I added a starter kill switch to a Montero SUV years ago. I used a 30 amp wether proof switch that I hid behind the grill, but reachable with my fingers. I'd forget to close it from time to time and had to get out of the truck to flick it to ON - but no big problem. I figured a thief would just move on to the next and easier vehicle.

 

Thanks. Do you have an aftermarket kill switch in your Camry wagon?

 

LOL, it's a 25 year old slow-mo wagon, so unless a grandma wants a grocery getter I'm not too worried.

 

If someone wants your car, they are likely too bored to choose the better car down the street. Look for an EWD, cut whichever wire you need to, then add a switch. Not much to it.

 

What is an EWD?

 

EWD = Wiring diagram.

My kill switch is wired into the fuel pump harness and uses a switch that looks stock in a hidden spot. It cranks and might start once, but will die before you can move it because the fuel pump won't be running.

Kill switches are only effective if you use them 100% of the time so they are just a mindless habit, so keep in mind it will add a step to starting and leaving the car, and will add a potential point of failure as you kinda have to wire it to a critical component.

 

This brings back memories....
Back when cars were non computerized I had kill switches in all my cars.
Then it was just a simple toggle switch which broke the starter circuit, hidden somewhere out of site.

 

It still is a toggle switch...

 

No one is going to steal a gen 3/4 camry to strip for parts. Too many people out there right now taking Scat pack/Hell cat Dodge Chargers and Challengers for their drive trains. Most people stealing cars will just show up with a tow truck and nothing is beating that. If someone steals your car its because its an easy joy ride vehicle to take. Just get a simple alarm with tilt/shock sensor, and that cool little flashing alarm light will most likely deter someone away if its a joyrider, they will look for easier prey. All you should get is perhaps a smashed window and only if you decided to carelessly leave something valuable in plain sight to make it worth their time..

 

The previous owner of my car had his camry stolen twice from him in the last year he had it, and then basically a third time when he sold it to me for $1500. That was with an alarm and light blinking.

You say nobody is going to steal a gen 3/4 camry to strip for parts but they are literally the most stolen car in my area. They are stolen so often the county sheriff's department sent out letters about a year ago offering any owners with registered gen 3/4 camrys specifically a free wheel lock listening statistics of stolen vehicles and gen 3/4 camrys were listed as the most stolen vehicle in my county, second was 90s civics. Gonna differ by area, but there are 10 million of these floating around - they get stolen a lot.

Any good thief will just shimmy the door lock through the window seal and hotwire it. Most of them are not goods thieves though, just meth heads looking for a car to part out for cash.

A kill switch stops theives that are not part of a car ring with flatbeds and professional locksmiths tools, which is 99% of people who would try steal one of these.

 

It was stolen twice simply because these cars are easy to steal. We’re talking about 20+ year old cars here. If people are stealing these cars to strip then it’s probably a dope fiend looking to scrap some metal to get a fix or something, who the hell knows. There’s nothing worth while to try and sell from these cars, they are a dime a dozen.

Wheel locks were supposed to achieve what exactly, a sacrificial socket pounded on will remove any wheel lock, just like an alarm it’s just a deterrent at the end of the day.

But an alarm will only work good as it’s installation. I’m betting the the install was crap like the majority of cars out there. Most alarm shops hardly even tuck away the brain for the alarm, remove one plastic dash panel and boom there’s the entire install right there lol. I see it all the time at my local junkyards when I’m looking for parts.

 

My 2000 Corolla is worth less than my 2006 Corolla, and I have only one garage space, so I'm inclined to put the Camry on the street. However, I have a kill switch AND factory FOB in the Corolla.

Early this AM, a neighbor about 2 blocks away reported having her 1996 Saturn stolen.

My 2000 Camry has the VIP system, but I don't know if that protects against hot wiring and screwdriver-as-a-key in the ignition. Anyone know?

 

"My 2000 Camry has the VIP system, but I don't know if that protects against hot wiring and screwdriver-as-a-key in the ignition. Anyone know?"

if there is a transmitter in the key that is mated to the ignition kill, then, yes, it would prevent that kind of typical grab and go

if there is only an alarm, then, no it will do no good, unless you personally hear it and react in time to do anything about it (which means: alarms, alone, do little but annoy and anger your neighbors when they go off by accident)

Heck, a thief could easily drive off with the alarm blaring, shrugging at anyone who looked at them, and anyone who saw them would think only: "that darn owner is having trouble with his crap aftermarket alarm, isn't he?"

 

There is a rash of window glass break-ins, apparently to steal registration info to sell to identity thieves. My Camry's VIP supposedly has a glass breakage and the car is going to be parked right in front of my house at my bedroom window. I don't care about annoying the neighbors, because they annoy me many more times than I ever could.

 

If people really want it, then it doesn't matter what you do. All you can do is make it harder for them to take it.

 

Vangm25 is right, reminds me of a guy I knew in College. He rode a BMW touring bike, and used a chain that had hardened 3/8" thick links.
But, he used to say, if someone wants it, two strong guys plus a truck, and it's gone.

 

Screw it, Ill just put a welder, chop-saw, rebar, impact drill with auger bits, and a box of lag bolts in my trunk.

Every time I park I'll send a dozen lag bolts 6" into the pavement, bust out the welder, and make sure my car is sufficiently bolted into the ground.

Perfect way to get out of getting towed for parking violations as well.

This will be easier than sticking a 2 sqcm gps tracker in it that I can ignore forever.

 

Screw it, Ill just put a welder, chop-saw, rebar, impact drill with auger bits, and a box of lag bolts in my trunk.

Every time I park I'll send a dozen lag bolts 6" into the pavement, bust out the welder, and make sure my car is sufficiently bolted into the ground.

Perfect way to get out of getting towed for parking violations as well.

This will be easier than sticking a 2 sqcm gps tracker in it that I can ignore forever.

That won't stop anyone. You need to build a electrified barbed wire fence around it with a little watch tower with a search light and three armed guards. Two to walk the perimeter and one to use the search light. Then you gotta pull the battery, pull the EFI relay, use a steer wheel club, use a brake club, boot each wheel, then arm the alarm.