[Lord Cadillac]

Lojack was installed on my 95 Eldorado Touring Coupe when I bought it years ago.. The subscription ran out and I never renewed it.. I'm curious as to what experiences people have had with it. Is it worth it? Any good? Ever had a car or truck recovered as a result of Lojack?

 

[N0DIH]

Well, from a supplier standpoint, not a single one has ever been returned for a failure....

(as we ponder it, how would anyone ever know it failed?)

 

[Katshot]

When they find picked-apart hulks of cars and find the transponder still in place.
Actually, most people don't have a clue how Lojack works. IMO, it's nowhere near as useful as a GPS based system like Onstar or similar systems.

 

[Rolex]

When they find picked-apart hulks of cars and find the transponder still in place.
Actually, most people don't have a clue how Lojack works. IMO, it's nowhere near as useful as a GPS based system like Onstar or similar systems.

The problem with Onstar IIRC is that disabling it is as easy as popping off the antenna on the roof top.

 

[Katshot]

It IS easier to disable but it is far more accurate, and doesn't have the limitations that Lojack does.

 

[Playdrv4me]

It IS easier to disable but it is far more accurate, and doesn't have the limitations that Lojack does.

Which limitations? Is Lojack GPS based or cell based or what? Does Lojack have a customer service line you call into and report to like Onstar, or do you have to call Law enforcement directly and just hope they have a Lojack finder thingy?

 

[slk230mb]

For some reason I didn't think there was a subscription for it My moms Avalon and LS430 have it, we've never had to use it.

 

[Stoneage_Caddy]

I know the cops carry a device that locates the solen car , it would beep more as you got closer and would give a rough direction "where"

glorified marco polo if you ask me

 

[terrible one]

Sounds kinda sketchy

 

[Stoneage_Caddy]

If you all are genuinely interested the lo jack guy should be at the dealer tomorrow , i can ask him for the lo down on the lo jack ....

 

[N0DIH]

LoJack is in the 200 MHz band, way off from cellular. More similar to a pager than cellular.

Sorry, I didn't work on the program, so I can't help with more info.

Likely a thief probably already knows where the LoJack is and ditches it in a hurry. OnStar is embedded, but like you said, whack the antenna....

OnStar has the advantages of being on the GM car bus (Class II, etc) and has the ability for OnStar to control virtually anything on the bus (watching the bus traffic is cool...), like crank up the radio, listen in, mess with heater/ac controls, shut down engine, honk horn via alarm system etc. They can make it easily something the thief would rather not drive in a hurry.

But someone stealing a car likely would break off the antenna, but the system may still work, but degraded.

 

[powerglide]

If my car was stolen and valuable enough to be lojacked (hence fully insured) I think I rather not have it recovered.

Here's a quote from a website:

"The drawback of this device is, if you don't realize your car is missing, it's not activated, and no one will track it. For example, it's night time, your beautiful Legend is parked on the streets, you go to sleep. You wake up in the morning, and god forbid, the car is gone. You call the cops, the cops activate Lojack. But by this time, many many hours could've gone by, and it takes around 30 minutes for pros to strip your car clean from head to toe."

 

[Katshot]

Marco Polo! That's good! I would agree. The big issues with Lojack is that until you realize the car has been stolen and report it, nobody's looking for it. By then it could be anywhere so the police have no idea where to start looking. Not all departments have Lojack cars, and if they do it's usually only a couple. So "if" a stolen Lojack car happens to come in-range of Lojack-equipped police car, it "may" get found.
On the other hand, if someone breaks into an Onstar vehicle, the system reports it immediately. It's quite possible for you to get a call from the police telling you that your car was stolen before you even know it. Plus, Onstar can track the vehicle virtually anywhere.