Why Is It so Easy to Steal the Radar Sensor Safety Tech off a Honda CR-V?
Thieves are stealing the radar sensor safety tech from Honda CR-V vehicles and selling it online for a few hundred dollars. Why? Because it’s so easy.
It’s gotten so bad that some people have even said they won’t buy a Honda anymore until the automaker fixes the problem. One woman on TikTok (@geenimars) recently posted about being a victim of radar sensor theft.
“If you have… a Honda CR-V in Yonkers, they’re stealing radar, which is the logo and the radar that’s behind it. And it’s gonna look like this,” she said while pointing to the missing badging on her Honda’s grille.
“Maybe get a camera or something, some kind of grille guard that’s gonna cover this. Because they’re gonna steal that,” she added.
She said it will cost her over $3,000 to have the safety tech replaced. And she’s not alone. She says others have reported similar issues and have also had their airbags stolen. All thieves have to do in that case is smash a window and pry off the steering wheel cover.
Thieves are stealing the radar sensors off Honda CR-Vs all over America
This isn’t just happening in New York. WBAL News in Baltimore recently aired a report about other thefts of Honda radar sensors. In one part of the city, Police said they were investigating at least eight thefts that were reported over the past month.
“I went outside… and all the lights were blinking, and I knew right there because I had just read about it,” one victim said in the report.
How easy is it to steal the safety tech off a Honda CR-V?
In another report by WUSA News, Zach Kahn, manager of Alexandria Collision Center, said, “If you are experienced, it takes two to three minutes.”
He added that these systems are also located behind the front logo on some Toyotas and Acuras, but that 2015 Honda models and newer are usually targeted.
According to The Drive, all it takes to steal the radar sensors off a Honda CR-V is to just pry loose the clips that hold the unit in place.
“These aren’t just thieves pulling up into your driveway in the middle of the night with a sawzall, making all sorts of ruckus for ten minutes, and then heading to the scrap yard the next morning to offload platinum and palladium,” AutoPacific consumer insights analyst Robby DeGraff told The Drive. “This operation is far more discreet, targeted, and thought-out.”
Is there a way to prevent this type of theft?
Unfortunately, DeGraff also said he doesn’t know of a quick and easy solution to the problem. The automaker could create software that bricks the sensor after someone has removed it, but that would take significant time.
In the meantime, aftermarket companies have created some anti-theft systems to make the safety tech harder to remove. Kahn recommended installing a metal radar protector that covers the system behind the front logo. Then again, that also costs consumers money.
