When your car gets stolen, it’s pretty easy to feel hopeless. Over 85% of stolen vehicles were recovered in 2023. However, losing your vehicle can be pretty traumatic. And when your car is found, it may be missing parts or severely damaged.
No matter how much you protect your car, celebrity car thefts show that there’s no one who’s totally immune from having their ride taken. However, if your car gets swiped and you’ve already called the police, there might be another step you can take: ringing up SiriusXM.
In a video with over 124,000 views, TikTok user Gigi (@gigi_approved) explains how an expired SiriusXM subscription led to her son’s stolen 2020 Dodge Charger getting located.
How Did SiriusXM Help Locate This Stolen Car?
In her video, Gigi shows security camera footage of her son’s car being stolen.
She then says that her family went through the normal routine one follows after getting a car stolen:
- Filing a claim with insurance
- Calling the police
- Informing the apartment complex where it was parked
In the process of trying to locate the car, Gigi says she reached out to OnStar, which eventually redirected her to SiriusXM. Gigi found this curious, as SiriusXM had not been active in the car for years.
“I thought, ‘What the h—? What am I doing at SiriusXM? He didn’t even have that!’” Gigi recalls.
However, after a few minutes on the phone with SiriusXM—and a $14.99 payment—Gigi was given some good news.
“When I got back on the phone, the guy’s laughing,” she recalls. “I’m going, ‘There’s nothing funny about this, dude. What are you laughing at?’ He goes, ‘I’m laughing because I just pinged your son’s car.’”
“Literally that quick—that quick,” she states. “I was on the phone with him for 15 minutes.”
While SiriusXM could not provide Gigi with the location, they were able to relay that information to law enforcement, who were soon dispatched.
In follow-up videos, Gigi says the police discovered that the car had been abandoned and planned to recover it.
Is This True?
While one might not believe that they can locate their car with an expired SiriusXM subscription, it’s actually the case.
The service is called SiriusXM Guardian. And it’s offered as a part of UConnect, which is available on Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, and Alfa Romeo vehicles.
As noted on the website, this is just one feature of SiriusXM Guardian. In addition to locating a stolen vehicle, it can also help one call roadside assistance and even do things like remotely locking and unlocking one’s car from an app.
Cars that are equipped with the service can set it up by simply pressing the Assist button on their rearview mirror. Or, as Gigi learned, drivers can call the company directly.
@gigi_approved #greenscreenvideo thieves caught on camera stealing dodge charger in Nashville TN #caughtoncamera #cartheft #dodge #nashville @siriusxm
Commenters Say They Didn’t Know
In the comments section, many users expressed surprise that this was an option. Others shared their own stories using the service.
“Sirus xm guardian is exactly how I found my vehicle!” said a user. “I recommend everyone pay for the service if you can. Would rather pay the $25 a month to have my cars location than not having it.”
“Had my account not active… called them to activate it and located my 2021 ram 2500 within 1.5 hr of noticing it gone,” recalled another.
“I have a new mustang and ford has an app that keeps every detail about your car and has your cars location at all times plus you can reach aaa and other safe features via the app,” advised a third. “Not sure if other brands have similar apps.”
BroBible reached out to Gigi via TikTok direct message and comment, and SiriusXM via email.