Car battery thefts from hybrid cars on the rise in San Francisco

hockeythug · May 20, 2015

Auto burglars are now stealing batteries from hybrid cars, namely Toyota's Prius. There's been a rash of thefts in San Francisco, probably by professionals who know how to remove them without getting. electrocuted.

Thieves first cut the cables, or harnesses attached to the battery. It's hazardous work, because the battery's 200 volts could cause serious injuries. The thieves who removed Nashed's car battery knew exactly what to do.

It will take about two to three weeks to restore Dashed's car. The estimate is about $10,000. "We looked on Craigslist, the batteries are going around $900 to a $1,000," Nashed said.

http://abc7news.com/news/exclusive-...id-cars-on-the-rise-in-san-francisco-/725532/

mknox · May 20, 2015

Nice. Just waiting to hear about the first thief squished under a Model S battery as he lies beneath the car and undoes all the bolts :scared:

RDoc · May 20, 2015

Aren't Tesla batteries electrically ID'd? Even if there were a way to swap the battery without going through Tesla, the first Supercharger it was plugged into could notice it, although I don't know if they currently read the ID. I wonder if CHAdeMo or SAE Combo has anything like that?

ecarfan · May 20, 2015

mknox said:
Nice. Just waiting to hear about the first thief squished under a Model S battery as he lies beneath the car and undoes all the bolts :scared:

It would seem impossible to steal a Model S battery without putting the car on a lift and knowing exactly how to remove it safely. And then you have to move it without damaging it.

Somehow I'm not too worried about thieves stealing Tesla batteries.

MsElectric · May 20, 2015

And plus I bet Tesla can disable a car with a stolen battery via a software update or refuse to service a car with a stolen battery.

Better yet extract the stolen battery, hand it over to the police, and ask the owner to pick up the car sans battery

mknox · May 20, 2015

ecarfan said:
It would seem impossible to steal a Model S battery without putting the car on a lift and knowing exactly how to remove it safely. And then you have to move it without damaging it.

You mean like this?

David99 · May 20, 2015

In case of the Model S' battery, it would be easier to steal the entire car and then sell it in parts. The battery can actually be removed very save. Just one plug and play connector. You can't even get electrocuted. But the weight make it totally impractical.

AnOutsider · May 20, 2015

OK, I mean no offense to anyone living there, but is SFO like CA's ghetto or what? There's keying incidents, this, the angst over money moving in. Just seems like most times I see a negative issue here about CA, it's linked to SFO.

I visited there a few times, and while not the most opulent of areas, I didn't get the vibe it was in disarray or anything. Perhaps just a small sample size here?

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ecarfan · May 20, 2015

There are a lot of Teslas in the San Francisco area (I live there). Online news sources and bloggers love to get attention and traffic by writing about anything with the word "Tesla" in it. That is the explanation. Nothing more than that.

TEG · May 20, 2015

Higher ground clearance makes it easier to get under a car. Model X battery pack could be a bit more at risk compared to Model S...

AnOutsider · May 20, 2015

ecarfan said:
There are a lot of Teslas in the San Francisco area (I live there). Online news sources and bloggers love to get attention and traffic by writing about anything with the word "Tesla" in it. That is the explanation. Nothing more than that.

I'm not saying you're wrong about bloggers and such, but two of the linked threads are OWNERS posting their experience. In the tech rides thread, a local chimed in as well.

*shrug* just wondered if there was an ongoing issue in the area.

gregincal · May 20, 2015

AnOutsider said:
I'm not saying you're wrong about bloggers and such, but two of the linked threads are OWNERS posting their experience. In the tech rides thread, a local chimed in as well.

*shrug* just wondered if there was an ongoing issue in the area.

I don't really see the connection between the threads you posted and this. Those are about various resentments. This is just professional thieves having found a profitable new angle, and has nothing to do with the Prius per se, except that it has a battery that is valuable.

AnOutsider · May 20, 2015

gregincal said:
I don't really see the connection between the threads you posted and this. Those are about various resentments. This is just professional thieves having found a profitable new angle, and has nothing to do with the Prius per se, except that it has a battery that is valuable.

Do you see the connection to my original comment that included the links to those threads?

OK, I mean no offense to anyone living there, but is SFO like CA's ghetto or what? There's keying incidents, this, the angst over money moving in. Just seems like most times I see a negative issue here about CA, it's linked to SFO.

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Car battery thefts from hybrid cars on the rise in San Francisco

hockeythug

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mknox

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RDoc

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ecarfan

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