn't know the difference if the key cylinder is > turned with your key or is forced and held in the open position. > Such as drilling it out and using a large flat blade screwdriver. Indeed: http://regio-aktuell24.de/storepics/...70426-4133.jpg |
#5
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Warning :VW Jetta "All Window Open" Feature may make your car vulnerable to thieves
The first time this happened there was no visible damage/tampering and
the door was still locked. This time, there is a lot of damage to the keyhole, and the door was still locked, I had to use the remote to unlock the door. Will post a pic as soon as I can. Thanks for your comments! Lost In Space wrote: > The door lock doesn't know the difference if the key cylinder is turned with > your key or is forced and held in the open position. Such as drilling it > out and using a large flat blade screwdriver. In order to get the windows to > auto down the door is unlocked first. Once the door is unlocked... the alarm > will not go off. Send me a picture of the damaged lock/handle and then I can > comment. Sorry to here your misfortunes |
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