California Stolen: 2002 AEV Highline TJ in San Diego

Crust

Crust

TJ Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
Messages
245
Location
San Diego
My ‘02 TJ was stolen in North Park, San Diego some time late last night or early this morning (3/18 to 3/19/2024). Sienna Pearl, black hard top, full doors, AEV Highline, Warn xd9000i winch with a blue line, Morryde tailgate kit, brand new 35” Mickey Thompson Baja Boss tires, UCF skids, D44s with ARBs. Brand new Currie adjustable suspension, Currectlync, AntiRock, and OME shocks/coils. Savvy shifter, red seat belts from a Tomb Raider edition, ARB compressor. Fully setup, just went through the entire thing to get it dialed in. If you or anybody you know sees anything or has any information please reach out to me. Happy to toss a reward out!

VIN is 1J4FA49S02P751722
CA plate 8DLV875
Mileage ~108k

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Oh fawk no, I'm really sorry for you! My previous TJ was stolen in San Diego 14 years ago and I never saw it again. I was told it was seen on video crossing the border into Mexico a couple days later.

Good Luck getting yours back!!!!!
 
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I 🤬 hate thieves. I sincerely hope you find it all in one piece 🙏

That reminds me I have to get some anti-theft measures, like a kill switch and gps tracker.
 
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PNW_LJ said:
I 🤬 hate thieves. I sincerely hope you find it all in one piece 🙏

That reminds me I have to get some anti-theft measures, like a kill switch and gps tracker.
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Yeah use this as a reminder to get it done! It was on my list after my XJ was stolen last June and I just never did it and I’m kicking myself in the ass for it now.
 
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Sorry for your loss. I had my truck stolen and next thing I did was add SKIM to the Jeep. I was terrified to leave it while I went in grocery store after I realized how easy they are to steal.
 
Sucks... but it was so nice of you to get it set up to be so capable for the cartel to use...

If I lived in SoCal, I'd be installing frame pull anchors in my driveway and chaining the axles when parked... or installing retractable bollards...
 
If his was stolen like mine was, there's no realistic way to prevent it unless you can focus a camera on it and watch it. Kill switches and burglar alarms don't faze pro Jeep thieves like are operating in San Diego to steel them for the drug cartels in remote areas of Mexico. No one pays attention to burglar alarms and in my TJ's case, a witness said they never even tried to start it. It was dragged out of my company parking space by a flatbed tow truck and it was gone in less than 2 minutes from start to finish. And they know where to look for GPS trackers and will usually quick find and disable. If the thieves are determined they don't care about anything except getting it gone in under a minute or two. Mine left skid marks as it was dragged backwards by the tow truck.

And I seriously considered anchor bolts and chains around my axles like suggested by @Artsifrtsi but that's only going to help where you can install them. It wouldn't have helped at where I worked, especially that it was on asphalt and not concrete.
 
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I'm in San diego - I'll keep an eye out. Sucks, brother. I had my previous LJ stolen at parkway plaza in 2005-2006ish. Amazingly quick theft.

I currently run an alarm system, and use a truck club when i park it anywhere but home and my protected work lot. (which are probably just deterrents, in reality.)

Praying it's recovered intact.
 
That sucks, I despise thief's! Unfortunately in this current climate, it's only getting worse.
I hope you don't get a double gut punch with your insurance company not paying for your extras.
 
Weasellee said:
Never owned one but would an Apple Tile under the carpet work?
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They work well for tracking vehicles, but you would need to hide it much better than that. If the thief has an Apple device it will let them know it's there. You have to make sure they can't find it. I have them in my vehicles, but you are going to have to remove major stuff to get to them and they are named something misleading
 
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Sorry to hear about the theft! Fingers crossed that it was just local scum who wanted a joy ride and that it will be recovered.

Sadly the TJ is easy just to steal. The design of the door locks makes them all but useless. Anyone can open the locked door in roughly the same time it takes to use the key. The factory SKIM might stop a novice but won't slow someone with experience. They also have sturdy, accessible tow points that make flatbed winching easy and sit high enough that a wheel lift equipped truck doesn't even have to scrape the ground with the lift.

I had 2 attempts on mine when I lived in AZ. The police even told me that TJ's were popular targets because the cartels want them. They like them for the same reasons we do. Simple, reliable, and good offroad.
 
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zackcj7 said:
They work well for tracking vehicles, but you would need to hide it much better than that. If the thief has an Apple device it will let them know it's there. You have to make sure they can't find it. I have them in my vehicles, but you are going to have to remove major stuff to get to them and they are named something misleading
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Ok. I don’t know how they work
 
Weasellee said:
Ok. I don’t know how they work
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They also have a speaker in them. I haven't used them before but a buddy sent me a video of how to remove the speaker so they don't make any noise. I am assuming they make noise while pairing or maybe in case you lose it you can make it beep.
 
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SDPD confirmed the Jeep was taken to Mexico. I found a guy on Marketplace selling the hard top off my Jeep. He’s also got an ‘02 ECM’ which I assume is from my Jeep as well.

I dug through old marketplace messages and I’ve actually met this guy before and I know where he works in National City. If I were to somehow coordinate a purchase of the computer from him, does anybody know if there is a way to confirm the VIN programmed into it? The sticker on it has been wiped clean but I assume these things are programmed with VIN numbers.
 
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Crust said:
SDPD confirmed the Jeep was taken to Mexico. I found a guy on Marketplace selling the hard top off my Jeep. He’s also got an ‘02 ECM’ which I assume is from my Jeep as well.

I dug through old marketplace messages and I’ve actually met this guy before and I know where he works in National City. If I were to somehow coordinate a purchase of the computer from him, does anybody know if there is a way to confirm the VIN programmed into it? The sticker on it has been wiped clean but I assume these things are programmed with VIN numbers.
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Dealer?
 
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