Stolen 1988 FJ62 in Seattle

[kevin in okinawa]

@JoeW Amazing! What a roller coaster the last 24 hours have been! Huge thank you to both @JoeW and @red66toy for the cross-post to Seattle cruiserheads! What a phenomenal community. She is back in the garage now where she belongs, no worse for wear. And one thief off the streets for a little while at least. Huge thank you and massive gratitude to everyone who helped, even the good thoughts and the encouraging posts helped me as I was feeling super depressed yesterday.

your silver star saved you!

 

[Chris Cahill]

Fantastic story! So glad you got it back undamaged.

 

[805LX470]

Crazy story! What are people doing regarding theft protection! I'm picking up my 62 soon, and trying to keep OE (yes, ridiculous to think that I don't want to splice into any wiring)

 

[bhsdriller]

^ Garage

 

[MiyamotoMusashi]

Crazy story! What are people doing regarding theft protection! I'm picking up my 62 soon, and trying to keep OE (yes, ridiculous to think that I don't want to splice into any wiring)

If you're not planning on a manual transmission in the near future then you should look at Cruiser Cults' products.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Thanks all. The tracking devices, kill switches, and other suggestions are much appreciated. The ironic part of this story is knowing it would be trivial to steal I have parked my cruiser in the garage more or less every night in the 4 years I've owned it. I think the night it was stolen was only the 3rd time I'd left it on the street in 4 years. @JoeW is right, this guy didn't know that he had stolen something that would stand out - he was just looking for transportation. There is zero damage to the ignition or anything else, so either he used an old key or the cop said even a screwdriver or other thin, flat piece of metal would work. I'm not sure how he unlocked the doors though as my key barely works in either door cylinder. I wish I knew what trick he used because when my son locked my keys inside last year, had to wait an hour for locksmith to show up and then he did the inflatable balloon between the door and the door frame trick - which really made me cringe as I thought of all of the existing air leaks that would be getting worse.

Pretty much all of the ignitions in our 60 series are old and worn so it doesn't take much to get something to work. When @Paul DiNapoli got his cruiser back there was a key that was filed down. Possibly one for the doors and then anther for the ignition. A little wiggling and bam they are in and off with your rig. It might be the incorrect phrase but I have heard these filed down keys referred to as ghost keys.

Clubs are good visual deterrents, but a steering wheel can be cut pretty fast. A good kill switch, hidden or factory looking one in plain sight is a must on any cruiser nowadays. I am paranoid about mine and always make sure it is the second car in our driveway.

Just saw this thread this morning. What a great start to my day reading this. @JoeW I applaud you sir. Thanks for your efforts here. I don't know if I have ever seen one of these go this way. Just awesome.

Edit: OP, maybe have a romp through this thread for future issues in your area:

Is the new Apple Air Tag the best theft tracking device?

forum.ih8mud.com

Hide a tracking device (or 2-3 devices) in your vehicle. They are not perfect, but they are cheap and better than nothing…much better.

Hell yes!

Thieves frequently park a stolen vehicle in a conspicuous location like that to see if anyone shows up using Lojack or various tracking systems. This crook doesn't seem that sophisticated, though. Wonder how they nabbed him?

There is NO top-secrets majic tricks or old-skool lock smith techniques that are still locked away in some toyota safe some where when it comes to using another TR-33

Profile FJ60, 61.or 62 let alone the same TR-33 on all FJ40 73-10/85 globally .....



- the ability to simply giggle one old worn out factory key from above applications list to open another same in kind lock cylinder is a 1 answer question

and a totally preventable scenario , like being able to pull out the ignition key while driving out of the column ignition lock ...


- your said oem keys or aftermarket key are worn out , get factory code cut oem blanks cut to your key code step 1


- step 2 replace any original locks that seam sloppy with NEW OEM locks re-keyed to your factory key code by a certified toyota vehical lock and key technition


- now if you have new solid locks & a SHARP Factory Code Cut key the chances of a old worn out toyota key making them operate in a theft or break in attempt are

super un-likely ......



- those are the facts ....

- here are some more facts that may surprise you .....

