How to Hotwire Your Car

Here’s how to hotwire and start your car if you’ve lost your
keys.

Disclaimer: Only try this on your own car or your parents Corolla. Hotwiring other cars without the owner’s permission might be illegal. This is not how thieves steal cars in real life.

This method will work on vehicles that do not have an engine
immobilizer. To hack the immobilizer, see my immobilizer hacking video here:

Here are a few photos of the process. I found it
surprisingly easy to do. Since your not breaking into your own car, I chose to remove everything nicely.

Here’s what the steering column looks like.

Remove the airbag:

Now you have access to remove the two screws for the
steering covers.

Ignition cylinder.

Disconnect the ignition switch on the back of the cylinder (left).

The switch is only held on by two Philips screws.

Now you can use a regular screwdriver to start the car.

To unlock the steering wheel, the ignition switch needs to
be removed. It’s held in by two security screws which I removed with a hammer and pick.

Here is what the security bolts look like.

Here’s what the ignition cylinder looks like removed from the steering column.

And that’s how you start your car with a screwdriver!