A person at my house continually moves my 2002 Ford Explorer from the driveway to the street without permission. The key is shared and must remain easily accessible. Personal issues aside, is there a way we can disable my truck so he can't move it, by removing a plug or cap to disable our vehicle like in the movies? What would be a few options?
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26I don't really get the point of leaving keys AND disabling the car. Car still won't move, so the effect is the same as hiding keys. – Agent_L Sep 18 '17 at 09:39
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2He's just trying to be nice to this person, but at the same time, his access will be disabled. It's like those people who go out with us and never pay or share any bills. We just tell them we're not going out anymore. He wants everyone to move his SUV when required, just not this listed person. In a polite manner, he'll claim the SUV is not running anymore, and it'll be an inside joke amongst themselves. – Lawyer Aidroos Sep 18 '17 at 10:36
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22Assuming everyone involved are grownups, this is really simple to deal with. Tell him his actions are costing you money (tickets) and it has to stop or he needs to move out. – CharlieRB Sep 18 '17 at 11:48
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52Putting it very simply: this guy isn't your friend, he's a dick. He's being incredibly selfish and taking advantage of your good nature. If he's being so lazy that his preferred solution to a problem is to cost you large amounts of money, he's almost certainly doing other things you aren't aware of yet. Kick him out immediately. – Philip Kendall Sep 18 '17 at 12:12
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2Do any of the answers in this question help you out? – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Sep 18 '17 at 12:50
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23I have often heard it said that you cannot solve social issues with technology and think that it applies here as well. You are about to start an arms race that you can't win. Either you succeed and he will be annoyed and pester you or you don't and will be annoyed yourself. I'd recommend you head over to IPS.SE and ask how you can work this out together or find another way. – Nobody moving away from SE Sep 18 '17 at 14:18
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12The long preamble belongs to https://interpersonal.stackexchange.com/ , I'm surprised you all address that interpersonal problem, that is completely irrelevant to the mechanics. The actual question is the second paragraph, and the only persons addressing it are Solar Mike and Numair Aidroos. – Clément Sep 18 '17 at 17:57
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some friend. have a talk with your 'friend' and tell him to a) stop doing something without your consent especially after repeated requests and b) behave like a responsible adult, show some respect, and learn to accommodate and work with other people instead of acting like a narcissist. if that fails (ie he actually is a narcissist), explain to him that if he continues to ignore your request you will be forced to take physical measures to prevent him from being able to move the car (ie kill switch), for which he will be obliged to pay. perhaps also remind him whose house he is living in. – amanid Sep 18 '17 at 12:52
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Have you considered putting the keys to your car into a safe which trustworthy people are given the combination? Given the toxicity of the situation, I don't think the offense of physically denying him access to the keys is going to make it all that much worse than it already is. – Cort Ammon Sep 18 '17 at 23:11
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Put the keys in a different place. Tell all your roommates where the keys are, except for him. – user253751 Sep 18 '17 at 23:31
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7I don't understand this question - probably due to culture differences. What does this guy do? He drives to your apartment, finds no place to park, gets out of his car, gets into yours, parks your car somewhere away, gets back to his car and parks in place previously occupied by your car? That's not laziness; that's malice. Or am I just missing something? – el.pescado - нет войне Sep 19 '17 at 06:42
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1I think you should all park outside the driveway until this unwanted guest is no longer there. The inconvenience will be a constant reminder to you, so it probably will not take long. – Sep 19 '17 at 11:49
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1BTW. You allow random strangers to move your car? – el.pescado - нет войне Sep 19 '17 at 12:48
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8Sounds like an incredible back-story concocted so you can learn how to disable someone else's car. – HomerPlata Sep 19 '17 at 13:17
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The answer is to tell him to move out. – Andy Sep 19 '17 at 23:56
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1I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it doesn't really ask a mechanical question. – SteveRacer Sep 20 '17 at 02:26
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@SteveRacer: It clearly does, but for some reason most ignore that part of OP and dive into the interpersonal question which simply wasn't asked. – Zaibis Sep 20 '17 at 06:54
