New intelligence from insurance company Allianz Australia reveals criminals too clueless to steal manual cars

Car thieves will avoid stealing manual cars because they don’t know how to drive them. That is according to intelligence from insurance company Allianz, which has revealed switching from automatic to gear stick can reduce the likelihood of having your car pinched. “Two things that thieves don’t like is a manual car and an electric car,” emerging risks manager Chris Wood said. “We’ve seen cars that have been broken into, and then once they’ve realised that it was a manual car, no one knows how to operate it, so they gave up. “And also electric cars, because they need to be charged and that would be an external source, there’ll be a record and a trace where that car has been. They typically don’t know how to use the charging network.” Mr Wood said the other simple way to prevent a car being stolen is parking in a garage. “If you’ve got the luxury of a garage, use it. We use our garages for multi-purpose storage areas, but (many) don’t actually use it as a car garage. There’s nothing like getting the car off the road,” he said. Mr Wood said a worrying nationwide trend showed two out of five cars were being stolen through the use of a tool easily purchased online, which can access onboard diagnostic ports of vehicles, enable the creation of a cloned key and grant access. Allianz recorded a 33 per cent reduction in the number of stolen vehicle claims in WA last year compared to 2023, but said some newer Toyotas appear to have a general vulnerability due to the accessibility of the car’s computer. “Thieves have been plugging these tools in to the cars and basically tricking the car, or telling the car that the original keys have been stolen and creating a new key for the car,” he said. “Once they’ve convinced the car to accept the new key, they’ve now got this foreign key that they can use to open the car, operate the car, and drive around for several months if they want to. “It’s very much now that if you’re tech-savvy, you can you can start some of these cars. “Some of them still need to have the door locks physically broken using a screwdriver, but once they’ve gained access to the OBD (onboard diagnostic ports) or the tune up port underneath the steering wheel, they can plug these devices in.” Mr Wood said thieves had targeted later model Toyota LandCruisers and Prado ranges by cutting “into the side door or the tailgate of these vehicles and using that same tune up tool.” “They can attach wires into what’s called the CAN bus system - the brains of the car - and operating the car from the outside get the car to open its doors, to start up, and then they drive away with it,” he said. Toyota Australia spokesman said the company was aware of an “increase in vehicle thefts using advanced and rapidly evolving technologies”. “This is a serious issue, and we are actively working with our parent company and law enforcement authorities to combat these crimes,” he said. “Our teams are collaborating with police to understand the latest methods being used by criminals. Given the pace of technological change, we are continuously reviewing and updating our vehicle security features to help prevent theft. “For security reasons, details of our countermeasures remain confidential to ensure they cannot be exploited.” The spokesman said preventing vehicle theft required a “united effort” before police, manufacturers and the public. “Toyota Australia has established a team in Australia which is working with Toyota Global and distributors to find suitable solutions,” he said. “We will continue to develop and update vehicle theft protection measures and proactively work with the authorities to combat these serious crimes.” Mr Wood said 65 per cent of vehicles stolen were older than five years old while almost 22 per cent were under three years old. The newer vehicles were typically luxury performance vehicles, including Audi’s, BMW’s and Mercedes. WA Police recorded 6252 vehicle thefts in 2023 and 5246 in 2024. Mr Wood said purchasing and installing an OBD lock, ensuring keys are not left in cars or leaving a vehicle running unattended were simple steps to reduce the risk of theft.