Will an S5 Tracker Alert If My Car Is Towed?

Will an S5 Tracker Alert If My Car Is Towed or Lifted Rather Than Driven?

Key Takeaways

• Yes, a Thatcham S5 tracker is designed to alert you and a 24/7 monitoring centre if your car is towed, lifted or moved without the ignition on.
• S5 trackers use motion sensors to detect movement, so thieves don’t need to start the engine to trigger an alert.
• S5 also adds driver recognition tags, which catch key cloning and relay theft that cheaper trackers miss.
• A tracker helps you recover a stolen car. An immobiliser such as the Ghost stops it being driven away in the first place.
• Combining both gives you the strongest protection against every common theft method.

Yes, an S5 tracker will alert you if your car is towed or lifted rather than driven. Thatcham Approved Trackers in the S5 category include tow away and movement alerts, which trigger when the vehicle moves while the ignition is off. Hidden motion sensors pick up the movement, and the tracker silently notifies a 24/7 monitoring centre, which contacts you to confirm whether a theft is under way. If it is, the control room works with the police to locate and recover the vehicle.

Why Thieves Tow or Lift Cars Instead of Driving Them

Many modern cars are well protected against being driven away. Factory immobilisers, keyless entry encryption and alarm systems all make starting the engine harder. Some thieves have adapted by skipping the engine entirely.

Common methods include:

• Flatbed lifting: the car is winched or forklifted onto a recovery truck in minutes.
• Towing: the car is hooked up and pulled away, often at night.
• Trailering: smaller cars and classics are loaded onto trailers.

To a passer-by, a car being loaded onto a recovery truck looks completely normal. That’s exactly why thieves use this approach, and why ignition-based alerts alone aren’t enough.

How an S5 Tracker Detects Towing and Lifting

An S5 tracker doesn’t rely on the engine being started. It monitors the vehicle’s physical movement and position at all times.

Motion and tilt detection

Built-in sensors detect when the car is lifted, tilted or moved. If this happens while the ignition is off, the tracker treats it as a possible tow away event.

Location change monitoring

GPS tracks any change in position. A car moving several miles with no ignition signal is a clear warning sign, and the tracker reports it.

24/7 monitoring centre response

This is where S5 differs from basic plug-in trackers. Alerts go to a staffed control room, not just an app notification you might miss while you’re asleep. The team contacts you, confirms the situation and, where a theft is confirmed, passes live location data to the police.

Tamper and battery alerts

Thieves sometimes try to disconnect the car battery or the tracker itself. S5 units typically raise an alert if power is cut or the device is tampered with, so disabling it becomes a signal in itself.

S5 vs S7: Which Handles Towing Better?

Both S5 and S7 trackers include tow away alerts and 24/7 monitoring, so either will alert you if your car is lifted. The key difference is what S5 adds on top.

With S5, you carry a small driver tag. If the car is started or moved without the tag present, the monitoring centre is alerted even if the thief has a cloned key. That makes S5 the stronger choice for higher value cars, keyless vehicles and drivers in high theft areas. Many insurers also specify S5 for these vehicles, so check your policy before you buy.

You can compare S5 and S7 options in our range of Thatcham Approved Trackers, all professionally installed.

The Gap a Tracker Can’t Close on Its Own

A tracker is a recovery tool. It tells you and the police where your car is after it’s been taken. That’s essential, but it means the theft has already started.

The best security setups stop the car being driven away at all, which pushes thieves towards slower, riskier methods like towing. And if they do tow it, the tracker is waiting for them.

Add a Ghost Immobiliser for Layered Protection

The Ghost Immobiliser prevents your car from being started unless a unique PIN sequence is entered using the existing buttons in your car, such as those on the steering wheel or centre console. There’s no fob for a thief to steal or clone, and no visible hardware for them to find.

Here’s how the two work together:

• Key theft or cloning: the Ghost stops the engine starting without your code, so the car stays put.
• Relay attacks on keyless cars: even if the key signal is captured, the car won’t drive without the PIN.
• Towing or lifting: the S5 tracker detects the movement and alerts the monitoring centre.
• Recovery: if the car is taken by any method, the tracker guides police to it.

Thieves are forced to choose between a car that won’t start and one that reports itself the moment it moves. Most will simply move on to an easier target.

Tips to Reduce Tow Away Theft Further

• Park in a garage or on a driveway where possible, ideally with a bollard or post.
• Turn the wheels towards the kerb when parking on the street, which makes towing harder.
• Keep keyless fobs in a signal blocking pouch.
• Make sure your tracker subscription is active, as monitoring stops if it lapses.
• Keep your contact details up to date with the monitoring centre so they can reach you quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will an S5 tracker alert me if my car is lifted onto a flatbed?

Yes. Motion sensors detect the car being lifted or moved while the ignition is off, triggering a tow away alert to the monitoring centre.

Do I get the alert or does the monitoring centre?

Both, typically. The 24/7 control room receives the alert and contacts you to confirm whether the movement is authorised, and you may also receive an app notification depending on your system.

What happens if my car is legitimately recovered or towed?

If you’ve arranged recovery or your car is being moved by a garage, let the monitoring centre know in advance. If they contact you during an alert, simply confirm the movement is authorised.

Can thieves disable an S5 tracker before towing?

S5 trackers raise tamper and power loss alerts, so cutting the battery or interfering with the unit generates an alert rather than silencing the system.

Does an S7 tracker also detect towing?

Yes, S7 trackers include tow away alerts too. S5 adds driver recognition tags for protection against key cloning and keyless theft.

Will a Ghost Immobiliser stop my car being towed?

No. An immobiliser stops the engine starting, but it can’t stop a car being physically lifted. That’s why pairing it with an S5 tracker gives the most complete protection.

Protect Your Car From Every Angle

An S5 tracker will alert you if your car is towed, lifted or trailered, and the 24/7 monitoring team will act on it straight away. Add a Ghost Immobiliser and you stop drive away theft before it begins. Browse our full range of Thatcham Approved Trackers and book professional installation today.