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Agreed, @SteveRacer, and I've edited to address this. – jscs Sep 20 '17 at 12:14
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3I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because I suspect that OP wants to manipulate a vehicle not in his legitimate possession since he ignores the obvious solution of hiding his keys – Martin Sep 20 '17 at 12:18
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1@zaibis The problem is, the asker clearly states that he has a human behavior problem (A person at my house continually moves my 2002 Ford Explorer from the driveway to the street without permission) and then proceeds to ask for a technical solution to this problem. Both aspects ARE present in the original question. The real problem is there's no way to solve the original problem solely with a technical solution. Human behavior problems require human solutions. – barbecue Sep 20 '17 at 12:43
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@barbecue: as said, then would migrating the post be an option, but I see no benefit for anyone by imply answering a question that wasn't asked. – Zaibis Sep 20 '17 at 12:51
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What defines "reasonably accessible?" Are we talking about some legalese clause where someone wrote down a location the keys had to be in, or are we talking about a practical concern that individuals need to be able to move the car. If it's the latter, then what distinguishes hiding the keys from disabling the car, given that both of them require knowing a shared secret to make the car move? – Cort Ammon Sep 20 '17 at 17:53
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It's defined as "irrelevant to the question", @CortAmmon, because this is a site about working on cars, not how to manage a household. But for the full story if you're curious, see the earlier revisions of the question. – jscs Sep 21 '17 at 00:11
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@JoshCaswell I don't think it's irrelevant because the definition of "accessible" is important here. I suppose we could ignore it entirely, in which case a valid answer is "install a club, and hide that key." There's clearly some unspecified expectation about the usability of the vehicle. Any remotely out-of-the-box answer needs to know where the box is. – Cort Ammon Sep 21 '17 at 01:06
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In addition to such negative requirements which would make an answer invalid, it is also essential to understanding the positive requirements. There is a level of accessibility the OP wants to prevent. Is merely removing the positive lead of the battery sufficient? Cars don't start too good without it! Without understanding the OP's opinions about accessibility, the question is hopelessly broad. I can disable the car by removing its tires, or by removing fuses, or by siphoning all of the gas out of the tank... – Cort Ammon Sep 21 '17 at 01:08
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How do we know, this person is not the very friend whom they are not wanting to let to use the car? – Lawyer Aidroos Oct 22 '17 at 06:09
10 Answers
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If your friend is moving your vehicle without your consent and does so deliberately your friend is committing a crime. Vehicle theft. If you are asleep when this happens then consent was not given. I would suggest that you have a police officer have a long discussion with this individual about this. If this individual when moving your vehicle hits another vehicle and damages it. Since you are the owner of the vehicle you are responsible and your insurance rates will go up. As for disabling start looking into installing a kill switch . Also if you get parking tickets as a result....get him to pay for them.
Old_Fossil
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Please read what was typed earlier. Everyone and anyone who is a resident is allowed to move the vehicle (02 Explorer), there must be a parking arrangement which calls for this, hence the keys are hung in a visible spot. – Lawyer Aidroos Sep 18 '17 at 08:49
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16@NumairAidroos That statement contains a contradiction in terms. Either the keys are available for everybody to move the car, or the car is disabled, either by removing the keys, cutting the wires, removing the distributor, whatever. You can't accomplish both objectives at the same time. The question is self-contradictory. – user207421 Sep 18 '17 at 10:05
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EJP, this is too much trouble explaining for a lost cause and no monetary gain. But for my peace, here it is. 1 fellow should not be able to move the car, rest all should be allowed. Simple as that. Whatever we recommend, Dave will share with the others, not with just that 1 person. . – Lawyer Aidroos Sep 18 '17 at 10:26
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29@NumairAidroos It still doesn't make sense. If you can remove "object X" from the car to disable it, but have that object be accessible by everyone but the so-called "friend", then you can arrange for the keys to be accessible by everyone but the friend. Whatever you can do to the car, you can do to the keys. This seems like a XY Problem. – JBentley Sep 18 '17 at 10:39
