Yes, there are also anti-theft features built into electronics on cars too. (There's also frustrating anti-theft features built into mechanical parts on cars t

Yes, there are also anti-theft features built into electronics on cars too. (There's also frustrating anti-theft features built into mechanical parts on cars too, e.g. locking lug nuts, fiddly key mechanisms, parts with hard to access or nonexistent fasteners, etc) But also, most vehicles don't really technically have ECUs anymore, despite that name sticking around in common use. Most stuff in the past 30 years has a PCM, because there's a lot of features that makes sense to coordinate between the engine and transmission in a modern car. Even back in the 90's heyday of EFI engine tuning, one often had to be conscious of which transmission their "ECU" was expecting, because some transmission features were staring to get integrated into the engine control logic. The simplest explanation for the missing van is a thief with a tow truck :). e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcE8nmDNEDw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcE8nmDNEDw