Beware Walk Away Lock Thieves

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Interesting I haven't heard of this for other cars but many cars have walk away key fobs these days so this scheme shouldn't be tesla specific.

Wow this is a whole new type of thieves thank you for the awareness. Wish people like him could be appropriately punished.

I think the can remove some of the garniture on the side of the glovebox and then with a small tool they grab the locker

Hence why I use the loudest lock confirmation. The chirp. If I don’t hear it I know it’s not locked.

can the walk away lock distance be changed?

I’m positive this can be done and has been done before on other makes too

Good thing I’m paranoid and always lock the doors prior to walking away. I do this even where I work in an affluent area. Grew up in a bad area.

I watch for the mirrors to fold.

No, but you can lock it manually. Or watch it until it locks.

You can open the glove box by removing a plastic trim on the side and just pushing open the lock pins with a pointy tool.

Yeah, just stand _just out of range_ for longer. Or wrap your key in aluminum foil.

Set door unlock option for just the drivers door to keep other doors locked.

Someone tried this on me last year. They ran for the driver side door after I walked away. But the door locked a few seconds before they got to it. After that, I set the headlights to turn off immediately when I open the driver's side door.

The glovebox isn’t locked in the ordinary sense. It’s just not being actuated if you don’t have the pin. Can easily be shimmed.

That's me too. I tried a number of them but couldn't hear most.

How do you set the headlights to turn off immediately when opening the door?

Damn this is evil

me too

I use the fart. It's starting to get to my wife

Also Pin to Drive

I don’t think the auto lock range is still this long.  My 2026 Highland is locking by the time I turn around to walk away.  I’m not sure what year it was but when I had an older rental Tesla, it made me pretty uncomfortable how long it took to lock/shutdown.

I did this for my wife's Tesla when she showed me a similar video where someone snatched a purse out of the passenger door.

I have a distinct lock sound that I listen for before getting too far away. It’s almost subconscious at this point. Edit: My sound is the 10k feet ding dong sound you hear on an airplane. Always a head turner when people hear it and understand where they've heard it before.

Shocking 🙄

I saw that as a possibility but there’s nothing removed and no damage.

2018, key fob only. It’s notoriously bad at sensing when I am next to it to unlock too, I presume newer phone key models are quicker to lock.

Eh, pretty low on the evil scale given entire countries are being robbed of much more than their wallets.

Why not post their photos and make them famous?

I mean yeah but this is still pretty ruthless to spend this kind of effort into figuring out how to steal from someone. I was just discussing the topic at hand. You want to talk about the evils of the world well how much time you got? It’s a long, sad list.

Yes and also set it to stay locked, even when in parked

I always walk around the front bumper close when exiting. It always locks right then.

They can't punish because the jail would be full of *insert crime type* and that's inappropriate.... Yes, that was the argument in SFO when they went hard left with crime.

Or lock it with the notification on your phone. The *unlock* distance is far closer than lock, so you can lock it from your phone while at a distance it would normally stay unlocked, but it would not unlock again unless you're much closer.

I have a 2024 Highland. The auto lock range isn't consistent. Sometimes it'll lock as I'm walking from the driver side to the passenger side. And sometimes it'll take its time. Always gotta listen to the chime.

Idk if the thieves know this, but many models have a trim piece that comes off on the side of the glovebox. Usually triangular. Once that comes out, you can finger the back of the glovebox and unlatch it manually. Very easy and quick if you know exactly where that g spot is.

I mean this is so easily avoidable  lol . I don’t think I’ve ever gotten out of my car and not  visually verified that it locked before continuing walking . Seems this guy was hidden and has a method but still. That you gotta make sure your doors are locked before continuing to walk

It’s just a piece of plastic, they can put it back in place very easily

I can understand how that would be distressing for her. But what lock sound do you use?

LOL

The newer refresh models have ultra wideband built in, so they can do things like automatic trunk opening and faster proximity lock. I have a 24 MY pre refresh and it uses Bluetooth for the key so I have to walk a good distance away before it locks on its own. I started to hit the lock button on the screen so it locks right away when I close the door.

Interesting, I think I was victim to this possibly recently.

Go to Lights and select Headlights after Exit.

I always wanted to reduce range of walk away

[ Removed by Reddit ]

They rather punish the innocent. New incoming law: It's illegal to walk away from your car without locking it securely. They made it illegal in Michigan to leave your car running in below freezing temperatures with the keys in it due to theft instead of pushing harsher punishments for people doing crime.

i have OCD so i have to make sure the mirrors are folded and i that i actually hear the fart 😂

Interesting. Not only your username, but also that locking is faster when you walk near the front. I find that on open parking lots it takes way too much distance or time to lock it, at least for my liking. On mine it's like 50-80ft or so before it locks, so I might have to try your trick.