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This answer really doesn't address the main question. Simply stating "install a kill switch" doesn't help. It's not like he can go to an auto parts store, buy a kill switch and plug it in. That's what he needs help with from our site - not legal advice. – JPhi1618 Sep 18 '17 at 13:41
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5I agree with all of the "kick this guy out" comments, but if you must go the technology route, why not put your keys in a key lock box like vacation rental properties and such use? Everybody but the jerk gets the combination... These can be had for $20 or less. – John Chrysostom Sep 18 '17 at 19:14
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Very well John C. I agree with this part of the deal. Exceptional suggestion. Might I convince you to put this up as an Answer? – Lawyer Aidroos Sep 18 '17 at 23:34
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@JBentley There is a difference. The "friend" knows there are keys - so if you hide them, a) he can start looking b) he might know that OP deliberately hides them from him. If the car just doesn't start he won't draw that conclusion (probably and at first). OP tried to come up with a very defensive strategy. I don't think it will work to solve the problem (not for more than a couple days at most, when it becomes clear that the car does work for others), but there is a difference to hiding the keys! – Frank Hopkins Sep 19 '17 at 10:35
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1@stannius cool! So if we solve this one XY Complete Problem, then we can solve all of them. Wicked! – Sep 19 '17 at 11:36
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@EJP disabling car is better than hiding keys. It enables you to troll your "friend": "Hi, I noticed that you frequently move my car. It doesn't start anymore - have you tried to move it lately?" – el.pescado - нет войне Sep 19 '17 at 12:47
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This is not vehicle theft.Theft includes the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. – Sep 19 '17 at 18:21
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@Loong so you can avoid being charged with theft just by taking the owner with you? Great! – Sep 19 '17 at 22:52
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I'll make it very simple for you, Dave.
Just remove the relay highlighted, in yellow, from the diagram above.
This goes to the starter.
Lawyer Aidroos
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5And how are you going to prevent the "friend" from putting the relay back? Whatever you do to prevent that, you can do to the keys. – JBentley Sep 18 '17 at 10:40
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2This will not be accessible to that fellow. Only others will know about this hack. He doesn't want that fellow to know he's blocked his access. Now he'll remain polite. – Lawyer Aidroos Sep 18 '17 at 11:22
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I'm not sure how many people will have that relay in their pocket for "just in case" reasons. You could also remove the battery completely from the vehicle, distributor cap too. – mickburkejnr Sep 18 '17 at 16:29
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3Isn't he going to notice that the car is still being moved? Just not by him – matt freake Sep 18 '17 at 17:27
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3Though if he still has a key, the OPs "friend" can unlock the Explorer and push it out of the way. What does he care if it gets towed away instead of a ticket? – Hannover Fist Sep 18 '17 at 22:40
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1@NumairAidroos yeah, just get one of those steering wheel lock bar things, and put the key where this guy doesn't know where it is! Yay! – Sep 19 '17 at 11:39
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Never mind finding this site, all the problem maker would need to do was watch someone else pop the hood/etc and open the fuse box prior to starting the vehicle. From there figuring out the problem is the empty socket where the relay was yanked is easy even if he doesn't see exactly what you do in it. – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight Sep 19 '17 at 16:06
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2@JBentley: That is neither the question nor a problem that would be on topic on this site. – Zaibis Sep 20 '17 at 06:51
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1@DanNeely - Thanks for the troll... but fuse boxes are not inside the hood. They are in the interior of the vehicle. Have been for 50 years... not sure why you would make that comment here except to troll. – Chad Sep 20 '17 at 14:43
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2@Chad Never owned a ford, but my last car (06 buick lacross) had 2 fuse boxes; one of them under the hood. IIRC all the relays were in that one, with the passenger compartment box only having fuses for some of the electronics. – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight Sep 20 '17 at 15:37
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1@Chad adjust 50 down to 15-20 and you'd be closer. I remember the saab my parent's owned growing up had its fusebox under the hood. And as Dan says, even a lot of modern cars have a separate fusebox under the hood. Audi is apparently a fan of putting them everywhere: An S5 has fuses on driver and passenger side, additional in the trunk, and the starter relay + fuses under the hood. – mbrig Sep 21 '17 at 03:24
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Remove the publicly available key.
