Is it grand theft auto?
By Willowlady
@Willowlady (10658)
United States
March 4, 2007 1:50pm CST
You walk out, key in hand, you go to a car that looks like yours, you insert the key and it starts then you drive away! It is not your car, oops. Do you get charged with grand theft auto?In southern, Ohio, a lady went to pick up her daughters car. It was a Toyota Camry. Using her daughters key she unlocked the car, started the engine and drove home. The student came out that owned that car and foun the empty parking spot. First thought that it had been towed. Police could not find a record of it. So they took a theft report.
The next morning the daughter discovered the Camry in the driveway wasn't hers. She looked at the paperwork in the glove compartment. Found the owners name.
Police closed the case as mistaken car identity. There were no charges.
Needless to say there are some not happy with Toyota.
11 people like this
29 responses
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
5 Mar 07
I can understand why people would not be happy with Toyota!
No two keys should be alike!!!
That would like your neighbor or the person a couple of streets over from you having the same key to your house because you both had the same contractor!
Ummm...no! Not acceptable!
Glad to read that it was accepted as a mistaken identity of cars!
It would have been very sad for anyone to get in trouble. If those keys were not the same, then it never would have left the parking lot.
2 people like this
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
6 Mar 07
I agree and it seems to be common from the responses I have gotten. Thank you for responding to this discussion.
1 person likes this
@kris182_2000 (5453)
• Canada
5 Mar 07
Shocking that it's so easy for that to happen. It's such a common car brand. They should really start thinking about fixing that issue.
2 people like this
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
23 Mar 07
If they only wood. I think that it should never have happened. Makes us wonder what else we need to discover about our private properties. Thanks for responding.
@caribe (2465)
• United States
5 Mar 07
That almost happened to me and my husband about three years ago. We came out of Walmart with our groceries and walked to our car, put our purchases in the back, and went to the front and got in. After we sat down inside, we realized our mistake. There was one car parked between ours and this one. We sheepishly got out of the car, got our groceries, found our car and left. There was a man in his vehicle that observed the whole scenario and he was smiling because he realized what we had done. I was afraid someone was going to think we were trying to steal the car.
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
6 Mar 07
So glad that it turned out ok, amazing that this seems to be common. Thank you for responding to this discussion.
1 person likes this
@lisado (1227)
• United States
5 Mar 07
I can't imagine having this happen! I don't see how it would be theft since it wasn't on purpose, but I'll bet Toyota has some ticked off customers wondering if and when it will happen to them. I guess you can only make so many different shapes of keys and alarm codes before you find another car that has the same.
2 people like this
@c45hfl0w (77)
• Latvia
5 Mar 07
OMG. Toyota. How it's possible to get in other car with your car keys? Toyota should think about safety. I thought about buying Toyota Celica but now I think I will not. I don`t want to lose my car, if someone does this by mistake, there will be people who will use this weak point. Another lession of life - don`t keep valuable things in your car.
1 person likes this
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
6 Mar 07
I try to teach my kids that all the time. Don't take anything with you that you are not willing to lose. Thank you for responding.
1 person likes this
@beaniegdi (1964)
•
5 Mar 07
That is pretty funny and at least has a happy ending. I would not like to have a car that any one could open. I thought each car had it's own special lock so no other key could open it.
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
27 Mar 07
Me too, so that shows us that we take certain things for granted. Thanks for responding.
@lvhughes (545)
• United States
5 Mar 07
alot of vehicles are like this. i have a 1996 plymoth voyager van and a 1995 dodge caravan. i can use the same keys in both. i found this out one day when my husband used my van but left my keys.i called his cell to find out how he had cranked it and he said he just used the spare set. we only have one set to my van.
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
6 Mar 07
Not good to hear, we had a voyager and caravan once, not at the same time. This seems to be too common. We should complain I think. Thanks much for responding.
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
5 Mar 07
How could her key work in there anyway? That is what I would wonder about. Maybe she hot wired it, and only said it was a mistake. On the other hand, if it was a mistake and the key worked, then no, it isn't theft in my opinion, just an honest mistake. Maybe the owner took her car too. Hehhe.:)
1 person likes this
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
6 Mar 07
No the owner file a missing car complaint. Anyway, I would be concerned about our keys fitting another, just doesn't seem right. Thanks much for responding.
@mommy2jason922 (529)
• United States
5 Mar 07
thats good that no charges were filed. i would have felt so stupid lol!! total blond moment lol!!
1 person likes this
@xfallenxlostx (2074)
• United States
5 Mar 07
No, it is not theft at all. It is a mistake and whoever does it should not be charged. Oh course, in order for charges to be dropped, there needs to be proof that the person has an identical car...
1 person likes this
@cyclops_online2004 (779)
• India
5 Mar 07
No, it clearly is nothing compared to theft its just a little mistake and a trick of fate tah the car oened which could have happened to anyone you know.
@sweetlady10 (3611)
• United States
5 Mar 07
Ohh it's preety unsafe taht you can start one car by another car's key! May be after hearing this some car thief will be happy that their job can be make easy by making car keys.
God save us all from car theft.
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
4 Mar 07
Statistically, I wonder what are the odds of the key fitting another car? It was a case of mistaken identity, but it is amazing that the key worked in it.
Those alarms and remote things for cars always amaze me, the cars beep and the lights flash, you lose your car keys and someone literally ends up with the keys to the kingdom and a beacon telling you where the car is.
1 person likes this
@jbrowsin66 (1321)
• United States
5 Mar 07
Still, the odds of that happening must be like winning the lottery.
@SKLC_PT (1234)
•
5 Mar 07
Humm, well if she is is so good at odds maybe she should play the lottery lol, with her luck at odd things it might be possible for her to actually get every single number. Or maybe she should look for one it would be even more odd to find a winning ticket hihihi
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
6 Mar 07
morcz...I am not happy to hear that. We should all find out before we lose our cars! Thanks for responding.
@Tsferrets (421)
• United States
23 Mar 07
WOW I didn't know that was possible.. I would be totally upset.. And I think the auto company is responsible.. I thought no 2 keys are alike.. Do you mean someone out there has a key to my auto's and can take them when ever? That is not a nice thought.. Tammy
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
27 Mar 07
I didn't either and that is why I made this discussion about this news I heard. Thanks for responding.
@atramesil (685)
• United States
16 Jul 07
I can't see this one s being theft. It was a case of mistaken vehicle. But, yeah, I'd be really unhappy with the care manufacturer.