There would be 0 damage doing this. That plastic is just clipped in. Locks only keep the honest people out.

Glove box is just holding by a magnet.

I always think about this

Gotta do this, thanks!

Ooooh, this too, thanks!!

Unlock driver side door only and turn off unlock on park and this is way less likely to happen to you. Also make sure your listening to that lock sound and have the car send you notifications for anything left unlocked or open once you’re not near it

Where do you find this setting?

This is the only instant I am happy for the long annoying BEEEEEEEEEp my RAV4 does if one of my doors is open/ajar when I try to lock the car.

How do you unlock driver side door only and turn off unlock on park?

Because the jail would be full of car thieves and that's racist

I use the walkaway lock feature, but I believe I always wait for the chirp.

I always listen for the lock sounds. But good video of the classy individual's actions.

You can get in the glove box by popping off the triangular trim piece between the glovebox and the passenger door and fiddle with something that will unlatch it (for pre-highland Model 3's at least). I don't know about later models or the S or X.

This is why I hold my keycard over the driver-side pillar before walking away, after parking in public areas. Many Android phones can also be held up to the driver-side pillar to lock the doors.

On the UWB (Ultra Wideband) cars (mine is a 2026 Juniper) this doesn’t seem to be an issue when using my iPhone 17 Pro Max or my Apple Watch Ultra 3 (both are UWB enabled). By the time I’m 5 feet away from the car, it quacks and I’m locked. I did have issues with Bluetooth on my 2018 Model 3.

I thought i was just being paranoid. Now always not leaving until locked.

Yup. Came here to say this. Just use an L-shaped pick tool, and you can be in the glovebox in about 5 seconds.

Wouldn’t you get a notification saying the door was left opened / unlocked?

By the time I pass the front bumper mine locks.

This 👆

I believe tesla shortened it not long ago due to this sort of thing. Personally I always listen for the lock sound as I walk away and check the app if I don't hear it.

…in “Locks”

Sentry Mode now needs to include the internal camera for ultimate protection.

This actually brought up a question for me now that I know the glovebox is easily accessible — what about the trunk? If someone got inside and the key wasn’t close in proximity, could they still open trunk or frunk from inside the car?

Tesla side mirrors fold as well when a Tesla is locked. I was eatting lunch one day when a guy tried to get into my car because he thought no one was inside and it left unlocked. Security ran him off after I yelled but didnt catch him. I have since learned to hit the lock button on my screen when I walk away instead of letting it auto lock because security told me the thieves usually used a device to steal your code to unlock the cars.

Yup eyes on the mirrors for me too.

Is it that easy in the cybertruck?

I actually just went back and looked and I did, not til 5:30 though and I left the car at \~5:15. The timestamp of him walking away from the car after looting is 5:20. So I did miss the notification, but it was too late anyways.

Open the driver's door and then press the lock at the top of the screen before exiting. The car then locks and jingle bells when I get out and shut the door.

Personally I would love if they made it so a manual lock can only be manually unlocked. Im always worried at hotels and whatnot when the car is like 4 feet away from us. I think there's a way to deal with it now, but it's a few steps.

I wish I could make my door stop opening everytime I walk near the car.

I don't use walk away lock, I lock my car manually, every time. I'm actually afraid of locking myself out of my car.

You can turn off the "phone key" under safety and drivers in the app! Unlocking from the handle with the phone key (on my 26Y) you have to be very close to the car, it will remain unlocked until you move much further away, but the unlock distance is far closer than the lock distance, so if you lock from them the car screen it is no longer unlockable at a short distance vs not engaging the auto lock for a much further distance (in my experience)

But yes, that would be a nice option!

You could turn the phone key off.

I’ve never heard of this happening until now, but it makes sense that the crooks have figured out a way. Too bad we can’t control how quickly the car locks - similar to a phone or computer lock. How were you able to capture video of the guy pulling up, if Sentry never armed since your car never locked? Seems like Tesla should give us the ability to have the interior cabin camera start recording video if motion is detected without a key present.

Racist as in targeting car thieves in general, or are you trying to slick say a specific group of people mainly steal cars, cause that would be bs

100%.

Tesla should make the vehicle hunk or make a loud noise if it was not able to lock.

I’ve noticed starting around November, the walk away lock feature activates further away than before. In the past, car would lock when I’m like 6 ft away from the car. Now I need to be like 30ft away before I hear the car lock.

We can’t do that because on the chance that these individuals are non-white it would be rrrrrrrrrrrrracist. We can’t have that…..

I have an obnoxious lock sound that freaks people out but it's also unmistakable.

I always thought that kept the headlights on. So what does it do exactly?

Don’t know, never seen one in the wild, I live in Europe. If it’s the same glovebox compartment make, they tend to be modular like that, I reckon it will open that easily.

