My TCH was towed tonight to a police impound run by a private company. When I got into my car, it was obvious that the seat had been pushed back to accommodate a taller person. So they opened the door without my key. And I'm told that they probably drove my car into the parking spot on their lot because the tow truck cannot position cars well enough to do that.

Since this is the first time my car's been towed...how do they do that? Is there a master key fob for even TCHs? Don't we have engine immobilizers that disable the engine unless our key fob is in the vicinity?? How did the police break into my car?

You can open the door by wedging, thougfh it is harder in TCH, but tow truck operator does that for living, so they are skilled. I doubt that someone can drive without keyfob, but once you are inside you can adjust the seats without keys.

Yeah, I dunno, those tow truck operators can get pretty slick at positioning the cars. I've seen some pretty good maneuvering.

I assume you don't have power seats? The only way you can move those without the car being on is with a prybar. Prying open the door, moving the seat still does not account for the steering wheel lock. If the tow operator actually drove the car how would he turn the steering wheel?

Sorry, but I have the power seats, and you can move them without the car being on. This, by the way, is really handy when you're cleaning the inside of the car.

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Randy

I stand corrected on the power seats but the steering wheel lock should have prevented using the wheel for steering the car into the parking location.

Nonsense - these tow-truck operators are very adept at maneuvering in tight spaces - they would not need to drive your vehicle.

Think about it - they deal with wrecks and immobile cars all the time that they cannot drive (i.e. won't start, not driveable, etc.).

Scott

When you picked up your car at the pound, how did they deliver it to you? The only time I ever had a car towed, they sent a tow truck in, and towed it out. Me walking through the pound was prohibited.. So yes, those drivers are very very adept.

They first let me out to the lot to get the registration from my car. Then they let me into the lot to drive my car out. There's 30-40 tows a night in West Hollywood they told me. So nobody thinks the police (maybe not private tow companies) have a "secret" way to turn on a TCH engine?

Nah.