How did they steal my Prius?

Sorry to hear about the loss.

Which keying system did your car have? The c is offered with the Toyota smart key and pushbutton system, and also with ordinary steel ignition twist keys.

 

Well, the 2015 owners manual (p.82) says there is an ordinary immobilizer in the car, with an RFID key embedded in the head of the ignition key.

I don't know what they might have done to circumvent it.

As to why take a c? The thieves knew how. They may not have known how for any other car on the block. The one car you know how to take is more fun that all the ones you don't.

The c is one of the most popular cars on the roads of Japan. I'm sure Japanese car thieves have got it down pat, and I wouldn't be surprised if their methods are circulating on the 'net.

 

Simply find the wire from the ignition switch that goes to the start relay and place a "kill switch" in the circuit. If your car doesn't have fog lights, you can use an OEM fog light switch that snaps into the blank spaces in the dash.

I've heard that on the Prius v cars with push button start, some just snap off the panel and disconnect the wiring connector on the button. Takes no more than a minute to disconnect or to replace to start.

 

My sister once lived in a neighborhood where car break-ins were common. She kept the ignition switch under the driver's seat, doing away with the key cylinder entirely. To go somewhere, she would reach under the seat, grab the switch, plug in the harness plug dangling from the steering column, and turn the switch with a screwdriver. Parking was just the same process in reverse.

-Chap

 

there are some sophisticated devices that can copy your fob when it is in range, not sure about the key ignition.
are you in cali?

 

The unique "kill" switch is one that is hard for any thief to quickly find and figure out. The start terminal is the key. Placing a push button that must be held down when the key is turned to the start position in the wire to the relay will prevent the car from starting. Placing the push button in the ledge behind the bottom of the dash would make it very difficult for the thief to find. A momentary push button automatically resets. Without pushing the hidden button while turning the key will lead the thief to think the 12 volt to be dead.

The thief will not likely to stay behind to figure it out.

The install seems pretty easy. The connectors are 1/4 inch spade connectors. Unclip and remove the wiring block and remove the terminal for ST1 from the back of the block. Wire in the switch in series with the appropriate male or female connectors and replace the block on the switch. No modification is made to cut any wires.

 

"The Club" will do the same: thieves don't bother after seeing it and go to the next car. No need to modify anything to the C.

 

What Car Thieves Think of the Club - Freakonomics Freakonomics

 

Locks are for honest people.

Engine immobilizers are basically......locks.
I'm not going to get into specifics, but bypassing them is fairly straightforward, and the reason that humans are at the top of the food chain is NOT that we're strong, fast, or taste bad.

We're adaptable!


Priuses and Priussys rely on the fact that you have to break into the car, and them you have to defeat the immobilizer.
If you have an old-school twist key with the RFID chip embedded into the key, you're actually a little more secure than the "smart key" because there are two mechanical locks (door and steering column) and the immobilizer.....which means that a dedicated thief will slowed down by perhaps an additional minute if they're just starting out and not yet very accomplished in their chosen hobby.
If you live in an area where 'car clubs' are the devices shown above, then I suppose that it's cheap insurance against your car's pedigree being forever sullied by a "THEFT" entry on it's carfax report......but I can't see myself using one....and they will not STOP anybody from stealing your car.
In counter-terrorism, the goal is to make yourself a harder target than your neighbor.
There's a particularly vulgar saying that goes along with this philosophy, which does not bear repeating in this august forum.


Do not be surprised if the insurance company remains unresponsive, since a three year old car being stolen is usually an 'inside job.'
They're waiting you out to see if the car really was stolen.

You'd be doing yourself a solid if you tell the insurance company and the po-po that it was a prank and see if they could just canx the report.
It's probably already too late (world of computers and databases!) but any compensation that you get from damages that the BMX creep did to your car will be trivial compared to the increase in rates from having a theft claim on your wrap sheet.

Good Luck!

 

Thieves hate the unknown and anything that slows them down. It's like security systems and burglar alarms. Specific security companies are "creatures of habit" and do their systems a certain way for convenience and logistical efficiency. Thieves study them at their convenience and adjust their methods. They avoid premise's with custom and unknown security systems like the plague.

Even if they saw a micro push button on the left side of the dashboard, it is not likely that they know to hold it down when turning the key to the start position. They are lured to the common belief that the battery is dead. Visible deterrents like "The Club" plays to satisfy the user; not the thief.

 

We may never know EXACTLY how it was stolen.
The common spoken cliche is "If a thief wants your car bad enough...."

As far as it being a Prius c?
Well, that's a nice car. LOL! If you are stealing a car, you probably don't have a lot of money for gas. Or maybe the thiefs plan was to do more, strip the car, and for some reason it didn't work out. Again, we will never know.

My mother went through a period when she could barely afford an automobile, and was buying really old.."cheap" vehicles. Vehicles IMO nobody would choose to steal. On the street she lived, her vehicle was often IMO the least desirable. BUT...
They would keep getting stolen.
I was often convinced it was because the thief or thieves, must of had experience with the vehicle. They knew how to break in, maybe even owned on themselves at some point. Because it certainly wasn't because it was the best vehicle to "have".

She would often call me, early in the morning to announce her vehicle had been stolen. Not to be mean, but my reaction was "Are you kidding me?, I was upset that you spent $800 buying it, let alone anyone would want to steal it. ".

We literally retrieved 2 of her stolen vehicles because A. One ran out of gas just blocks away, and B:One was such a mechanical mess, it stopped running just blocks away.

My point however is, with auto theft? There is not necessarily any logic being applied.
OP not even 100% sure the vehicle was locked. But in any case, it seems the thief, knew what they were doing.

Arriving on BMX bike, shows some forethought. If you get caught, you can probably get away from anyone pursuing on foot, and it's so generic (maybe also stolen) that it's not traceable.

Psychologically, when you are a victim of theft there are side affects. I would being cleaning and going over the vehicle with a fine tooth comb. I think I'd even want it checked out by a mechanic, to make sure nothing was tampered with or removed.

As far as future protection?
Well...if a thief wants your vehicle bad enough....they can get it. But I think you can investigate options, some already mentioned that "should"" make your Prius c, just enough of an extra challenge, that it wouldn't be a thiefs 1st target.
In an urban environment vehicle protection is kind of like the old, running from the bear joke. You don't have to be faster than the bear, you just have to be faster than the other guy.
You don't have to have the most 'secure" vehicle possible, you just have to be less desirable of a target than any of your nearby neighbors.
But even then? No guarantees, why a thief picks a particular vehicle? Sometimes is simply "Who Knows?".

 

If I planned to steal a car I would know the car I was stealing before I tried to steal it. Time is everything with auto theft. Sounds like someone knew exactly what to do. Maybe a YouTube video on the subject.