YOUR CAR
CAN BE STOLEN
in under 60 seconds with no alarm triggered
Does my car already have an immobiliser? Almost certainly, and here is why that is not the end of the story
Since the early 2000s, factory immobilisers have been close to universal in the UK. That is the easy question. The harder one is whether the immobiliser you already have is actually stopping anything a modern thief tries.
How to check what your car already has
Most cars built since the early 2000s came with a factory-fitted immobiliser as standard, since it became close to a legal expectation across the industry from that point on. Whether yours also has an aftermarket alarm or tracker added later is a separate question.
To check what you have: look at your vehicle handbook or specification sheet, ask a dealer or previous owner if you bought the car used, or have a professional installer inspect the wiring during a security assessment. None of this tells you whether the system is any good against modern methods, only that something is there.
What a factory immobiliser was actually built to stop
Built for Hot-Wiring, Not Relay Attacks
Factory immobilisers were originally designed to stop a thief bridging wires under the dash. They were not built with relay attacks or CAN bus injection in mind.
Trusts a Correct Signal, Full Stop
If the factory system receives what looks like a valid key signal, whether genuine or relayed, it does what it was designed to do: let the car start.
Fixed at the Factory, Not Updated After
Once a car leaves the production line, its factory immobiliser generally stays exactly as it was built, with no meaningful upgrade path.
Why a second, independent immobiliser still makes sense
Having a factory immobiliser is not nothing, it closes off the crudest theft methods. It simply was not designed for the specific attack methods that dominate UK vehicle theft today. LockCar CAN-IMMO sits alongside your factory system as a completely separate check, authorised by your phone or an optional Bluetooth proximity TAG rather than by a key signal at all.
Your factory immobiliser asks “is a valid key signal present.” LockCar CAN-IMMO asks a completely different question that a relayed or cloned signal has no way to answer: “is the authorised phone or TAG actually here.” No PIN, no start, regardless of what the factory system was told.
LockCar recommended for this page
- Independent of whatever factory immobiliser you already have
- Bluetooth app control, optional proximity TAG
- Anti-hijack protection, hidden installation
- No subscription required
- Every model built on the same CAN-IMMO core
- Speak to an installer for the right fit
Frequently asked questions
My car already has an immobiliser, is fitting a second one overkill?
A factory immobiliser and LockCar CAN-IMMO check completely different things. Running both is layered security, not duplication, similar in principle to running an alarm alongside an immobiliser.
Does my insurer need to know I have both?
Check your specific policy wording. If your insurer has named a required security device or category, confirm with them or your installer whether an added CAN-IMMO satisfies or supplements that requirement.
Will CAN-IMMO conflict with my factory immobiliser?
No, it is fitted as an independent addition rather than a replacement, using vehicle-specific programming and an installation guide for your model.
Add the layer your factory immobiliser was never built for
LockCar CAN-IMMO is fitted UK-wide, vehicle-specific programming included.
