Theft deterrents

[e-yes]

Hi,

I would seek the forum members' recommendations on theft deterrents.

I just found out that early last morning someone's relatively new (21 reg) RX got stolen not very far away from where we are. (Other than that quite a few car thefts and break ins have been reported on the Nextdoor social network's email updates, I don't use Facebook, Twitter etc but I am guessing similar reports would have been seen there as well)

I was under the impression that Lexus are not as desirable as RangeRovers or the German branded cars. Also, ES is not an RX so maybe really not desirable ... but to me it is the best I have had so that has me worried.

For now I have enabled the low-power mode on the key fob (while holding lock button, press unlock twice) and the keyless entry is disabled on the car.

Is a steering lock recommended ? If so.. which one ?

Any other recommendations ?

Thanks,

--E

[Herbie]

2 hours ago, e-yes said:

Is a steering lock recommended ? If so.. which one ?

Absolutely, yes!

I use a Stoplock Pro Elite because in various reviews and tests it took more than 5 minutes to defeat it and that was using hammers, chisels and saws. However, the main thing here is that it's a visual and very obvious deterrent, which will hopefully make the scrotes decide to just move on to an easier target before even opening a door.

Another thing I would suggest is a tracker. You can pay hundreds of pounds for an expensive one with 24/7 central monitoring but I bought one of these. They cost £35 for the unit and then about £60/year for the SIM but well worth it in my opinion. It gives geofencing, real-time tracking, alerts for when it moves in/out of a geofenced area, ignition on, movement and other stuff.

[Cs150]

How are they getting them? Are they capturing the key signal? Also recent vehicles have the tracking function via the app, appreciate it is not an official tracker but should allow recovery 

[e-yes]

2 hours ago, Cs150 said:

How are they getting them? Are they capturing the key signal? Also recent vehicles have the tracking function via the app, appreciate it is not an official tracker but should allow recovery 

Yes, the signal from car to key is tapped wirelessly somehow !

 I think the tracker is probably defeat-able. If the thieves have devices which can tap the signal then maybe they know how to disable the inbuilt tracker. 

The real proper solution would be to time-code encrypt the signal between the car and the key… maybe a cost issue why it has not been done yet. 

[ROYT]

If you are handy, the simple deterrent I use, is to find the fire feeding the fuel pump, cut it and insert a hidden switch. Just need to remember to operate it!

Not much use if you are all electric but there must be some way to cut the 'switch on' wire, physically or electronically.

[Shotleyboy]

Not possible for our ES’s however, but I have never understood why theSaab 99 theft prevention was never widely adopted. Basically, the key was located by the gearstick and would only release when locked in reverse making the vehicle undrivable without the key!