SALINAS, Calif.- Local law enforcement agencies say there's a key to most car thefts on the Central Coast—and it's called a "shaved key."
Shaved keys are often old car keys, ground into different key patterns that trick door locks and ignitions. According to an undercover Monterey County Sherriff's Deputy, thieves can use them and take off in your car within seconds. "I've done it in about 30 seconds, and I'm not that good at it. The professionals, if you will, I'm sure can do it much faster than that."
The deputy that we talked to works on the Multi-Agency Detail for Commercial Auto Theft, a task force known as MADCAT. He works undercover catching, anyone from common criminals, to gang members, riding in hot wheels. "The gang members steal them (cars) to commit other crimes, such as robberies, drive-by shootings what have you."
The cars of choice? According to 2010 statistics from the California Highway Patrol, the 15 most-stolen cars in California were ‘90's model Hondas, with the ‘91 Honda Accord topping the list.
Within the past month, the Salinas Police Department received reports for 16 stolen cars, and 12 were 90's model Hondas. Our Deputy says, "It's just the fact there's so many of them, and comparatively speaking, they're pretty easy to steal with a shaved key."
So how do shaved keys work? Locksmiths like A.J Reiss say there's no hard science, it just takes a little finesse. "All you have to do is wiggle it in there, and they end up turning."
According to Reiss, it's not the keys that are the problem; it's the locks and ignitions. He says years of wear and tear cause the inner mechanisms to break down, allowing shaved keys to "trip" the cylinders that read your keys.
That's especially true for Honda's 20 years old. In some cases, you could start one with just about anything, including knives or screwdrivers ground into the rough shape of a key.
Making matters worse for Honda owners, for years, the auto maker churned out cars with duplicate locks, and ignitions. Reiss says, "Honda used the same code series for almost 20 years, with only 4,000 combinations, that's a lot of cars that had the exact same key from the factory."
Joel Legaspi is a colleague at Central Coast News, and experienced this first hand. "As soon as I stepped in, I realized it wasn't my car." A few years ago, he got into his ‘98 Honda Accord to go on a lunch break, but soon realized, the car he had just unlocked was actually one of his co-worker's cars, who drove the same model. "I stepped outside the car looked around, and said, oh there's my car, how in the world did I get into this car with my own keys? Sure enough they were the same locks."
There are several ways to avoid becoming a statistic. If you drive an older model car, Reiss says can use an alarm, or devices like The Club, but the first thing you should check is your own locks and ignition. "If it feels real sloppy, if your key wiggles up and down a lot, it's a good indication that your lock's going bad and it should definitely be replaced."
That will cost you anywhere from $75 to $100, but it's a small price for keeping your car from getting stolen.
In the meantime, Honda, along with most auto makers, have transitioned to laser cut key technology which makes it impossible for shaved keys to work.
