Theft Alert in Delhi: Stolen ECU and Music System

[350Z]

Your beloved car is serving miles with smiles and you installed some cool accessories to make it a looker of town, Also you’ve a fixed schedule of 9 to 6 daily or maybe sometimes small weekend trips around the city but one fine day you return to parking lot to pick the car and notice that the car isn’t in the same condition as it used to be, this will be perhaps most dreadful scene an automobile enthusiast can witness.

Something similar is what happened with me today. It was noon at one o’ clock, my car was parked at a busy school parking near Tilak lane, New Delhi (Yes, its right behind the Tilak Police Station!). I and a family member went to a shop near by and after coming back within in 10 minutes we notice a door of car to be unlocked! At first we thought it to be left open due to ignorance but after checking other doors, they all were unlocked and alas! stereo was vanished as well, at an attempt to turn on the ignition, The car refused to start because burglar had ripped off the ECU (Electronic Control Unit), After checking the complete car for any other stolen item I discovered another disaster that the theft was cleverly done after placing out the rear quarter glass and hence opening the doors by putting hand inside; Now this was certainly a panic situation. We right away called at 100 and the PCR Van reached within ten minutes, after firing an FIR, they investigated with drivers of buses which were parked parallel to our car and took them to police station for further investigation, soon the crowd of cops was collected at the spot and they co-operated a lot and did all possible efforts which I sincerely appreciate, since the car wasn’t starting, one of a cop called a towing van for us and we took the car to an authorized Maruti Suzuki workshop. The car is currently in workshop only for all repair work and cost of ECU is around Rs.15,000 !! Apart from this total loss which has resulted due to this theft is approx. Rs.25,000. I’ll probably get the car back by tomorrow or day after and will keep updating here.

Till then all I’d like to say is that, after reading my story above, Re-consider adding the some safety equipments and take all safety precautions you can, before it is too late because they are watching! However, sometimes few of the best safety equipments may fail as they have become so much clever, Like in my case which was totally different and nothing could have stopped them. After this lesson, I’ll shortly put up a brief article on what all measures and best precautions can be taken to protect your car from theft.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[raj_5004]

that was truly shocking! all this in just 10 mins flat??? when i read the title, i thought it cant be your car but it was...

 

[350Z]

Yeah, They are damn quick. I didn't had camera at moment so couldn't capture pics of that depressing scene and as I told car is in workshop now for repair but I'll post some pics where my stereo was placed, They've ripped off the complete head unit. You'll be shocked to see!!

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[jalex]

Thats very unfortunate,hope you have the insurance and all in place to cover up the damages. I never park my car anywhere I feel is unsafe. Many friends laugh and say,he's acting as if its his wife or something,well they're right maybe. But I rather keep it safe and sound rather than risking an incident. I keep the car in my porch at night,its a farmhouse. I have a dog on duty and if anything unusual happens,he'll be on scene and alert me,we also have turkeys and if they see something moving they create such a racket good enough to wake the dead. When I have to park the car elsewhere and when there are no options at night,I remove a couple of fuses from the fuse box,disconnect the plugs and other connectors so that the burgler cant take off easily. I also remove the front panel of the head unit.

 

[RSM]

This is shocking and unbelievable. All this is 10 mins.

They will hardly fetch some money, but they don't understand what the owner goes through, least is money.

I am not sure how much will you get from Insurance, but hope everything will be back to normal soon.

 

[blackbeauty]

Sad that it happened to you. BTW, which car it was?
And what is the procedure for getting insurance claim? Only the FIR copy is needed?

 

[RSM]

Drive Safe,
350Z

And also keep the vehicle safe.

 

[sriharsha]

sad to hear about the theft. did'nt you have any security systems on the car?

 

[jalex]

You need to get a copy of the FIR and make a claim in the claim form at the insurance office.

 

[type-r]

sad to know that 350Z
but take it in a positive way, atleast your car is still with you.
Is it recoverable?

 

[ilango[speed thirst]]

Oh what is this.

atleast the car is there. I felt helpless when my discover was stolen.
Atleast the cops were friendly to you. For me the cops questioned me again and again.

It was lost on 14th feb night 2006 feb.
And cops tried to make up as i sold the bike without parents knowledge to celebrate with my gf. I was there complaining my gf is lost hehe.

 

[P3T3R]

Sad to hear that Vibhor. I think the insurance will cover the ECU. The stereo would be covered if you had added it to the policy. Only Blaupunkt gives 2 years insurance on the stereo. Anyway since they have wacked the ECU, they must be trained mechanics. Ask the cops to investigate the MASS or other garages which do ECU jobs. Someone's ECU must have failed and these guys have probably sold your ECU to them.

 

[350Z]

Thats very unfortunate,hope you have the insurance and all in place to cover up the damages. I never park my car anywhere I feel is unsafe. Many friends laugh and say,he's acting as if its his wife or something,well they're right maybe. But I rather keep it safe and sound rather than risking an incident. I keep the car in my porch at night,its a farmhouse. I have a dog on duty and if anything unusual happens,he'll be on scene and alert me,we also have turkeys and if they see something moving they create such a racket good enough to wake the dead. When I have to park the car elsewhere and when there are no options at night,I remove a couple of fuses from the fuse box,disconnect the plugs and other connectors so that the burgler cant take off easily. I also remove the front panel of the head unit.

Yes, I've done the insurance of car. Actually, The place where I parked the car is a full fleged parking lot and if you might have noticed, I've also mentioned it's a "Busy" Area and today there was a boards exam as well, so there were many other cars.

This is shocking and unbelievable. All this is 10 mins.

