Unfortunatley this past friday nite I was eating dinner at a hibachi restaurant and when I came out to my car my door was messed up and my front windows were down. Theifs broke in to my car by using the window down feature and the must have been able to do it real fast. they stole everything in my car but furtunatley they did not damage anything except for my door. I am waiting for my estimate to see what insurance will do for me. But please watch where u park b/c the new max is obviously an easy target with this window down feature.

 

I'm not sure how someone else could use the "windows down" option on your car. I can't imagine someone being able to use any key/key fob to do this.....I'm confused

 

they broke off that housing around the key hole on the drivers side door and jammed something like a screw driver behind it and got the wires back there to roll down the windows

 

I have read about this before but about other cars. I guess Nissan hasn't learned from others mistakes. The window-down feature should have be made to work only with the keyfob.
It's scary that this could happen to any of us, so easily.

 

basically it's a switch that you just need to touch/connect to make the windows go down. there's a few wires connect to the lock cyl....you can pretty much figure it out from there.

 

but i thought w/o the keyfob or chip in key, the alarm should sound. I know that won't stop someone... did you have something visible that they were after? Nissan should advertise that the secruity system disables the car w/o the key during theft attempts. but I guess that would bring more attn to it as a challenge.

 

all of my windows are tinted so the definatley did not see anything visible that they might have wanted, maybe they thought since my front windows were tinted that there was somthin good inside my car.

 

That sux man. Sorry to hear this. Yeah, if they pop the lock and tie a few wires together they will disable your factory alarm and then it will roll your windows down.

Adding an aftermarket security will at least sound a siren when they pop your lock.

Good Luck with the insurance!

 

Yeah, this happened to me on my 99 before I got a Clifford Alarm and other security measures. Kinda scary that mine is a 99 and Nissan still haven't done anything with the new ones from a security perspective. Maybe they don't know?

 

What about prevention?
-A metal plate behind it?
-shield the key wires in braid?
-code to disable the auto-down feature permanently?

 

I don't think we need to write instruction on "How To" disable the alarm. It's bad enough this thread tells anyone that reads it that the window down feature allows break ins.

nissan gives us this inferior alarm, yet if u add an aftermarket one or a shock sensor like i wanted to, any related electrical parts lose their warranty.

 

I had an incident where I was in a bar for a few hours and when I came out both my windows were down. There was a book of CD's sitting there, my digital camera, and an IPOD. Luckily noone took anything, but it sucks because I usually carry my keys in my back pocket and if you sit on them just right.... windows down!


<<MY RIDES>>

 

omg, that is Nuts!

Greg

 

kcmaxx, that is a crazy story ::takes keyfob out of back pocket::

 

sorry about your Max

 

Thats it! I am shaving my door handles

 

Ive been thinkin the same thing! I saw a riced out civic today w/no handles. Looked pretty good.

 

If you roll down the windows with the key, alarm doesn't go off.
so i think it should be easy to roll down the windows with screw driver without alarm going off.

thief

 

This is not what I wanted to hear about the Max.

 

It's actually a common "problem". Many, many cars have this key-operated windows-down feature. Our friends over on the G35 forum have been sqawking about it for years. And then there's BMW's , Audi's, etc., etc. Jam a screwdriver in the lock mechanism, twist it and break the lock, then down go the windows.

The G35 guys worked up a fairly complex fix that disables the windows-down feature, but it involves modding the lock mechanism. And if you don't lead over your keyhole, the bad guys won't know it's disabled and they'll just screw up your door trying to get in.

But look at it this way: A car is one of the easiest things to get into anyway. If they don't use the windows-down feature, maybe they'll just smash the window (like they did mine two different times). They will get in if they want to, so heed the advice and watch where you leave your car ...

Mike

 

i'm really sorry about your max... even if you get a top of the line alarm system, if the thieves want to get in, they'll get in...

 

How do you use the windows down feature on the keyfob? This is new to me and I've had the car 6 months....

Thieves will get in one way or another.

 

Hold the unlock button down for 5 seconds and the windows will start to go down (let go and they'll stop).

Very handy for letting the hot air out of the car when you approach the car in the parking lot, etc.

 

Was it the Hibichi restaurant in PHilly where Dave and Busters is?

 

Sweet it works. Lock button doesn't make them go back up though...

 

No... been discussed at length though...

Put the key in the door and turn it counter-clockwise (and hold). The car will lock and the windows will go up.

 

sorry about what happen to your car...
I did hear on the new that Insurance and safety comm. announces that the most stolen-get in to car as of today is our car... I dont know we should take this good... but hey MAX is number one again!!!

 

thanx for all your responses, my car goes in to the body shop today for repairs, and im getting the clifford matrix alarm system with the 2-way responder intsalled so hopefully it wont happen again or if it does i will now right when it happens. and now it was the hibachi place by dave and busters it was in central jersey.

 

Thieves will get in one way or another.[/QUOTE]

How true. My body shop guy lived in San Diego, and a number of years ago they had a rash of Jeep CJ thefts. One guy was particularly nervous about leaving his in the driveway while he was out of town for the weekend. He had two large trees that the Jeep would barely fit between, so he left it there with a large log chain woven through the frame rails, around the axle and around the trees - padlocked.

The story goes that when he returned, the Jeep was facing the opposite direction, chained and locked, with a note under the wiper that said: "If I want it - I'll take it." Can't vouch for the story, but my buddy told it with a straight face.

 

how much does that alarm system cost?

 

Volvo cars (S40) have locks with free-running cylinders.

Designed to withstand break-in attempts.

 

 

Very true. You can find a spring loaded "emergency tool" easily on the internet. It shatters your window instantly and unless you have glass breakage sensors even the after-market alarm doesn't necessarily trip. Adding insult to injury the thieves scratched the hell out of my door and seats which cost far more to repair than the radar detector and CD's they stole.

 

its about $380 installed, but it has the 2way pager system that goes up to a half mile so u could always be in touch with your baby

 

i dident know that they went down by using the key fob either... learn something new everyday.

 

for the newbies (6 generation)......Please read your manuals. It explains everything the car does and does not do.

 

Read?? Most of the posts here are handled in the manual - it's just easier to ask - that's why you and I are here - to answer...thanks for the good advice to the newbies!!

 

the only thing i saw in the manual about the auto windows waas when you put the key in and turn it left and right, it rolls them up and down. i dident read anything about the key fob rolling them down

 

the Nissan sales guy should have explained all those features...

But well...

 

Jeffs04SE - Look on page 3-7 of the Owner's manual - there are several paprgraphs explaining how to open with windows with the key fob. It will only open the "auto" windows so in the non-elite models SL and SE that is the front drivers and passengers window. In the elite model all the windows are "auto" windows so all of the windows roll down with the key fob. You CANNOT roll them up with the key fob - for that you need the key in the door - see page 3-3 of the Owner's manual for this...