YOU can stop thieves from getting their hands on your motor with a little-known trick that takes just 10 seconds, an expert mechanic has revealed.
Scotty Kilmer, who has been fixing vehicles for half a century, shared the handy DIY hack on his YouTube channel.
YouTube / @scottykilmerExpert mechanic Scotty Kilmer shared a quick and easy car security hack[/caption]
YouTube / @scottykilmerAll you have to do is remove the fuse that controls your fuel injection system[/caption]
Car thefts hit an all-time high in 2023 according to the latest figures from insurance firm LV General.
Instances of theft spiked 28% compared to the previous year, which itself had seen a whopping 59% increase on 2021’s tally.
Fortunately, all you have to do to stay safe is pop your bonnet and remove a key component, which can be replaced in moments.
Scotty explained: “No thief carries a fuel injection system relay.
“You just take the fuse box top off [in the engine bay] it’ll say which one is the electronic fuel injector relay.
“Pull it out…the car won’t start without it.
“Just make sure you don’t lose it and remember where it plugs back in.”
Removing the relay deactivates the fuel injection system which, as the name suggests, is responsible for pushing fuel into the engine.
Cars haven’t used carburettors since the early 1990s so all the fuel intake is done electronically these days.
If the relay isn’t plugged in, the computer in the car doesn’t receive a signal telling it to inject fuel into the engine, so there can be no ignition.
And Scotty suggested that this could be much more effective than some more popular security measures.
He claimed: “A lot of people will get a killswitch and put it under the dashboard.
“But all the thieves know that.
“They have flashlights, they’ll look under there.
“They’ll just flip the switch and then steal your car.”
It comes after another expert revealed a car gadget that can fix a problem faced by millions with a “small upgrade”.