They will hardly fetch some money, but they don't understand what the owner goes through, least is money.

Detaching ECM takes hardly a couple of minutes. Regarding the amount, They'll easily get a good value for both, My MP3 as well as ECM.

I am not sure how much will you get from Insurance, but hope everything will be back to normal soon.

Just I too hope same.

Sad that it happened to you. BTW, which car it was?

It is a 2003 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed.

sad to hear about the theft. did'nt you have any security systems on the car?

Nope, Nothing special except a steering lock but as I've told in my first post that this was a totally different case, No security system would have worked because they simply removed quarter glass (picture below) opened the door by putting the hand inside and all done! Even a central locking won't have worked, Just break the circuit in indicator and voila! Your central locking now won't work anymore.

sad to know that 350Z
but take it in a positive way, atleast your car is still with you.
Is it recoverable?

Thanks type-r. The Exact thing is what we all are thinking now. and yes, car is in recoverable condition but the cost for repair is sky scraping.

Oh what is this.
atleast the car is there. I felt helpless when my discover was stolen.
Atleast the cops were friendly to you. For me the cops questioned me again and again.

Cops co-operated and a lot of them gathered within minutes, looked like half of the police station has came down on road and they asked few people nearby but all feels to be useless because I wasted my time + $$$ + there are now nil chances of getting the stolen items back. I'd just like to thank them that they called up a towing van for us.

Sad to hear that Vibhor. I think the insurance will cover the ECU. The stereo would be covered if you had added it to the policy. Only Blaupunkt gives 2 years insurance on the stereo. Anyway since they have wacked the ECU, they must be trained mechanics. Ask the cops to investigate the MASS or other garages which do ECU jobs. Someone's ECU must have failed and these guys have probably sold your ECU to them.

Yes, Insurance does covers ECU but I'm getting just half of the total sum and unfortunately, Looks we've not included Music System in Insurance.

After some search, I've found this article which match almost exactly with my case. Now I'll get my ECU welded and advise same for you all to, Especially if you're living in Delhi.

NEW DELHI: Car thieves no longer need to flee with your vehicle to make a living. All they need to do is steal the "brain" of the car — a small, easily removable part called the Engine Control Module (ECM) — which will practically paralyze your vehicle and will cost you a few thousands to replace.

Police stations across the Capital and NCR are recording a surge in the number of complaints of ECM theft, given the ease with which thieves can make away with the equipment.

"ECMs are fitted in every car. In some SUVs, they are fitted below the dashboard of the vehicle, from where it is difficult to steal. But in small cars, they are fitted just in front of the passenger seat. If a thief manages to open the door of the car, he just has to unscrew two bolts and steal the equipment," said an auto expert.

Car dealers say in the past few months, demand for ECM replacement has gone up. "We have been receiving several complaints of ECM theft. As they are very costly, we do not stock them. We had to order from the company following the increase in demand," said an official of Sikand and Company at Janpath. "Cases of ECM theft have increased over the past few months," agrees Sushil Kumar, an engineer at D D Motors, Okhla.

"ECMs are an important component of the car and once they are removed, the car cannot start. You will have to ask for a crane to take your car from one place to another," said Anil Kumar, a service adviser with Sikand. " A small car's ECM will cost you minimum Rs 15,000 and rates are higher for SUVs."

Not even a burglar alarm could save Jayesh Sahni of Noida. "I had parked my car outside my house in Sector 50. My car — a Maruti Swift — had an anti-theft alarm system but it did not work as the burglar did not open the doors of the car. He just removed the rear quarter window, lowered the rear door window, then the front door window and took away the ECM. I have now applied for insurance," said Sahni.

Ankur Prakash, on the other hand, had his car lock broken. The executive had parked his car near Link House in ITO. "When I tried to start my car, the ignition did not work. Later, the on-road service men told me that the ECM had been stolen. Strangely, the burglars had left behind my music system which was lying in the car," said Prakash.

Cops say stolen ECMs are sold mosty at Kashmere Gate, Jama Masjid in central Delhi and Mayapuri in south west Delhi, the hubs of second-hand car parts. Car thieves make anything between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000 depending upon the use. Second-hand ECMs cost between Rs 5000 and Rs 7000. "The worst hit are Maruti 800 models and other small cars which can be easily opened," said a police officer.

Insurance companies too notice the trend. A surveyor who refused to be named said, "I have been surveying at least two cases of ECM theft per day on an average. Companies normally reimburse only 50% of the amount."

The easiest way to secure an ECM is to get it installed at a point that is not easy to access even if the car door is unlocked. "Another option is to get the ECM welded," said a mechanic at one of a private garage at Connaught Place.

As recent as this week, four cases of ECM theft were reported at I P Estate but only two cases were registered. The IP estate area has recorded 65 cases of car theft till October this year, compared to 30 last year during the same period. "It shows an increase of more than 100% in cases of car thefts. The problem ismainly due to proximity of this place with Old Delhi markets of Kashmere Gate and Jama Masjid," said an officer. Vehicle thefts across the Capital too have also shot up this year. "Till October this year, 7,991 cases of vehicle theft were reported, over 7,425 last year," said an official of Anti-Auto Theft Squad of Delhi Police.
Source: TOI

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[RSM]

I agree Police co-operated, but theft in busy market, and police can't catch. This is shame. I am sure, if they are serious, they can find them. Somebody must have seen some unusual activity there. But it looks (from numbers above), for Police, its yet another routine duty and they did.

 

[350Z]

Exactly. I'm still doubting on those bus drivers. They must have noticed something.

Drive Safe,
350Z