Carjacking in Grand Theft Auto games has been, as the title denotes, a staple of the series. Up until now, it’s largely been the same. While there have been more details and animations added over the years, the premise has remained that you’ll walk up to a car, press Y or Triangle, throw the driver out, get in and drive away. If the car was parked, you’d execute the same button press to smash the window and steal it. With GTA 6, carjacking is getting a complete overhaul. Here, we’ve got all of the information we know so far on how to steal cars in GTA 6.
There are two ways to steal a car: taking one that’s stationary, or taking one that someone’s driving around in. However, there are more details that make GTA 6 feel more like true simulation gameplay now.
How to steal a parked car
As we saw in the GTA 6 extended look gameplay, when Jason approached a car, he had multiple options to choose from. The first option is a slim jim–a classic tool used to break into older vehicles. It slides down the window frame to adjust the lock, and in GTA 6, it seems like this is done via a lockpicking minigame. However, based on what we’ve heard so far, that won’t work for every car. Depending on the year and model of the vehicle, you might not be able to use a slim jim.
However, newer and more expensive cars might not work with this method. On top of that, there are trackers, meaning that the police can track your location when you steal a car. This changes the whole carjacking aspect of Grand Theft Auto. Normally, if you’d steal a car, you might catch some heat; maybe a nearby police officer sees you and follows you, but it’s pretty easy to get away cleanly. This time, that isn’t the case.
If you do want to get away cleanly, you need an item to disable the tracking device. It seems like that item, along with the slim jim, is not something you start out with, meaning you’ll need to progress through the story or complete side objectives to obtain them.
Another interesting thing about the tracker is that apparently if you drive fast enough, the cops won’t be able to track you. That adds an extra element of tension, because if you slow down and try to play it safe, they’ll know exactly where you are and you’ll need to get moving right away.
How to steal occupied vehicles
In some cases, driven vehicles aren’t locked, so you’ll be able to just walk up and open the door. It seems like there’s a quick time minigame to complete, which will wrestle the driver out of the car, and then you can drive away. If there is a passenger, they will also try to prevent you from stealing the car. However, just because you steal a car doesn’t mean the cops can’t track you–the tracker is still there and you will need to find a way to disable it.
Vehicle security and impound lots
How do you know what kind of security a given car on the street has? The app Waink allows you to scan vehicles, and it’ll tell you the security systems on board as well as how much it’ll cost to register it as your own vehicle.
One other interesting detail about registered vehicles that was in one of TGG’s videos is that if you ditch one of your own cars while you are wanted, the police will set up a perimeter around your car so that if you return to it, in theory, they will be waiting for you. If you wait too long, they will impound it. This leads to some interesting gameplay implications. Perhaps you’ll have to sneak into the impound lot to retrieve it, or if you have the money, you could show up and pay the fee before driving off.
There’s certainly something deeper going on with the Grand Theft Auto mechanics we’ve known for years. Supposedly, when you start the game you won’t have access to a lot of these tools. You won’t be able to instantly steal cars; you’ll have to progress to that point. It seems like better vehicles will slowly be introduced throughout the game.
If you want better vehicles, you’ll have to work for them, whether that’s through stealing or more legitimate means. This also leads to interesting repercussions when it comes to robberies and other activities. You’ll want a fast getaway car–previously, you could just acquire the nearest suitable one, but in GTA 6 you’ll have to plan ahead. If a nearby car is parked, you might not have the equipment to stealthily steal it. Even if you do, maybe you don’t have the gear to remove the tracker, which will bring more heat on you.
This means that robberies need to be pre-planned. Perhaps Jason or Lucia will be on watch with a vehicle, so the other character can run out, hop in, and drive away. Maybe you’ll choose a vehicle as your getaway car early on, steal it, park it nearby, and then complete the robbery knowing you have a method of escape.
GTA 6 is bringing about many more changes for the series. While many thought Jason and Lucia would be in a romantic relationship, it turns out that’s not actually necessary. The game has also removed the need to button mash to sprint–something I’ve been desperate for.
