ES300H TAKUMI - wheel arch CAN BUS theft

[beyond the blue]

So much for wheel clamps!  

[NICO1972]

Hi all,

Whilst I may be a bit more 'fortunate' with having Metratrak Plus immobiliser and Tracker on my ES300h (2019), I had one attempted theft in last week of Sept 23 outside my house using the hacking techinque with Canbus by cutting the headlight (left) cable and they did some damage to my front bumper and cables. Thankfully, I had a chap who was experienced enough to repair it. So it was ok afterward.

But early hours this morning at 01:42 am (19th Oct), I suffered with another attempted theft on my same ES300h in my own way drive - same technique applied and this time, the loom cable is badly damaged. I am furious and gutted. Lexus checked the car and they said that the cable needs replacing. This costs around £5600! I will certainly have to make a claim with my insurance and the first time I had reported the theft, they told me that I would have to pay an excess of £500 and lose 5 years no claim bonus! That is wholly unfair.

 

I reported the situation to the Police... I am furious.

[Cs150]

10 minutes ago, NICO1972 said:

Hi all,

Whilst I may be a bit more 'fortunate' with having Metratrak Plus immobiliser and Tracker on my ES300h (2019), I had one attempted theft in last week of Sept 23 outside my house using the hacking techinque with Canbus by cutting the headlight (left) cable and they did some damage to my front bumper and cables. Thankfully, I had a chap who was experienced enough to repair it. So it was ok afterward.

But early hours this morning at 01:42 am (19th Oct), I suffered with another attempted theft on my same ES300h - same technique applied and this time, the loom cable is badly damaged. I am furious and gutted. Lexus checked the car and they said that the cable needs replacing. This costs around £5600! I will certainly have to make a claim with my insurance and the first time I had reported the theft, they told me that I would have to pay an excess of £500 and lose 5 years no claim bonus! That is wholly unfair.

 

I reported the situation to the Police... I am furious.

As mentioned previously I believe all vulnerable ES models should be recalled. Lexus should install a third party immobiliser to make up for their design issues. Alternatively all vehicles could be updated to ensure MITM attacks cannot be conducted on the Cambus

[DrShockr]

2 hours ago, NICO1972 said:

Hi all,

Whilst I may be a bit more 'fortunate' with having Metratrak Plus immobiliser and Tracker on my ES300h (2019), I had one attempted theft in last week of Sept 23 outside my house using the hacking techinque with Canbus by cutting the headlight (left) cable and they did some damage to my front bumper and cables. Thankfully, I had a chap who was experienced enough to repair it. So it was ok afterward.

But early hours this morning at 01:42 am (19th Oct), I suffered with another attempted theft on my same ES300h in my own way drive - same technique applied and this time, the loom cable is badly damaged. I am furious and gutted. Lexus checked the car and they said that the cable needs replacing. This costs around £5600! I will certainly have to make a claim with my insurance and the first time I had reported the theft, they told me that I would have to pay an excess of £500 and lose 5 years no claim bonus! That is wholly unfair.

 

I reported the situation to the Police... I am furious.

Very sorry to hear this! Could you perhaps ask Lexus for the part number of the wiring loom needed and then order it directly from Japan from Yoshi Parts or other similar websites? I've had a very good experience with them, excellent communication and parts were delivered to me in less than 10 days with full tracking. I needed something that was quoted as £220 including VAT from Lexus UK but got it directly from Toyota in Japan via Yoshi for 70 dollars!

You will still need to get a quotation for the labour, probably better from a reputable independent. 

My two cents as a backup option - you'll need to weigh up the loss of 5 years no claims, insurance excess upfront, plus the increased premium over the next 5 years and see if above might be cheaper overall.

[NICO1972]

5 hours ago, DrShockr said:

Very sorry to hear this! Could you perhaps ask Lexus for the part number of the wiring loom needed and then order it directly from Japan from Yoshi Parts or other similar websites? I've had a very good experience with them, excellent communication and parts were delivered to me in less than 10 days with full tracking. I needed something that was quoted as £220 including VAT from Lexus UK but got it directly from Toyota in Japan via Yoshi for 70 dollars!

