An electric vehicle differs from an internal combustion engine (ICE) car in many ways, not just the fuel source. EVs have fewer mechanical components and require less maintenance than gas-powered cars. Electric vehicles also tend to be more expensive to buy than the average internal combustion engine, although some cheaper all-electric options are on the way. Nevertheless, internal combustion engines and electric vehicles have some things in common. Both can have the same type of steering system, suspension settings and tires. Can electric cars be shorted out because they both have steering columns?
How would you short-circuit an ICE car?
When breaking into your vehicle, a thief could try to short-circuit the car in order to steal it as quickly as possible. Fortunately, wikiHow says many modern vehicles have updated locking mechanisms to deter car theft. However, it is still possible to short a vehicle manufactured before the 2000 model year.
Most thieves can short out a car through the steering column by opening it up and locating the wiring harness connector. You will need to partially strip the battery cables and carefully twist them together. After switching on the ignition, you have to strip the starter cable and fire it against the battery cables.
Someone can also short out a car by activating the car’s starter solenoid with battery power using jumper wires. A thief could also remove the ignition switch cover, requiring only a screwdriver instead of a key to start the vehicle. However, Utility Smarts says any car with a push-button starting mechanism makes this process impossible.
Can you short-circuit an electric car?
Jerry Insurance explains that you can’t short-circuit an electric car because it doesn’t have a key-activated ignition system and an internal combustion engine. The electric vehicle’s computer handles the starting process, so the steering column has no cables. The only way to easily steal an EV is to have the key fob.
As My i-MiEV users point out, there is only one exception to this rule. An electric car can be short-circuited if it still has a normal ignition switch. However, such a feature is only found in a handful of older EVs, none of which are likely to be valuable or desirable to car thieves.
A Quora discussion also reminds us that many electric vehicles have smartphone pairing technology. In addition to using your phone to unlock the car, you can track your vehicle’s location using GPS. This is true even when the car is in valet mode, which normally disables most (if not all) of an electric vehicle’s alarm functions.
Experienced car thieves can still steal electric vehicles
The only way an electric car could be short-circuited, in the most remotely traditional sense, is that the thief could open the control panel. That’s one of the reasons why most thieves leave these cars alone. It’s complicated (and dangerous) enough dealing with colored wires specific to different vehicles, let alone an unfamiliar EV control panel.
However, Interview Area reports that some car thieves have come up with other solutions to commit their crimes. Using a specialized radio tool, hackers replicated the Bluetooth signals from Tesla owners’ phones in the UK. This allowed the thieves to unlock the cars from over 80 feet away.
Fortunately, incidents like these tend to occur in isolation and are not of concern to drivers. Thanks to immobilizers and even advanced facial recognition technology in some models, stealing an electric vehicle is a difficult task. Just remember to keep an eye on your phone and key fobs.
RELATED: Here’s the science behind why EVs perform worse in cold weather