- This topic comes at a ODD time for all 60 and 62 owner operators , as : ALL but the drivers door lock cylinders are NLA / DISC. now

​

- 69057-90A06 Ignition FJ60

- 69051-90A06 Pass door 60/62

- 69058-90A02 Fuel Door 60/62

- 69055-90A06 manual push button lock rear hatch FJ60

- 69055-90A11 / 90A14 FJ62 Power Actuated rear hatch

ONLY the 69052-90A06 Drivers door 60/ 62 is currently available , i highly recommend all 60 and 62 folks scoop up qty x 2 of these asap before there gone for good ,

WHY qty x 2 ?

because both front doors have SIAMESE Locks cylinders

- more in the Siamese topic later

​

 

[John McVicker]

Battery disconnect WITH a keyed padlock. Not perfect but a very good deterrent.

 

[mrmanos]

There is NO top-secrets majic tricks or old-skool lock smith techniques that are still locked away in some toyota safe some where when it comes to using another TR-33

Profile FJ60, 61.or 62 let alone the same TR-33 on all FJ40 73-10/85 globally .....



- the ability to simply giggle one old worn out factory key from above applications list to open another same in kind lock cylinder is a 1 answer question

and a totally preventable scenario , like being able to pull out the ignition key while driving out of the column ignition lock ...


- your said oem keys or aftermarket key are worn out , get factory code cut oem blanks cut to your key code step 1


- step 2 replace any original locks that seam sloppy with NEW OEM locks re-keyed to your factory key code by a certified toyota vehical lock and key technition


- now if you have new solid locks & a SHARP Factory Code Cut key the chances of a old worn out toyota key making them operate in a theft or break in attempt are

super un-likely ......



- those are the facts ....

- here are some more facts that may surprise you .....

- This topic comes at a ODD time for all 60 and 62 owner operators , as : ALL but the drivers door lock cylinders are NLA / DISC. now

​

- 69057-90A06 Ignition FJ60

- 69051-90A06 Pass door 60/62

- 69058-90A02 Fuel Door 60/62

- 69055-90A06 manual push button lock rear hatch FJ60

- 69055-90A11 / 90A14 FJ62 Power Actuated rear hatch

ONLY the 69052-90A06 Drivers door 60/ 62 is currently available , i highly recommend all 60 and 62 folks scoop up qty x 2 of these asap before there gone for good ,

WHY qty x 2 ?

because both front doors have SIAMESE Locks cylinders

- more in the Siamese topic later

View attachment 3055134


View attachment 3055070









​

Very interesting! I bought my Fj60 from a guy who was from Seattle. Electrical engineer, he installed a weird kill/toggle switch in the fuse box with a tiny little button that was supposed to “reset” it. He had it wired backwards, so that when it was switched to “off”, it was really on. And vise versa. “On” was really off. Anyway it’s been nothing but a huge pima for the last 15 years. Now, the tiny little button must be depressed for it to start at all. And me, having no knowledge about such things, am wondering if it was the cause for my rig suddenly dying the other day at 50mph without any warning at all. I’ve been wracking my brain if it’s the coil, the igniter, the dizzy, the keyed ignition switch which has a broken return spring and must be turned back a notch after starting to turn the starter off. Wow. And to realize this truck lives 4 miles off the pavement, on a gravel road, on a horse farm, 13 miles from the nearest town. Of all the stuff I have to worry about, someone stealing my cruiser is at the bottom of the list. I can see any vehicle approaching my place from a mile away. It’s good to not live in a city, but I hate the mice and occasional marmot( big big ground squirrels) that gets under the hood and wrecks a lot of stuff. Even now, just before I started writing this, I put traps and a big block of Decon poison under the hood. In the fall,we are invaded by mice. Our barn cats won’t kill them at all. We think it’s because they taste bad; they’re actually canabils and eat their dead friends who get killed in the traps! Sorry for blathering off topic, but I couldn’t resist telling you’all about my own experience with the keys, security system, ignition, mice, and cats who won’t them. Btw, my cats only eat sparrows and voles. Those must taste good. They also kill big ass gophers, but don’t eat them; they just bring ‘em to the door and make a special kind of meow.

