Michigan State Police Document Warns Of Thefts Involving Mopar Vehicles:

If you live in the Metro Detroit area, then you probably know someone or are someone who has had their Dodge Charger, Challenger, Durango, Ram 1500, or Jeep® Grand Cherokee stolen. It has become a common issue and for those who haven’t had their vehicle stolen yet, the rising insurance costs for those vehicles certainly have your attention.

Detroit’s WXYZ 7 Action News, got ahold of an internal document from the Michigan State Police which goes into detail about the ongoing problem. While WXYZ won’t go into details about the document labeled as a “Special Intelligence Bulletin”, they do say the document explains exactly how they are hacking into the electronics of the vehicles being targeted.

According to the bulletin, its explains that hundreds of Charger, Challenger, Durango, and Grand Cherokee models have been stolen over the past two years. It also admits that “gathering an accurate count… is nearly impossible.”

WXYZ reached out to Stellantis about the issue, where a spokesperson released the following response…

“Stellantis vehicles meet or exceed all applicable federal safety standards. While such events are rare, they are not exclusive to any make or model of vehicle. Further, Stellantis uses industry-standard technology. Notwithstanding, we urge all motorists to take due care in securing their vehicles.” – Stellantis

Stolen Vehicle Recovery: On 10/21 at approximately 9 55 PM, a citizen called MSP 911 regarding his stolen vehicle that had a GPS tracker installed.  The owner was able to tell the dispatcher the location of the vehicle and it was relayed to responding units. pic.twitter.com/s8Qtw0Qzdx

— MSP Second District (@mspmetrodet) October 26, 2020

That not a response that many owners want to hear from the automaker. With vehicles being taken from homes, dealers, and even secured lots, it proves that there is more of an issue to protect your vehicle than ever before.

It is believed that the thieves are cloning key fobs for the vehicles using a cloner key tool.

We told you back in November, that a pre-production 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat in the hands of a Stellantis employee, was stolen right from their driveway in the wee hours of the morning. It also isn’t stopping thieves from stealing vehicles of employees at various Stellantis manufacturing facilities around the area, as they are working inside.

During the course of the pursuit, the suspect vehicle attempted to squeeze through two other vehicles traveling on I-94 and caused crash damage. There were no injuries. Two occupants of the suspect vehicle fled on foot after the vehicle became disabled. pic.twitter.com/3wdWpVjouU

— MSP Second District (@mspmetrodet) September 6, 2020

WXYZ reached out to the Michigan State Police who declined to comment about the documents but said it is sharing the intelligence with local agencies, so they can be on alert. The document states that the Metro Detroit area isn’t the only one being hit by these crimes and included five other states where similar instances have occurred. 

So next time you are parking your vehicle, you might want to double-check and make sure you take anything valuable out of the vehicle before going in at night. This being said, one veteran had his father’s ashes stolen along with his Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk recently in Detroit. So you never know if you will be next.

Hopefully, Stellantis will have a solution soon for owners.