Stolen and recovered 2008 EX35

[TrevEB]

So yet another stolen car in Oakland CA story however this one has a twist. We got it back before it was beaten to a pulp.
I am rather surprised this topic hasn’t already been brought up but here goes.

We found the car with a hot wire from the +terminal on the battery, snaking into the drivers side door area, going with a second wire snaking down under the car and contacting a scrape away connection that leads to the alternator. They took their time to run the wire so that it was out of the way of the drivers side door and running tight to the firewall. I believe this all happened after they drove away from the parking lot as it must have taken a lot of time without concern of being caught.

No idea why this wire was necessary. it wouldn't start the car when we got back, it just made the alternator spin.
I think the drivers side door was opened with a slim jim as there was a lot of oily smudge on the door armrest and there is minor damage along the black edge of the two doors.
No glass was broken.
How they started the car is a mystery.
We thought they may have been waiting in a van in the parking lot and spoofed our key fob as we walked away.

Where the PD found the car, the thieves had problems starting the car likely because the wire had fallen off the scraped connection underneath.

Odd things
Our Key Fobs no longer worked. The car needed to be reconnected with our fobs. $180
The key cylinder in the driver side door is gone. Why bother to remove it?
The housing under the steering wheel was left down.
What were they doing in there and why not snap it back in place?
Steering wheel could not lock when the car was in park. It is locking now with our key fobs.
They had used the parking lot override at some point.
Why did they wire power to the alternator which had to be connected to turn it on. What was the purpose?

The wiring to the mirror was disconnected. Little black plastic tube removed, plug removed.
Why would they do this? It would shut down the Lane departure alert, mirror darkening, garage door opener.
The windshield was cracked in two places. Likely the two of them punching the windshield. This may have had an effect on the LDA but what? Not to mention LDA can be turned off and these guy knew what they were doing

Hoping for some answers so I can prevent this from happening again.
Oakland PD recommends a lojack.
Have newer Infiniti’s found better ways to secure the car?

I have to wonder if the car was jimmied open why didn't the alarm go off?
It almost like they did spoof the fob but that wasnt enough.
Did they program their own fob to the car? Is this why ours stopped working?
Are these devices now easily bought, or do they just steal them from the dealerships.

[PalmerWMD]

Oakland PD recommends a lojack.
Have newer Infiniti’s found better ways to secure the car?

Are these devices now easily bought, or do they just steal them from the dealerships.

All new Infinitis come with a feature where nissan can locate the car for you (if u subscribe to it.
However it raises large privacy concerns as well because car comapnies, all of them except Renault, are on record that they will sell your data.
I just purchased a 2023 Armada ( same platform as QX80) and actually had the antenna that enables this disconnected by the dealer.

So a non factory system might not be such a bad idea.
The devices to spoof car locks that should be secured via immobilizer, are for sale on internet.
Many, perhaps even most, luxury cars on the road in Poland for example were stolen in this manner in Germany.

An old fashioned steering wheel locker like The Club, cannot be spoofed though, so if you live in a very high crime area ( which now is most of california) it may provide a visible deterrent ( and is also inexpensive to buy)

[TrevEB]

Are you suggesting that a device may still be in the car that immunizes the key fob?
If so, please provide a bit more info.
Thanks

[TrevEB]

The thieves removed the engine splash shield from the underside of the car. Thankfully that is a inexpensive replacement everywhere except the dealer.
Can anyone please tell me if there are any other panels from the front shield to the back of the car? Currently the entire undercarriage is exposed. Aside from the front, is that normal?

On a different topic.
The hinges of my tonneau cargo cover broke long ago but otherwise is fine.
Are there 3D prints of the plastic hinges somewhere? I’ve scoured the usual places but no joy. It’s currently on the list of things to model one of these days if necessary and I still need to learn that software.

[TrevEB]

I now know how the my EX35 was broken into so easily without the alarm being tripped.
Should I post this information here or is it better to keep you all in the dark?
No doubt the thieves already know this too but I do not want to create an Infiniti Challenge.