BRZ Limitend Stock Sat Nav CD Radio Unit touchscreen Theft
 

I went out to gated condo parking lot 7pm Saturday night and found some jackass removed the bezel, touch screen, SD Card, volume button from my audio head unit. No sign of entry on doors or windows. Car was locked, alarm armed (stock). Slight pry tool damage to HVAC vent surround above unit. I wonder how secure the wireless keyfob entry system is. I lock the car with the keyfob after getting out and understand the car locks after stepping away after a few seconds.

The insurance quote for replacing the unit including map SD card and trim piece is $2420. Less a 500 deductible.


It's not the best Sat Nav unit but I don't want to encourage more burglary by installing an after market one.

Another strange thing was the Satellite radio played the over the next day tuned to same channel at same volume with the touch screen removed.

After the repair I'll have a working partial Fujitsu FA601US head unit if anyone wants to make an offer.

2013 Subaru BRZ Limited
Stock Fujitsu FA601US Sat Nav CD DVD Radio

Stock has alarm disabled, and is just the imobilizer. So, what he did was probably use that pump thing that techs use to get you into your car when you've locked your keys in, unlocked the door, got in and went to work.

You need to go to the dealership to get your system configed to have the alarm turned on, since it's off by default (why? No clue).

And how did he remove the touch screen? That's not a detachable face unit!

You can turn on the alarm by yourself (instructions in the manual).

I am baffled why someone would go through the trouble of detaching the face. How do you even do that? It's probably more consuming than removing the entire head unit, which is only held on by four screws.

For that much deductible, I would just buy a CaFi unit and replace it myself. Then it doesnt even ding your insurance....

Although the stock alarm it comes from dealer turned off, I turned it on so it blinks on dash when car is locked. I didn't know about a pump up air bag to open window. If it was used, he didn't damage the tint or window seal as far as I can tell. The touch screen attaches with tabs on stamped metal front of head unit and connects via ribbon connector. I guess it was pried off with a screwdriver. The burglar removed the silver plastic parts from around the radio and above glove box that snap onto to dash frame. The audio parts are much more accessible with the silver plastic dash trim removed. One of the metal tabs is slightly bent.

ok, so the guy now has essentially the faceplate of a stereo..... but no actual stereo??

What is CaFi unit?

http://store.ca-fi.com/index.php?rou...product_id=283

Right, the bezel and touchscreen parts are worthless without the head unit. I don't think there is any resale value for the stolen parts :bonk:.

Yeah, this is kinda weird. As someone else said, the entire Head Unit can be easily removed. Stealing just the faceplate seems pretty stupid, unless someone was specifically trying to replace a broken touchscreen. Still, probably easier to just grab the whole HU.

Not sure what you're saying here. Did you lock the door or did you think the car would lock the door for you? It won't lock the door for you if you get out and leave it unlocked. I believe it only locks itself if it's locked, you unlock it with keyfob but don't open the door, and then several seconds pass.

I'm sure you can find a used OEM HU on here for just a few hundred dollars.

-Z

Yeah, I didn't think it auto locks for you once you leave the car, only if you accidentally unlock it and never open the door does it re-lock itself. You have to either touch the door handle touch pad (with the horizontal lines) or the key fob button to lock the doors when leaving the car. At least that's how I thought our car worked. I also never understood when people were saying that the alarm is off by default, if your dash has a blinking light while locked does that mean the alarm is on or just the immobilizer, cause mine blinks and I never changed a setting, but I also never have tested the alarm... should probably try that with the windows down....

I have a perfectly working stock OEM headunit (from a brz limited) that I'll sell you for $300 shipped.

Don't even bother getting insurance to pay out for the HU replacement.

The blinking lock icon is ONLY for the immobilizer. Read your manual. The alarm (not the immobilizer) is off by default. There's a song and dance routine you can go through to turn it on, but your dealership should be able to do that for you for no cost (it's part of the "customizable" features listed in the back of your manual).

SirBrass,

Thanks for the offer, however, I'm going to proceed with insurance claim as it covers the install and damaged interior parts around head unit and has warranty. If it occurs again I may look you up.

Cheers,
Rob
Robert

What install?

Remove trim piece, unscrew HU mounts from dash, pull HU out and disconnect all connectors, unscrew mount plates from old HU and install on new HU (just a few screws), connect all connectors to new HU, place in dash, screw into dash, replace trim cover, done.

It LITERALLY is less than 15 minutes start to finish and only requires a 10mm socket wrench with extension and a phillips head screw driver.