I did this when I first got the car, but I turned it off because it was slightly annoying, but I may have to put it back on

Quack

This should be higher up. My phone is usually in my hand when I get out so I just swipe the phone over the pillar and locked.

It’s good for the prostate

How do you do this? With the app?

Yes. Can also tap with the keycard to lock

I changed it to a quack so I can differentiate from all the other chirps and beeps in a parking lot

You can lock it immediately if you open your door, tap the lock icon on the screen - then as soon as you shut your door the car will lock.

Post their faces, the internet will do its thing

I'm about to use a washing machine melody, my incoming M3 is white like a washing machine so let's give it the tune.

This is the way

I put stealing from others near the top of my list of evil shit people do personally. it’s one thing to do it from a major corporation but I’ve seen how much it affects the individual people that get robbed, they are never the same and tend to have reduced health and paranoia the rest of their lives. Ive had it happen to me a couple times and it is the worst feelings, second only to watching loved ones die. We need to go back to strict punishment for these actions instead of an absolute non interest by the police and a large chunk of society who has not had it happen to them yet.

The thief’s car is parked along the outer perimeter waiting for Tesla opportunity. I suspect they use the same car and same parking area. I would cruise along that outer area several times a day for a week and see if you can find a match. If you do find a match on model & color then just park in front of them to block them in. If a person jumps out you might have a match. Get images. If no one jumps out, just walk behind vehicle and get plate picture. Create a phone album and move pictures to that folder. Once it is routine, it will add only a few minutes to your day. For safety don’t confront personally.

It's the option to have the headlights stay on for a minute or so after getting out of the car and walking away or having them turn off immediately.

I got my MY-prem in Jan 2026 and before I had a M3 for 5 yrs. There was a lengthy delay in the walk away lock feature on my M3 but on this new MY, within a few seconds of my walking away from it, it locks!! Like super quickly. A crook would have to be Superman to get to door on this MY b4 it locks lol

Damn.. i try to lock it every time with the app when I step out. You can also click the padlock on the screen right before you step out (with the door open) and close the door and it will lock. If it doesn’t then there is something wrong.

This is why you need to listen for the lock sound each time and have a loud one. You should have noticed when it didn’t go off and gone back to your car. Popping open the glovebox is pretty easy even if it’s locked.

It waits 15mins to notify you if you leave it unlocked.

I have a 2025 M3 same phone/watch set up and mines lock pretty quick. Soon as Im a couple feet away it locks. And i have a loud ass transformer lock tone. So mine is very noticeable lol

straw man has no straw. thats not the argument that was made regarding criminal justice reforms but please continue to go off all over this thread.

You can also tap the lock button on the screen immediately after opening your door. Car will lock the moment you close the door. Just don't forget your phone, and if you have passengers, wait for every door to be opened first.

Came here to say this. I always use pin-to-drive, but have a friend that refuses to use it. I’m not getting my car stolen

That’s the one I do, and then I also watch for the mirrors to fold

Neat! I hadn’t tested if the car auto-locks if you lock it with a door open, but that’s great!

I think blocking someone in is risking a confrontation, no?

I listen for the mirrors to fold.

I believe the newer ones are just magnetic and can simply be pulled open as well.

My wife hates it, I love my pet duck!

Doesn't the app usually send you a notification if one of the doors is unlocked when you walk away? That's really odd that they managed to get into the glovebox with your pin set. I wonder if there is some odd work around or they just got lucky and punched in the right password.

So if it turns off as soon as you exit the car and close the door, how will I know that thief opened the door or not? Light will stay off between me closing the door and thief opening the door right?

Good tip, didn't know that. I was using my watch or phone.

My reason for leaving this information was to have the lights turn off as you open the car door. Leaving the lights on gives thieves the impression the car is still unlocked. Which it is if you use the function where the car detects if your phone is a certain proximity to the car.

You can assume thieves know it.

I changed my lock sound to the Transformers sound! No problem hearing that!

I use the old ahhooogah horn. It’s distinct and i don’t mistake it for someone else’s chirp.

You think cops are going to pursue this shit? No way. Sentry is good for someone damaging the car and for discouraging thieves but cops arent going to investigate this kind of thing.

What key? I didn’t get a key. 🔑 I don’t even have a keyhole. 😂

Notice how the perp also has a vehicle with flush handles. OP, maybe it's your turn to get your hands on his stuffs.

So cops don’t investigate theft?

Report to Tesla too. It should alert you that your door is open.

For a lot of cars you can just smack the side of the glove box and it pops right open, no tools or shims needed. I think the older Model S is one of those cars.

I love that the people who claim to be hard on crime, elected a convicted felon. One who tried to overthrow the government. Will likely try again…

Always listen for your lock confirmation before you go into the store

Ya likely because Tesla is the only one that is capable of capturing the crime, where as others might just think they unlocked the car somehow

Would it lock with your phone still in the car?