Make one copy of the key for each person or household who needs to be able to move the car. Give a key to each person and have them sign an agreement that they will not loan their key to anyone else.
If the individual is still able to move the car, he probably made an unauthorized copy, in which case you should contact the police.
I don't know what the cost of a parking ticket is in your area, but here I could make 30 copies of a key for less than one ticket.
barbecue
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5Alternatively, put the "publicly available" key into a lockable key cabinet, and duplicate the keys to the cabinet. (I don't know about 2002 Ford Explorer, but not all car keys can be easily / cheaply duplicated. Key cabinet keys usually can.) – DevSolar Sep 19 '17 at 09:09
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1Definitely beats fumbling around inside the car's engine / electronics. – DevSolar Sep 19 '17 at 09:16
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@DevSolar: true point, but thats simply the technical question OP asks. – Zaibis Sep 20 '17 at 06:53
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Making duplicates of keys is just as much a technical solution as installing a kill switch or hiding a distributor. The real problem is this question is asking how to use automotive technology to solve a problem that can't be solved by any technology. – barbecue Sep 20 '17 at 12:36
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As stated in other answers, you really need to get your new housemate to start listening to you. If he doesn't respect your property, do you really want him living with you?
With regards to the vehicle, your simplest solution is unplugging something on the ignition side. Historically, you could unplug the king lead (from the coil to the distributor) but as yours is likely on an electronic ignition system, I'd suggest unplugging the plug in the side of the coil pack or the sender unit for the inductive pickup that detects RPM. I'm not 100% sure on your vehicle but I'd guess it would be screwed into the bell-housing taking a feed from the flywheel.
With these unplugged, the engine will crank but not start. The problem here is, it's akin to hiding your keys because it means that you would need to know how to start the vehicle.
Steve Matthews
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3"the engine will crank but not start." Aside from the problem of how you let other people move the car, the brain-dead idiot who is causing the problem will probably just keep trying till the battery is flat! (And he won't be the guy paying to replace the burnt-out starter motor, after he's done that every day for a month...) – alephzero Sep 18 '17 at 20:18
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Well thought of. Yes the starter will take a toll on the battery. – Lawyer Aidroos Sep 18 '17 at 23:30
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That's the point at which someone in the house wakes up, comes outside and chastises him. – Steve Matthews Sep 19 '17 at 08:01
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Remove fuse #26 (Brake-shift interlock) and the starter relay. This will prevent the "friend" from starting the car, and will also prevent the "friend" from simply putting it in neutral and pushing it (The Brake-Shift interlock fuse being removed will prevent the shifter from being moved out of "Park"). Most people haven't got the slightest clue about fuse boxes in cars, so it should work fine.
Eirc
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1Amazing, so if a fuse blows or battery is dead, the car is locked in position? This gets an award for brainlessness. Like car that wouldn't start with seatbelt unfastened.. Dumb. – Sep 19 '17 at 22:57
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Sorry it took so long to reply! It's not locked in position, there's a procedure in the instruction manual for bypassing the Brake-Shift interlock. Typically that's removing a small plastic cover near the gear shift and pushing down on a tab with a screwdriver, which will allow the car to be shifted out of park without using the brake pedal for use when towing or the fuse blows. – Eirc Jan 18 '20 at 02:44
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Hide the keys in a different non-obvious place.
Tell all your friends the new place where the keys go, except for the one you don't want to move the car.
user253751
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Don't disable the vehicle. Put up a set of dummy keys, which you can get from any junkyard with a similar-year Ford, it doesn't even have to be an Explorer. The real keys you could hide somewhere, and inform the authorized drivers where they are.
