Thieves are targeting the expensive charging cables of electric cars. The police advises to park the car on the cable as a preventive measure during charging. The cable of the Tesla Model 3 is especially loved by thieves, especially when it is cold, because then the theft protection does not work.
The Tesla Model 3 is a popular victim, because the theft protection does not always work when it is cold. The police advises to park the car on the cable as a preventive measure during charging.
Between November 20 and December 4, the police in Amsterdam South alone received 21 reports of stolen charging cables, mainly from Tesla drivers. A new cable is expensive: between €150 and €250. The motive of the thieves is therefore clear, because the cables can be sold second-hand for around €150 each.
It is normally not possible for a connected charging cable to be stolen. As soon as the charging station is connected and the car and charging station communicate, a locking pin shoots into the plug that is in the car and also into the plug that is plugged into the charging station. That security appears to be as leaky as a basket. A handy thief can release the lock within seconds. And a less handy thief knows how to get the plug loose with brute force.
Night frost
Victims suspect a third possibility: night frost. If it gets too cold, a Tesla 3, for example, no longer locks the cable when charging is finished to prevent the mechanism from freezing. Some models of charging stations also unlock automatically when the charging cable is pulled out of the car. In this way, all charging cables of many Teslas are available on a cold night. A Tesla Model 3 owner was robbed twice within a week in November, both nights it was 4 degrees Celsius. Tesla has been supplying the Model 3 with a heated charging port for a few months now, which solves the cold problem.
The thefts almost all take place at night. According to the police, the problem is happening all over the country. The police gives a simple but effective tip: park your car on the charging cable. Not just with the wheel on it, as that will damage the cable, but place the cable between two slats on which you then position the wheel.
source : autoweek.nl and ad.nl