 

[chelo]

Op should have bought a nice dinner for joew.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Very interesting! I bought my Fj60 from a guy who was from Seattle. Electrical engineer, he installed a weird kill/toggle switch in the fuse box with a tiny little button that was supposed to “reset” it. He had it wired backwards, so that when it was switched to “off”, it was really on. And vise versa. “On” was really off. Anyway it’s been nothing but a huge pima for the last 15 years. Now, the tiny little button must be depressed for it to start at all. And me, having no knowledge about such things, am wondering if it was the cause for my rig suddenly dying the other day at 50mph without any warning at all. I’ve been wracking my brain if it’s the coil, the igniter, the dizzy, the keyed ignition switch which has a broken return spring and must be turned back a notch after starting to turn the starter off. Wow. And to realize this truck lives 4 miles off the pavement, on a gravel road, on a horse farm, 13 miles from the nearest town. Of all the stuff I have to worry about, someone stealing my cruiser is at the bottom of the list. I can see any vehicle approaching my place from a mile away. It’s good to not live in a city, but I hate the mice and occasional marmot( big big ground squirrels) that gets under the hood and wrecks a lot of stuff. Even now, just before I started writing this, I put traps and a big block of Decon poison under the hood. In the fall,we are invaded by mice. Our barn cats won’t kill them at all. We think it’s because they taste bad; they’re actually canabils and eat their dead friends who get killed in the traps! Sorry for blathering off topic, but I couldn’t resist telling you’all about my own experience with the keys, security system, ignition, mice, and cats who won’t them. Btw, my cats only eat sparrows and voles. Those must taste good. They also kill big ass gophers, but don’t eat them; they just bring ‘em to the door and make a special kind of meow.

this is something i made to warn folks about mice !

 

[PanhandleFJ]

My Cruiser is that same color and maybe year. I've had two guys come up to my door and really press me about selling it. I got the impression they were casing or fishing. They seemed a little off. Not like other random offers you get at intersections or parking lots. Anyway, i started seriously thinking of some kind of security. Glad you got yours back.

 

[vipergrhd]

Very interesting! I bought my Fj60 from a guy who was from Seattle. Electrical engineer, he installed a weird kill/toggle switch in the fuse box with a tiny little button that was supposed to “reset” it. He had it wired backwards, so that when it was switched to “off”, it was really on. And vise versa. “On” was really off. Anyway it’s been nothing but a huge pima for the last 15 years. Now, the tiny little button must be depressed for it to start at all. And me, having no knowledge about such things, am wondering if it was the cause for my rig suddenly dying the other day at 50mph without any warning at all. I’ve been wracking my brain if it’s the coil, the igniter, the dizzy, the keyed ignition switch which has a broken return spring and must be turned back a notch after starting to turn the starter off. Wow. And to realize this truck lives 4 miles off the pavement, on a gravel road, on a horse farm, 13 miles from the nearest town. Of all the stuff I have to worry about, someone stealing my cruiser is at the bottom of the list. I can see any vehicle approaching my place from a mile away. It’s good to not live in a city, but I hate the mice and occasional marmot( big big ground squirrels) that gets under the hood and wrecks a lot of stuff. Even now, just before I started writing this, I put traps and a big block of Decon poison under the hood. In the fall,we are invaded by mice. Our barn cats won’t kill them at all. We think it’s because they taste bad; they’re actually canabils and eat their dead friends who get killed in the traps! Sorry for blathering off topic, but I couldn’t resist telling you’all about my own experience with the keys, security system, ignition, mice, and cats who won’t them. Btw, my cats only eat sparrows and voles. Those must taste good. They also kill big ass gophers, but don’t eat them; they just bring ‘em to the door and make a special kind of meow.

Could you post a picture of this so called anti theft device that the engineer installed? I'm trying to figure it out in my head how he wired it, you could be on to something about your stalling issue.

 

[Bob62]

Fantastic outcome!!!! Love it!!!! I pleasantly surprised the Seattle cops even responded. My daughter suffered a home invasion out there at 3 am and it took them hours to show up. They also don't show up at all for adult sexual assault victims.. Seattle police stopped investigating new adult sexual assaults this year, memo shows - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/seattle-police-halted-investigating-adult-sexual-assaults-this-year-internal-memo-shows/

 

[Catching Neutral]

My first 40 had something like this in the glove box. Since I drove it topless all the time I could just remove the key and take it with me. Best thing the PO did to that 40
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