You will still need to get a quotation for the labour, probably better from a reputable independent. 

My two cents as a backup option - you'll need to weigh up the loss of 5 years no claims, insurance excess upfront, plus the increased premium over the next 5 years and see if above might be cheaper overall.

I see what you mean. Good thinking to be having but we have checked the loom cable and it is a long one for the entire car and it cost £5,600 so I am not sure how cheaper would the Yoshi website be... I am going to have the car checked tomorrow with a very good independent who thinks he can do something far cheaper. My only worry is that if I opt for the expensive option, there will be no guarantee that these same culprits will not target my car for the 3rd time. They are on a mission to get it. Tonight I parked my car very close to my wife's car so the left side cannot be accessed. Good move for the time being...

[NICO1972]

On 10/19/2023 at 6:47 PM, DrShockr said:

Very sorry to hear this! Could you perhaps ask Lexus for the part number of the wiring loom needed and then order it directly from Japan from Yoshi Parts or other similar websites? I've had a very good experience with them, excellent communication and parts were delivered to me in less than 10 days with full tracking. I needed something that was quoted as £220 including VAT from Lexus UK but got it directly from Toyota in Japan via Yoshi for 70 dollars!

You will still need to get a quotation for the labour, probably better from a reputable independent. 

My two cents as a backup option - you'll need to weigh up the loss of 5 years no claims, insurance excess upfront, plus the increased premium over the next 5 years and see if above might be cheaper overall.

I had the damage inspected by an independent and the loom cable was cut (again) in different parts (on the small wires now) so he tried to weld them back but the fault is still persisting. There is no possibility of repairing the loom cable as damage is too extensive. We viewed on various sites how much loom cable costs and was shocked to hear that it is costing in the region of £5,600! I had to make a claim with my car insurance. They have advised me that I will not lose any no claim bonus but have to pay an excess of £470. I have gone through with this and the car is booked at an approved repair workshop (VTEC) to replace the loom cable. I am assuming that this will be an extensive work as the car will need to be stripped completely. Not sure what I will do when I get it back. Keep it or sell it... Too sad to be reaching this conclusion.

[Cs150]

2 hours ago, NICO1972 said:

I had the damage inspected by an independent and the loom cable was cut (again) in different parts (on the small wires now) so he tried to weld them back but the fault is still persisting. There is no possibility of repairing the loom cable as damage is too extensive. We viewed on various sites how much loom cable costs and was shocked to hear that it is costing in the region of £5,600! I had to make a claim with my car insurance. They have advised me that I will not lose any no claim bonus but have to pay an excess of £470. I have gone through with this and the car is booked at an approved repair workshop (VTEC) to replace the loom cable. I am assuming that this will be an extensive work as the car will need to be stripped completely. Not sure what I will do when I get it back. Keep it or sell it... Too sad to be reaching this conclusion.

Very sorry for the situation this could happen to any ES owner. Very embarrassed at the handling of this by Lexus UK. It takes a long time to build a reputation but it can all be lost relatively quickly. After this ordeal not many would return to the Lexus brand.... 

[NICO1972]

8 minutes ago, Cs150 said:

Very sorry for the situation this could happen to any ES owner. Very embarrassed at the handling of this by Lexus UK. It takes a long time to build a reputation but it can all be lost relatively quickly. After this ordeal not many would return to the Lexus brand.... 

Indeed and it is making me think a lot now. The last thing I want is another attempt on my ES after this repair. It will really upset me. I am now starting to look at other brands to see what is out there - never thought I would do that...

