Photo: Toyota
They say every forest has its shadow and, unfortunately, this applies to the automotive world as well after a new type of perpetrators is emerging: car battery packs thieves.
Yes, it's exactly how you read it: there are people who steal battery packs from green cars. How do we know? Well, according to ABC 7 News, vehicle burglars have a new profile as they reoriented to batteries from hybrid cars and the first victims were a couple of Toyota Prius models.
So, if you're living in the San Francisco area and happen to own a Prius, beware, your car might not be as safe as it was before.
The same source details the case of John Nashed, who had his Prius broken into by thieves. The owner said he found his car 'in a mess', with the rear windows shattered as he returned to the place where he previously parked it.
But the surprise was even bigger when the Prius owner discovered that burglars removed the car's nickel-metal battery pack. Nonetheless, rest assured: this is not the work of a regular thief.
Besides the fact that a Prius battery pack tips the scales at around 150 lb (68 kg), trying to remove it from the vehicle can lead to death. No, not of exhaustion, but because anyone trying to mess with the battery's wiring can get electrocuted.
For this reason, authorities think the thieves are highly-trained professionals who know what they're doing. Three similar cases have already been reported, but here's a shocker: it seems like a Toyota dealership knew about the problem after they replaced 'quite a few' stolen battery packs.
Let's just hope this is a temporary and isolated string of incidents that won't expand to other areas.
So, if you're living in the San Francisco area and happen to own a Prius, beware, your car might not be as safe as it was before.
The same source details the case of John Nashed, who had his Prius broken into by thieves. The owner said he found his car 'in a mess', with the rear windows shattered as he returned to the place where he previously parked it.
But the surprise was even bigger when the Prius owner discovered that burglars removed the car's nickel-metal battery pack. Nonetheless, rest assured: this is not the work of a regular thief.
Besides the fact that a Prius battery pack tips the scales at around 150 lb (68 kg), trying to remove it from the vehicle can lead to death. No, not of exhaustion, but because anyone trying to mess with the battery's wiring can get electrocuted.
For this reason, authorities think the thieves are highly-trained professionals who know what they're doing. Three similar cases have already been reported, but here's a shocker: it seems like a Toyota dealership knew about the problem after they replaced 'quite a few' stolen battery packs.
Let's just hope this is a temporary and isolated string of incidents that won't expand to other areas.
Google News