Philadelphia Sees a Rise in Stolen Wrangler Batteries

Easy-to-open hood latches makes Jeep an easy prey for Philly’s ‘energized bandit.’

It probably comes as no big surprise to most here, but you know those easy to snap-off hood latches on Jeep Wranglers?

Well, they make easy prey for thieves looking to snatch car batteries, as Philly.com reports.

According to the Philadelphia news source, an “energized bandit” has made off with 22 Jeep batteries in recent months. And most of those came from Wranglers.

“The problem with the Jeeps is they don’t have a locking mechanism,” says Lt. Martin Bernard of the Major Crimes Unit in Philadelphia. “It’s kind of like leaving your diamond ring on a table in the restaurant.”

He has a point.

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In fact, Surveillance cameras recently caught the thief stealing the battery from a Wrangler in broad daylight. It’s become that easy to pull of the caper. It makes you wonder if the surge in the thefts is indeed one culprit or a string of different people who’ve just gotten wind of how easy it is to pop the hood on a Wrangler.

Those of us at JK Forum sometimes assume that the Wrangler’s latches are common knowledge, but you’d be surprised how many things people don’t know about Jeeps. Of course, we also know that there are a few ways to ward off these “energized bandits,” including buying locks that make it harder to get under the hood.