2015 - 2018 Silverado and Sierra Security Flaw, Stolen Truck

thunderstrike · October 19, 2020

Hey All,

Been lurking here for a few months and got some good tips on mods and troubleshooting for my 2016 Silverado and just wanted to post here as a heads up to the 2015 - 2018 Silverado and Sierra owners.

Hadn't seen anyone posting here or heard anything official from OnStar or GM about this issue but I recently had my 2016 Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71 stolen and there appears to be a flaw in the GM or OnStar security for this year range of truck. From the security cameras at my work it looks like the thieves were able to get into the truck somehow, pop the hood, do something in the engine bay and drive off with it in under 5 min from arrival. Talking to the cops they said the newer Silverados are getting hit hard and popular for theft. Found some articles after the fact and it is apparently happening a lot in north Texas, one of the guys in the article link below had his Silverado stolen with the thieves using this same method of attack they did on mine and they disabled his active OnStar on board. My Silverado didn't have an active OnStar subscription but it did have it installed.

Truck was definitely locked with windows up and I still have both sets of keys, no broken glass and the alarm system never went off in a populated office parking lot.

Articles:
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/thieves-target-chevrolet-silverados-disable-onstar-tracking/2309420/
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/gone-in-3-minutes-police-release-video-of-truck-theft/2312818/

Be safe out there.

Edited October 19, 2020 by thunderstrike

rav3 · October 19, 2020

WOW! that's incredible, in less than, what 2 mins & they drive off. Anyone know how they're doing it?

Charles P. · October 19, 2020

22 minutes ago, rav3 said:

WOW! that's incredible, in less than, what 2 mins & they drive off. Anyone know how they're doing it?

They jump into the cab and disable the onstar module, while at the same time they pop the hood and pull the ECM off and replace it with a modified version they make.

The truck starts up immediately when plugged in and they have full control to drive away.

Neighbor cop told me this a couple months ago.

Charles P. · October 19, 2020

My fix was to black box the ECM (If I literally ever need to get to it, I'll grind the welds off) and get an aftermarket alarm.

rav3 · October 19, 2020

I wonder if there's a way to put a lock on the ECU connector, at least so it takes longer to try to disconnect it & install the thief's box. Or a lock on the hood latch...or something. Wonder how they get into the locked cab?

newdude · October 19, 2020

They stripped an entire Tuscany Silverado (like Rocky Ridge) down to just the cab? And left it in the road? And nobody noticed it?

It seems more that they are getting in via the ECM and are somehow cloning or have a modified ECM that can trick the truck. OnStar modules don't seem to have the backup battery anymore so pulling the fuse seems to disable it. If they still had a backup battery, the OnStar module would be active in the event of battery 12v loss. So as much as no backup battery for OnStar is flawed, the bigger flaw is the ability to make a truck run with a pre-edited ECU. Seems like someone is VIN writing them ahead of time.

thunderstrike · October 19, 2020

17 minutes ago, Charles P. said:

My fix was to black box the ECM (If I literally ever need to get to it, I'll grind the welds off) and get an aftermarket alarm.

I like this fix, if I'd known these trucks were getting hit like this I'd for sure box it up and get some peace of mind.

Charles P. · October 19, 2020

2 minutes ago, newdude said:

They stripped an entire Tuscany Silverado (like Rocky Ridge) down to just the cab? And left it in the road? And nobody noticed it?

It seems more that they are getting in via the ECM and are somehow cloning or have a modified ECM that can trick the truck. OnStar modules don't seem to have the backup battery anymore so pulling the fuse seems to disable it. If they still had a backup battery, the OnStar module would be active in the event of battery 12v loss. So as much as no backup battery for OnStar is flawed, the bigger flaw is the ability to make a truck run with a pre-edited ECU. Seems like someone is VIN writing them ahead of time.

The North Texas Authorities have questions for you sir.

You know too much.

It's Tim · October 19, 2020

Intelligent thieves first steal a roll off or a pickup with a stinger, nobody cares when a towing service truck shows up. Unless the owner witnesses them in action, usually all that's left of the vehicle is a memory on video. A stolen wrecker was recovered sometime back in Detroit... after 8 years and 375,000 miles.

Eddie 70 · October 20, 2020

There is a big demand for the parts and there are several facebook groups with Silverado parts for sale. I'd love to have a set of new front wheel well liners, a leather shifter, leather dash etc.

I have read numerous articles about how easy it is to steal the Silverado and Sierra. One article recounted that about 30 were found in a field dismantled. There is one member on here that has some brackets over different parts under the hood one being the ECM.

It's still hard to believe they can get in and gone in 5 minutes. They've had a lot of practice and have gotten good at it.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Eddie 70

zibzer · October 20, 2020

7 hours ago, thunderstrike said:

Hey All,

Been lurking here for a few months and got some good tips on mods and troubleshooting for my 2016 Silverado and just wanted to post here as a heads up to the 2015 - 2018 Silverado and Sierra owners.

Hadn't seen anyone posting here or heard anything official from OnStar or GM about this issue but I recently had my 2016 Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71 stolen and there appears to be a flaw in the GM or OnStar security for this year range of truck. From the security cameras at my work it looks like the thieves were able to get into the truck somehow, pop the hood, do something in the engine bay and drive off with it in under 5 min from arrival. Talking to the cops they said the newer Silverados are getting hit hard and popular for theft. Found some articles after the fact and it is apparently happening a lot in north Texas, one of the guys in the article link below had his Silverado stolen with the thieves using this same method of attack they did on mine and they disabled his active OnStar on board. My Silverado didn't have an active OnStar subscription but it did have it installed.

Truck was definitely locked with windows up and I still have both sets of keys, no broken glass and the alarm system never went off in a populated office parking lot.

Articles:
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/thieves-target-chevrolet-silverados-disable-onstar-tracking/2309420/
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/gone-in-3-minutes-police-release-video-of-truck-theft/2312818/

Be safe out there.

My insurance company told me similar just a few hours ago. This is one of the reasons why the price of insurance is nearly twice what I have ever paid for my 2010 sierra.

Colossus · October 20, 2020

what about LoJack?

Gregory Krisa · October 20, 2020

Question how are they even getting in the truck to pop the hood
Ford's thing was people are able to record key codes if they can get close enough and send it to another box that then sends it to the vehicle then can start and drive off

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

Colossus · October 20, 2020

I sent the links to the above articles to a friend of mine last night and he responded back that this past Saturday, his 16/17 Dodge Ram Mega Cab was stolen out of his lot which was locked (gates) and had cameras and such. Truck was locked, and they still got into it and got it running and drove it off in no time. Use all the theft deterrent devices you can to make their job as hard as possible, but if they really want it, they'll find a way to get it I guess. Be it driving it off, or bringing in a truck to haul it off. Sadly in most states, you are not allowed to shoot someone stealing your property.