Note that keys with plastic fobs may be damaged by applying too much force when trying to turn them in the external locks (door lock, hood lock). This may require a locksmith to retrieve the key blade from the lock. Thank you to Steve Matthews and Numair Aidroos for bringing this up in the comments.
dotancohen
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1This may lead to costly repairs should your "friend" attempt to force the wrong keys into a lock barrel and snap the key blade off in the lock. – Steve Matthews Sep 18 '17 at 15:11
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1@SteveMatthews: Not at all. The ignition switch is designed to reject the wrong key without damage. Your "friend" would have to use beyond reasonable force to snap the key inside the ignition. Even if he did that, the plastic fob would fail before the metal key, which I expect could then be retrieved with needle-nose pliers. – dotancohen Sep 18 '17 at 16:00
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They'd have to get through the door locks first. I've snapped keys before. – Steve Matthews Sep 18 '17 at 18:39
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1@SteveMatthews: I've give you the door locks. I even recently saw a 2008 Focus in which the key broke off in the Hood Lock, a feature specific to the Focus. – dotancohen Sep 18 '17 at 18:58
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I'm with Steve on this. I've seen pur driver do this to 3 of our cars in the last year. This damage requires tiny pins to be reinstated inside a lock barrel, unnecessary repairs. I Will not say it's a bad answer, just the con may outweigh the pro. It's my opinion not a theoretical fact. – Lawyer Aidroos Sep 18 '17 at 23:28
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Hiding the keys and informing only authorized drivers of their whereabouts is "weak" insofar as someone might (unwittingly or intentionally) "leak" the information, or the culprit could sniff it out. Putting up dummy keys serves absolutely no purpose except as "practical joke" (which is potentially harmful, see previous comments). And I personally wouldn't want to be playing games with a person like the OP described. – DevSolar Sep 19 '17 at 09:20
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As was said install a kill switch. This was originally relatively simple on older cars : fit a switch into the supply to the coil. However, you may find that a switch into the supply to the fuel pump would work - but the residual pressure may still allow him sufficient time to move the car. You will need to check, it will depend on the time between when your car was parked and when he tries to move it
Solar Mike
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My question, is there a way we can disable my truck so he can't move it onto a no parking zone by removing a plug or cap to disable our vehicle like in the movies?
The wire that they disconnect in the movies goes to the coil plug in a distributor cap like this:
Source: http://www.autohausaz.com/pn/03330
The wires from the outer plugs go to the spark plugs. The central one brings the power in for all of them. So removing the central wire will disable the vehicle.
They also might remove the distributor cap entirely. Or they might unbolt it and remove the rotor from inside so that the spark doesn't travel from the coil wire to the spark plug wires. Any of those involve unbolting the cap, which is more work than I'd want to do in this situation.
The 2002 Ford Explorer does not have that kind of distributor though. It has an integrated ignition coil instead:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYf_0zqS1RA
That video shows how to remove and replace the ignition coil. It's not something that you'd do quickly. It's a non-permanent way to disable a vehicle that you may be able to do without entering the vehicle (if you can release the hood). A simpler method would be to unplug the six wires, but it's easy to put them back in the wrong order. That can cause the engine to run incorrectly. Unplugging some but not all the wires can allow the engine to run just well enough to reach a no parking zone but not well enough to drive. Pretty much the opposite of what you want.
This is why another answer is recommending that you remove the starter relay instead. That takes seconds to remove and replace once you know where it is. If the orientation is not obvious, you can draw on the fuse box and relay with a marker to make it obvious which corner goes where.
The starter relay won't allow the starter to engage at all, so less chance of running down the battery, ruining the starter, or flooding the engine trying to start the vehicle. The distribution just keeps the spark plugs from firing. The starter will happily grind away.
A kill switch could also work. But I wouldn't recommend installing it yourself unless you plan on working on the car yourself in general. It's a mechanical (electrical) change. Take the car to a mechanic or security system installer to get a kill switch installed. Doing it incorrectly may not actually stop the car from starting or it may keep the car from starting more permanently than you want. You need both off and on to work.
Brythan
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Get a boot (heavy duty version) for your car - make extra keys - pass out extra keys only to trusted roommates and not him.
But seriously: kick him out.
davidbak
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