[wharfhouse]

2 hours ago, NICO1972 said:

I had the damage inspected by an independent and the loom cable was cut (again) in different parts (on the small wires now) so he tried to weld them back but the fault is still persisting. There is no possibility of repairing the loom cable as damage is too extensive. We viewed on various sites how much loom cable costs and was shocked to hear that it is costing in the region of £5,600! I had to make a claim with my car insurance. They have advised me that I will not lose any no claim bonus but have to pay an excess of £470. I have gone through with this and the car is booked at an approved repair workshop (VTEC) to replace the loom cable. I am assuming that this will be an extensive work as the car will need to be stripped completely. Not sure what I will do when I get it back. Keep it or sell it... Too sad to be reaching this conclusion.

Yes the looms are very expensive - I hit a tyre shed from a lorry in my IS 300h - the damage ripped a fog light out. Along with some other repairs the biggest issue was it required a new loom for the lights as that was damaged where the fog light was pulled out. Final cost of the repair was £13,500 with the bulk being the supply and fitment of the new loom... Fortunately the supermarket insurance who's lorry shed the tyre paid.

[NICO1972]

3 minutes ago, wharfhouse said:

Yes the looms are very expensive - I hit a tyre shed from a lorry in my IS 300h - the damage ripped a fog light out. Along with some other repairs the biggest issue was it required a new loom for the lights as that was damaged where the fog light was pulled out. Final cost of the repair was £13,500 with the bulk being the supply and fitment of the new loom... Fortunately the supermarket insurance who's lorry shed the tyre paid.

Shocking! but good it was the other party that paid. I am feeling at a starting point with car where I am thinking what next car should be...

[Dippo]

17 hours ago, NICO1972 said:

I had the damage inspected by an independent and the loom cable was cut (again) in different parts (on the small wires now) so he tried to weld them back but the fault is still persisting. There is no possibility of repairing the loom cable as damage is too extensive. We viewed on various sites how much loom cable costs and was shocked to hear that it is costing in the region of £5,600! I had to make a claim with my car insurance. They have advised me that I will not lose any no claim bonus but have to pay an excess of £470. I have gone through with this and the car is booked at an approved repair workshop (VTEC) to replace the loom cable. I am assuming that this will be an extensive work as the car will need to be stripped completely. Not sure what I will do when I get it back. Keep it or sell it... Too sad to be reaching this conclusion.

Maybe not, but I bet your premium will go up by a large amount at your next renewal. 

[NICO1972]

5 hours ago, Dippo said:

Maybe not, but I bet your premium will go up by a large amount at your next renewal. 

That is what I also fear... Frankly, I am annoyed with Lexus as this issue should have been addressed a long time ago. The ES car is a magnet for thieves sadly and I am already looking for other car manufacturers to change the ES as soon as it is back from repair... I am looking at BMW touring 5 series and Audi A6 Avant so that would be a change having a car with bigger boot since I have 2 kids, we need space sometimes. The next estate will be a new adventure - Lexus has lost a customer with ES.

[eightk]

As with the RX, UX, NX, LS and LC it’s just not good enough.

Lexus should do a recall on all affected cars. There is no point fitting immobilisers and steering locks at owners cost when thieves will still try and steal the cars.
Steel plates or a revised canbus system or a free immobiliser - whatever it takes.

The thought of Lexus ending up with the same reputation as Land Rover doesn’t bear thinking about.

[Cs150]

56 minutes ago, eightk said:

As with the RX, UX, NX, LS and LC it’s just not good enough.

Lexus should do a recall on all affected cars. There is no point fitting immobilisers and steering locks at owners cost when thieves will still try and steal the cars.
Steel plates or a revised canbus system or a free immobiliser - whatever it takes.

The thought of Lexus ending up with the same reputation as Land Rover doesn’t bear thinking about.

Lexus absolutely should do a recall, bite the bullet financially and do the right thing by the brand. Lexus UK from my interaction does not do the brand history Any justice and needs a major shake up with higher quality personnel at the helm...

[george72]

Agree totally. What about  collective action? Letter to lexus uk from the all of us? 

[peniole]

43 minutes ago, george72 said:

Agree totally. What about  collective action? Letter to lexus uk from the all of us? 

You may be safe. Lexus quietly encrypted their canbus from MY23 forward. The problem in that last statement is the word quietly.  Which means you may still be targeted, with a £5600 repair bill as above. Without a loud recall immunizing all non encrypted cars, I see no end to this.

