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The good news is that most rates of crime are falling. The bad news is that car thefts are up. Thieves made off with over 1 million cars in 2022, a 7% increase from 2021. That’s the highest number since 2008. In Illinois alone, grand theft auto went up 35% in just one year. One way owners are fighting back is to completing rewire their stock onboard diagnostics system, moving the OBD port into the glovebox.

Many new cars come with wireless key fobs. Once you have the keys in your pocket, the doors unlock as you approach your car. You can start the engine by pressing a button. But unlike traditional keys, a clever thief may be able to set up a new key for your car in minutes.

This isn’t an easy process. It requires arriving with a blank key fob, often from the vehicle’s manufacturer. It also requires being able to plug a computer into the OBD port to convince the vehicle you’re a dealer tech, authorized to program a new key for the customer. But if a thief can pull it off, they have full access to the vehicle and can drive it away immediately.

The Onboard diagnostics OBD port and "pigtail" with wires.
OBD Port with wires | ICT Billet via Amazon

Some owners are fighting this high tech crime method with a low tech solution. The simplest intervention is buying a locking cover to put over the OBD port. A determined thief might find a way to cut it off. But they risk damaging the port and bungling the entire operation. In addition, they will waste valuable time in your driveway.

Certain owners are taking things to another level. They are having a professional cut the wires to their OBD port, and wiring another one in a hidden location. It might be in the glovebox, or even behind a piece of interior trim. Their goal is that thieves will waste more time trying to find it, but they can just tell their mechanic where it is and it won’t affect working on the car.

Red metal lock on an OBD port pigtail
OBD Port lock | Vargas Turbocharger Technologies via eBay

This method could be especially effective if you leave the old OBD port in place–but with its wires cut. You could even install a lock for it so a would-be thief spends time trying to access it before finding out it’s dead.

How are thieves getting into these cars in the first place. Some are advanced hackers who convince the car they have a cellphone with the authorized app to unlock the car. But others are using a lower tech “relay attack” to repeat the signal of a key fob stored inside your house.

Next find out how car owners are foiling relay attacks, or see more ways to protect your key fob in the video below:

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.