Tag: Nitro Pro

The Short Answer: Yes

If you’ve just taken delivery of the new Mercedes CLA petrol hybrid and you’ve been told it can’t have a CAN-bus immobiliser fitted — we have good news. It can. In June this year, Elite Car Security became the first company to secure one of these vehicles with a CAN-bus immobiliser, using the Nitro Pro CAN-IMMO. As far as we’re aware, nobody else had managed it before us — and plenty are still struggling now.

Why the New CLA Is Causing Installers Problems

Every new generation of vehicle brings new electronics, and the latest CLA is no exception. Its CAN-bus architecture doesn’t behave like the cars installers are used to, which is why so many installation companies — and even the immobiliser manufacturers themselves — have been telling CLA owners that there’s no solution yet for the new petrol hybrid.

Here’s the honest truth about how we got there first: it wasn’t the product that cracked it. Off the shelf, no immobiliser was ready for this car. It came down to our skills and expertise — more than 30 years of working inside vehicle electrical systems — and a willingness to work directly with the manufacturers to develop a solution that actually works on this vehicle. Together we got it secured, properly.

How the Finished Install Works

The car itself is awesome, and the install went great. The immobilisation works exactly as it should: the engine will not start until the correct PIN sequence is entered on the car’s own buttons, and the CLA has more than enough buttons to set a long, genuinely secure PIN code. No fob, no tag, nothing for a thief to clone or relay — the same covert protection we fit on Toyota and Lexus vehicles with the Nitro Pro every week.

Being honest, as we always are: on the current version, the disarm notification is done with a buzzer, and we think that deserves improving. We’d like to see digital indication on this vehicle, and we’re continuing to work with the manufacturers on a new file to make that happen. In the meantime, there’s a working fix in place — the protection itself is rock solid, and the buzzer does its job.

Been Told Your CLA Can’t Be Done?

If you’re looking to protect your new Mercedes CLA petrol hybrid and you’ve been told it’s not compatible — it is. We’ve done it, and we can do yours. We fit at your home or workplace across Essex, Hertfordshire and London. Call 0333 012 9028 or get in touch and we’ll get you sorted.

Watch the Full Installation

See exactly how the UK’s first PIN code immobiliser on the new Mercedes CLA petrol hybrid works:

Two TASSA-Approved CAN-Bus Immobilisers

Modern car theft rarely involves breaking a window any more. Relay attacks and key-cloning let thieves fool your car into thinking the real key is present, and a standard factory alarm does nothing to stop it. A CAN-bus immobiliser closes that gap by refusing to let the engine start at all until a hidden PIN sequence is entered — no fob, no spare key, no shortcut.

Two systems we fit and rate highly are the Autowatch Ghost and the Nitro Pro CAN-IMMO. Both are TASSA-approved, both hide silently inside your car’s own wiring, and both are disarmed through buttons you already have. The difference is in where each one really shines.

Autowatch Ghost: The Established All-Rounder

The Ghost has been fitted into more cars, by more installers, over more years than almost anything else in this category. You disarm it with your car’s own controls — steering wheel, door or console buttons, in a sequence you set yourself (up to 20 presses) — so there’s no separate keypad for a thief to spot. Add an emergency code and an optional companion app, and it’s a proven, flexible choice across a huge range of makes and models.

Its biggest strength is track record: several generations of refinement, a UK-wide network of trained installers, and strong name recognition with insurers.

Nitro Pro CAN-IMMO: The Toyota & Lexus Specialist

The Nitro Pro is also a TASSA-approved CAN-bus immobiliser working on the same core principle — covert, wired into the vehicle’s network, and disarmed by a PIN entered through your existing switches. Where it stands out is its reputation on Toyota and Lexus vehicles, where it tends to integrate especially cleanly with the way those cars are built.

For an owner of one of those makes, that tighter fit can make the Nitro Pro the more natural choice — a good example of why the “best” immobiliser isn’t always the most famous one.

Our Verdict

For most vehicles, the Autowatch Ghost’s track record and broad compatibility make it the safe default recommendation. But if you drive a Toyota or Lexus, the Nitro Pro is very much in the conversation, and on some of those models it’s the one we’d lean towards.

But Here’s the Honest Answer

No single immobiliser is right for every car. Wiring layouts and CAN-bus architecture vary by make and model, and the system that integrates most cleanly on one vehicle isn’t always the one that suits the next. The right answer genuinely changes case by case.

That’s why it pays to get advice from an installer who fits more than one system rather than a company selling a single product — because if there’s only one thing on the shelf, every car gets recommended that same thing, whether it’s the best match or not.

As a TASSA-approved installer fitting Autowatch Ghost, Nitro Pro, Pandora and other systems across Essex, Hertfordshire and London, we recommend whichever immobiliser genuinely suits your car best — not whichever one we happen to sell. Get in touch and we’ll tell you straight which one we’d fit on your specific vehicle.

Ready to book? See our dedicated pages for Ghost immobiliser installation in Essex, Hertfordshire and London, or Nitro Pro immobiliser installation in Essex, Hertfordshire and London. Comparing all four systems we fit? See the full immobiliser comparison table, or what suits your vehicle: Toyota & Lexus, Range Rover, BMW, Mercedes and Ford Transit.