in pretty good shape. I lost my car radio, sunglasses, and some tools but at least it wasnt stripped or damaged.

Not really sure how they got in, probably due to this ( https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1194445 ) vulnerability with the passenger doors, which ive known about for years but never bothered to fix (now i have a reason, im an idiot dont tell me).

but my question is how did they start the thing? They basically daily drove it around town for about 3 weeks (i have multiple parking tickets). I'm not asking for anyone to tell me how to hotwire a prelude, but id like to know if there are some exposed wires or something hanging off of my car that I should check for. The steering column is still together, but i noticed a lot of the white battery buildup on the battery terminals. Everything else *looks* ok. Do I even need to worry about how they started it?

I'm asking because this is still my daily driver and id like to know if I should check for anything as a safety or maintenance precaution.

 

Glad to hear yours was recovered man.

 

glad to see you recovered your car. Like you said, at least it wasn't stripped

 

Well first off does your car actually have the security problem like you mentioned. Like If you take a honda key thats not yours can you turn your look enough to unlock the doors.

Preludes are easy to break into anyway with no noticeable damage.

2nd question is the steering wheel lock broken.

Because if your steering wheel lock is not broken and your steering column hasn't been touched I would think someone has a set of your keys.

 

I'll have to check the steering column again when i get home tonight, but it looked untouched to me when i looked initially. Perhaps it was put back together before they decided to ditch my car.

Its not likely that someone has a key to my car because I still have the 2 originals and i dont think someone would go through the trouble to steal & copy or forge one.

Any other ideas? Is this type of thing always done through the steering column?

 

Just because your keys have the H emblem on them does not make them the originals, you can get a copy made at a Honda dealer with proof that the car is yours, which the past owner might have done to sell you the car with two keys and him keep one.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ’95 BA8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just because your keys have the H emblem on them does not make them the originals, you can get a copy made at a Honda dealer with proof that the car is yours, which the past owner might have done to sell you the car with two keys and him keep one.</TD></TR></TABLE>

still dont think this is what happened because I'm the original owner of this car.

i really doubt someone would go through the trouble because its completely stock 96 si auto with about 150k rough miles on it. been through the trenches with me living in dallas, chicago (winters are tough), san diego, and now san francisco. front end bumper damage and a missing radio antenna...but then again who knows...

luckily i live in SF, where apparently 90% of stolen vehicles end up being recovered. I was just really lucky to get it back without any damage to it.

 

nvm what i said then.
But yeah just be happy simply disconnect the door lock cylinder.

 

Okay Recovered car.. Thats great.. I always hate to hear stolen car stories. But when one gets recovered it always makes me smile. Glad to hear it

 

just checked the steering column and i dont see any damage to it that would indicate that it was tampered with. all the wires underneath the hood look fine too.

i guess ill just ignore it for now, although im really curious as to exactly how they were driving my car around. ohwell..

 

I'd take off the steering column covers and have a better look. Without a key, they had to have messed with something.

Sucks that you couldn't take advantage of the security writeup in time, but I'm glad you got the car back. Yours most likely has the same problem as mine did, as mine is a 96 si also and (was) an auto.

 

I'm a locksmith and IF I wanted to I could have a key made and be gone with any fourth gen prelude in under two minutes. Hondas, in general, are probably one of the easiest cars on the road to make a key to. Oh yeah, and there would be absolutely no damage to the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slamdlude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm a locksmith and IF I wanted to I could have a key made and be gone with any fourth gen prelude in under two minutes. Hondas, in general, are probably one of the easiest cars on the road to make a key to. Oh yeah, and there would be absolutely no damage to the car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

nice to know....*mental note* never associate with locksmiths

 

you can get keys cut for any car simply by getting the vin from the window. Yes some places will make you prove you own the car with the registration and insurance but if you call around you will, will being a key word, find a shop place that won't ask questions and won't ask for the proof of owner ship and cut you a key.

My local news station did a investigation on this. They went to a mall parking lot, read off the vin to a shop claiming they locked themselves out. 4 of the 5 places required proof of insurance and registration. the 5th one did not ask and cut the key no questions asked. The key was delievered and the door was opened and the car was started just like that.

What i could not believe is the news showed the public how easy it is to do this crime.......expletiveing morons. Its no wonder car theft is one of the highest crimes in my city. imo, this is probably what happened.

 

interesting, this is all good to know. thanks guys