Stolen! Key fob cloning theft method used to steal 2025 4Runner 6th gen

[Lotzof4Runners]

Man.. Very sorry to hear this. I lost my 2021 TRD Pro on the day after I moved to Seattle back in '21.. I had boxes in the garage and parked in on the street for the night. Here's the kicker, the thieves moved it about 2 miles from my house and parked it. BUT... They shut it off before they cut the battery cables... so, it pinged it's last location to the Toyota app and I was able to recover it before they came back to strip it. The dealer claims it should have never been able to be stolen with a fob duplicator. It happened. I'd look into an immobilizer, though the dealer also says it has one built in. Also likely BS... Sorry this happened to you. I can empathize with you pain.

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[juan mesa]

Man.. Very sorry to hear this. I lost my 2021 TRD Pro on the day after I moved to Seattle back in '21.. I had boxes in the garage and parked in on the street for the night. Here's the kicker, the thieves moved it about 2 miles from my house and parked it. BUT... They shut it off before they cut the battery cables... so, it pinged it's last location to the Toyota app and I was able to recover it before they came back to strip it. The dealer claims it should have never been able to be stolen with a fob duplicator. It happened. I'd look into an immobilizer, though the dealer also says it has one built in. Also likely BS... Sorry this happened to you. I can empathize with you pain.

Yes it’s so frustrating brother thank you!
I used the Toyota app to locate my truck within 15 minutes after it was stolen, by the time police got there, the truck was gone again, 4 hours later the truck was found 45 minutes away from home, they had already cut all the cables that traces the truck with the Toyota app, police said the thieves usually leave the cars parked on a side street for maybe 8 hours to see if it has a tracking and after the 8 hours they come again to pick up the truck, to hide it in a warehouse to get it ready to ship overseas?
They damage all the electronics completely!! Damage around 20 to 30 thousand( Canadian dollars) as per body shop?

 

[thirstyross]

@juan mesa Have you seen this before? Possibly they got your info from ServiceOntario employees that are on the take...

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/12/06/toronto-police-car-thefts-serviceontario-employees-charged/

 

[coloradomarmot]

I don't think the process of turning off the FOB is going to get old real quick for me. It's pretty easy to do.

I really feel for the OP, but truly appreciate the thread as it will help prevent other folks from suffering the same fate. I work in cybersecurity and foolishly expected that in 2025 Toyota would have implemented handshake encryption to prevent this (especially given how much they charge for spare fobs). Rude shock, and a big disappointment, that they’re still using outdated and easily defeated protocols.

I’ve disabled all the connected services because of the data collection/sale/privacy issues, so don’t have any of the stock locator stuff available. I think I may hide an AirTag in it somewhere though.

I plan to disable my fob whenever I park it outside overnight (including at the airport) Simple fix unless the bad guys are scanning as you pull into the parking space. Almost wish there was a way to just disable the transmission permanently. An immobilizer is probably overkill for where I live and drive, but if I had to park on the street on a regular basis, I’d definitely look into one.

 

[juan mesa]

@juan mesa Have you seen this before? Possibly they got your info from ServiceOntario employees that are on the take...

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/12/06/toronto-police-car-thefts-serviceontario-employees-charged/

Yes I have seen that before, that’s exactly what happened, someone gave my whole information, name, address, type of vehicle, maybe it was service of Ontario, or dealership, tracking company?
It really sucks, you can’t trust anyone now days.

 

[Everybodyduck]

Ravelco is another device. 9 million installs, 0 thefts in 48 years. https://www.ravelco.com/index.html

This Ravelco looks like a good product. Has anyone installed this on a new 4runner yet?

 

[4RunnerDude]

The platinum has digital key capability. No keyfob needed. Would that have helped if the keyfobs were turned off?

 

[juan mesa]

The platinum has digital key capability. No keyfob needed. Would that have helped if the keyfobs were turned off?

I’m not 100% sure?
I’m installing an immobilizer ( ghost 2) I’m disabling the key fob, every time I’m out of the truck, I don’t know what else to do to prevent this from happening again, I’m not enjoying my truck anymore, I keep worrying about anything that could happen, and I still don’t have my truck back, It really sucks!!

 

[Alien13]

This is exactly why i installed an aftermarket immobilizer. Ain't no-one getting my 4runner unless they put it on a flatbed.

Sorry about ur loss

Which immobilizer system did you install?

 

[ModernDay4Runner]

I’m not 100% sure?
I’m installing an immobilizer ( ghost 2) I’m disabling the key fob, every time I’m out of the truck, I don’t know what else to do to prevent this from happening again, I’m not enjoying my truck anymore, I keep worrying about anything that could happen, and I still don’t have my truck back, It really sucks!!

If disabling the key fob eliminates the FOB cloning threat, what other types of threats / thefts does the immobilizer prevent?

 

[thirstyross]

If disabling the key fob eliminates the FOB cloning threat, what other types of threats / thefts does the immobilizer prevent?

It takes a bit longer than key cloning, but thieves can program the vehicle to accept a new key (ie. if they can't read your fob they can just program a new key in a couple minutes). There are videos of locksmiths doing this on youtube, they can generate new fobs pretty quickly.

 

[juan mesa]

If disabling the key fob eliminates the FOB cloning threat, what other types of threats / thefts does the immobilizer prevent?

I’m just trying to prevent anything that they can use to steal the truck.
Here in Canada ( Ontario) it has been a big problem stealing Toyota vehicles, they are the top 3 vehicles to steal, so an extra layer of protection does hurt.

 

[juan mesa]

It takes a bit longer than key cloning, but thieves can program the vehicle to accept a new key (ie. if they can't read your fob they can just program a new key in a couple minutes). There are videos of locksmiths doing this on youtube, they can generate new fobs pretty quickly.

You’re 100% right! I was told same thing.

 

[ModernDay4Runner]

I’m just trying to prevent anything that they can use to steal the truck.
Here in Canada ( Ontario) it has been a big problem stealing Toyota vehicles, they are the top 3 vehicles to steal, so an extra layer of protection does hurt.

Move to the US. It's paradise here. Nooooo issues at all. Everybody here is so nice.

 

[Archer]

Move to the US. It's paradise here. Nooooo issues at all. Everybody here is so nice.

Maybe we should build a wall?




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