Collective action is the only way I see to force lexus' hands.

[NICO1972]

5 hours ago, eightk said:

As with the RX, UX, NX, LS and LC it’s just not good enough.

Lexus should do a recall on all affected cars. There is no point fitting immobilisers and steering locks at owners cost when thieves will still try and steal the cars.
Steel plates or a revised canbus system or a free immobiliser - whatever it takes.

The thought of Lexus ending up with the same reputation as Land Rover doesn’t bear thinking about.

It is embarrassing to know that all these cars are subject to the same issues with Headlight hacking. It is not good enough and this will be extremely damaging to Lexus. I have been a victim of 2 attempted thefts and now believe it would have been better that I did not put an additional immobiliser so that I could activate my GAP insurance. Really sad to be thinking like this. I was such a fan of Lexus until now. I still have my SC430 (will intend to keep) as it is the safest car of my cars now. Insane, a 23 year old car is better than a 2019 ES...

[Cs150]

1 hour ago, george72 said:

Agree totally. What about  collective action? Letter to lexus uk from the all of us? 

As Lexus UK seem to ignore correspondence on this subject it will likely be ignored sadly. Best case would be a condescending template response from the current management team. It would likely need a solicitor involvement to gain traction unfortunately.

[PDM]

6 hours ago, eightk said:

The thought of Lexus ending up with the same reputation as Land Rover doesn’t bear thinking about.

They are almost in the top spot... But LR is just hanging on with the RR Sport...

https://evfleetworld.co.uk/hybrid-lexus-rx-450h-now-uks-second-most-stolen-and-recovered-vehicle-says-tracker

[beyond the blue]

16 hours ago, george72 said:

Agree totally. What about  collective action? Letter to lexus uk from the all of us? 

Lexus support centre recently told me that my MY22 ES is not being considered for anti theft upgrades.

[Cs150]

5 hours ago, beyond the blue said:

Lexus support centre recently told me that my MY22 ES is not being considered for anti theft upgrades.

If someone in authority in Japan is reading this please kick out the current UK 'leadership' team. The brand deserves better....

[peniole]

6 hours ago, beyond the blue said:

Lexus support centre recently told me that my MY22 ES is not being considered for anti theft upgrades.

I got quite a different response to my recent letter, in which I cite our forum members, despite having secondary protective measures, still being targeted along with the financial fallout. That many of them have moved on to other manufacturers. I posed the question "are you developing a fix for the ES, or should I move on too?"

The response included the below:

"...we are looking into development of protective measures to protect our models, however we do not yet have any details to share on this for the moment that we can release publicly"

What do you make of that in writing?

He continues with:

"Regrettably at this time we do not have any direct products or specific measures that we can offer for you in additional protection for the Lexus ES model"

[NICO1972]

I have been advised that the work will take at least 3 months!! The loom cable has to be made and delivered and the car to be stripped completely. This is going to be a long wait. And in the meantime, my car insurance is playing game giving a lesser group category with a smaller vehicle than my current: Hyundai Ionic that is the best they could do!!?? Unbelievable. I am not looking forward to this long wait with this car. I have been complaining daily to car insurance (Churchill) to give me a like for like vehicle. Still fighting today to get that. I now wish the car was stolen... Sad

[GMB]

6 minutes ago, NICO1972 said:

I have been complaining daily to car insurance (Churchill)

Maybe your issue with Churchill is why they have been difficult with me and I have been dumped. They blamed the problems on their underwriters. I think they may have a problem with all Lexus cars, even the older ones that do not have the canbus vulnerability.

They just threw away a good customer who drives carefully. 

[Boomer54]

11 minutes ago, GMB said:

Maybe your issue with Churchill is why they have been difficult with me and I have been dumped. They blamed the problems on their underwriters. I think they may have a problem with all Lexus cars, even the older ones that do not have the canbus vulnerability.

They just threw away a good customer who drives carefully. 

Churchillian

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