They do, but petty theft is pretty low on the crime scale and they usually have bigger issues going on. Two iphones, plus $800, and using a stolen card is "wire fraud" so they might go after this one since it has a good picture. Those add up to felonies. But if they steal less than a grand, it's a pretty low misdemeanor and beat cops are busy with family violence, SA, and nonsense "my neighbor won't stop talking loudly at 11am" calls for service.

Did you call Tesla or go by the Tesla SC to see how they got into the glove compartment. I want to know how they did that when you have a pin. I wonder if they used a transponder device that copies the code? Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I can't remember the exact name.

wow, good to know. THe video only shows the beginning. So he reaches out and tries the door to what.. extend the time it takes to lock? Or does that disable the locking feature altogether? I have a custom sound from my lock chime and I change it every once in a while. I always listen for it when I leave my car, but that said, we all can forget.

Pin to.drive is an absolute.must.for.tesla.security. We get so use to just getting out of car and walking away, makes this kind of walk-away theft so much easier. Have had the pin from day 1.

Oh didn't know that about the tap with key card. Thanks

Yep. I always manually lock mine or watch it lock before I get far away.

It’s so at night they illuminate the area a bit before turn ing off.

He opened the door so it never locked

This is an excellent example why setting a distinctive custom lock sound can be helpful. A honk or the sound of mirrors folding can get lost in ambient noise, but [Kefka's laugh from Final Fantasy 6](https://youtu.be/iQvwndYwGWY?) means I know ***my*** car is locked. My wife's blue Model 3 plays the Tardis noise. If you put a WAV file under 1mb named LockChime.wav at the root of a USB drive and plug it into your car, you can change the lock sound in the toybox app. Add a couple seconds of silence at the start of the file, or the sound will overlap with the mirrors folding.

I had $10,000 in product stolen from my business. That’s grand theft. I had a video of their faces but no other information. They took my report and essentially told me tough shit. This has been my experience with police on all forms of theft in metro areas I’ve lived in. If they can’t resolve it quickly, or nobody is physically endangered, it’s a goose chase to them.

My model 3 locks as soon as I closed my door. Even when I walk to the other side to open that door the mirrors have to unfold.

Can't believe more people don't know about this. I always lock before exiting the car if I'm leaving it anywhere in public. Peace of mind.

Where’s the clip of his license plate as he drives forward.

You can press the lock icon on the center touchscreen after popping open your door, and the car will instantly lock once the door is closed again.

In what state was this?

I can't even get my glove box to open when I want it to open!

lol my CT quacking is so annoying and serves that purpose 😂

So all doors must be opened first, hit the lock, then close the doors and the car locks immediately??

I have a custom lock sound and its pretty loud..so I can hear it when it locks. My concern is it doesn't normally lock until I'm at least 10-15ft away.

Same....its freakin loud

Correct. Basically, when you open a door from the inside, it "unlocks" the car, so that's why you have to tap the lock icon after the "last door" has been opened. My workflow when I get to work is open trunk, open door, tap lock, make sure I have my phone and keycard, get out, close door. If you're alone in the car, it's easy. But if you have passengers with you, you have to wait for their doors to open before you tap the lock icon. But even if the lock is "undone", the car still locks itself as you walk away, regardless. This is just if you want to be hyper sensitive about locking the car immediately. Clear as mud? 😂

That sucks

In addition, if your phone has Bluetooth use-as-key on, your doors will close and lock if you pressed the lock button on the screen after last door has been opened, but the car will open again if someone tries to open a door from the outside. So it will look locked, but won't actually be, until your phone dies. But your phone will not get locked in the car, assuming the Bluetooth connection is active. I use the lock button on the screen most often on warm/hot days when I park in the shade and want the windows rolled down farther than the vent option in app. Roll windows down to desired level, including all the way down, open that last door, push lock button on screen, close door. Car will lock, but windows will stay down. This method advises not leaving laptops or loose cash on car seats.

Wouldn't they still need a key?

Unfortunately a pin on the glove box is not as secure as everyone thinks. If you can open the passenger door, you can very easily pop off a cover and open the glove box with any small hook in like 5-10 seconds. If you're into robbing Teslas, this isn't hard info to find. And if you really don't care about the car, I'm sure you could pop it open with a small crowbar very easily. Don't leave valuables in the car, even the locked glove box. It's good for out of sight out of mind. But for something like in this video where someone is specifically targeting your car, nowhere in the car is safe.

Yes. But it'll unlock as soon as you pull the handle since the phone is nearby (just tried it to verify). However, if you don't have the phone app, only the key card (like a rental car), it WILL lock the key card inside. Trust me on that one.

Yes, but this person also forgets his phone in the car more often than he should, which is also a key.

Yeah that would explain it.

Quack