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How does the tracker work?

Kaz

Kaz

New member
Please excuse my ignorance (and this is possibly a slight 'blonde moment') but how does the tracker system work in the car?

I was told to make sure I took the little tracker lozenge unit in the car when I was driving and never leave it in there when she was parked. What would happen if I drove the car without the unit or left in in the car when it was parked? It is a nuisence to have to remember to take it with me all the time. The tracker system in the M3 seemed more straight forward.
 
The system detects whether the car is moving independently of the lozenge (or token as I call it), I think it does this by the in-car unit interrogating the token on start-up and seeking a response, if the token is more than a certain distance from the car it receives no feedback and the in-car unit then initiates a possible theft alert. So if you left the lozenge behind when you drove the car you would get a call from Cobra asking if you were aware that the car was being driven, or conversely if you left it in the car and it was stolen no one would realise before you saw it had gone.

It is possible to have the token close to, but outside, the car when you start the engine then drive some distance leaving the token behind without generating a theft alert. For example some have reported leaving the token at home, driving to work and only receiving a call from Cobra when they drove home in the evening.
 
The Tracker system is operated by Cobra. If you drive the car without the 'Lozenge' you will receive a phone call within a few minutes to advise you that the car is being used without it. At this point you say 'Silly me, I forgot to take my Lozenge' or you say thanks for calling somebody has pinched my car. If you say the latter then they inform the police and track the car thus resulting in its recovery.

If you leave the lozenge in your car and the car gets stolen they cannot alert you or track it.

Do not fix the lozenge to your keys as if you have the keys stolen you are in the same boat as if you had left your lozenge in the car.

I keep my lozenge in my wallet as I rarely go out without money.When I did I got a call from Cobra within minutes and I had to say 'Silly me'[&:]

It is a good system and well worth the subscription for peace of mind.

As an alternative you can choose not to pay the subscription, bin your lozenge and risk having your car stolen and not recovered[:)]
 
The lozenge was an added precaution to try and help with the spate of taken with keys type burglaries..

Like your previous BM system my 996 Tracker did not require the extra bit.. however as Tony points out, for that little bit of hassle it does add quite a large peace of mind.. as long as you don't clip it to your key ring..!

To add, even if the car was stolen along with the lozenge the system can still be activated by Cobra..

garyw
 
The biggest pain is the off switch on the card (lozenge or whatever) - it does tend to turn iteself off a lot, then again Cobra do call me and remind me to switch it back on again..........
 
I can't actually turn mine off ??

I've followed the instructions and it does exactly as its supposed too.. then starts blinking at me again ?

garyw
 
Just put it in your pocket for a couple of hours....


However If I try to turn it off (to save the battery in the spare) I can't.
 
i usually keep it in my wallet also.the only time i have been alerted by cobra(and therefore know it works!)is when i was on call at the hospital in the evening,had taken he bmw(roughneighburhood!)and was contacted when it turns out she nipped out in the porsche without the token to get a chinese and had a blonde moment[:D]
 
ORIGINAL: ianfiat

Just put it in your pocket for a couple of hours....


However If I try to turn it off (to save the battery in the spare) I can't.
Click to expand...


Must be a problem with your 'lozenge'. Should always work unless it has been left immobile for several days. The indicator light flashes infrequently to show it is on, say ten seconds between flashes. If it dies after a couple of hours, worth getting it checked. You could also try the spare and see if you have the same prolem.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. Slightly worryingly but resolved now, was the fact that the dealership had given cobra an incorrect mobile 'phone number as the first number to call in the event of any problem.
 
I had to go and check my fob on reading this as hadn't looked at it long enough to realise it flashed!! You are right it does flash...amazing!!!! Does this mean it needs the battery changing every so often,and is the first we know about this when the phone goes to ask why the car is moving without permission?? Its a great system I think as we had a tracker in a previous Volvo T5, the guy from over the road was hanging on to the car door as someone knicked it off our drive, so we rang 999 straight away, the police chased it on the tracker but couldn't keep up so lost it. The thieves then removed all the internal rear trim to remove the tracking device and proceeded to go for a good play in it, whilst we sat at home waiting to hear from the police wondering what was taking them so long. The car was reported dumped the next day by a member of the public.Think that if this system had been around then maybe they would have caught the b****ds !!!
 
The manual which came with my system states that you will receive an automatic text message should the battery become depleted.
 
ORIGINAL: GT3 Jan

I had to go and check my fob on reading this as hadn't looked at it long enough to realise it flashed!! You are right it does flash...amazing!!!! Does this mean it needs the battery changing every so often,and is the first we know about this when the phone goes to ask why the car is moving without permission??
Click to expand...

Yes, there's a watch type battery that will eventually need replacing.
 
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