ES300H TAKUMI - wheel arch CAN BUS theft

[GMB]

6 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Churchillian

I'll have whatever you are drinking.😊

[peniole]

Well I've been looking to jump ship, so have been looking at a few competitors. Liked the deals, and test drove an Ioniq 5. Not bad for a Hyundai effort. Not the high quality materials in Lexus, but I suspect most of the price goes to that 77kWh Battery. Then I found this ( I know how to pick em, eh?) 🤦‍♂️

https://www.mylondon.news/news/motoring/motoring-news/owners-say-50000-electric-vehicles-27948765

[NICO1972]

I do feel so strongly about what has happened that I just wrote an email to CEO Lexus in Uk Chris Hayes... Here is what I wrote and sent to Chris today:

Dear Chris,

 

My name is Nick and I would like to reach out to you to explain what has happened recently with my ES – I have been victim of 2 attempted thefts in the space of 4 weeks recently at my own home address in London.

 

But first, allow me to say that I have been a Lexus customer for over 5 years now and I truly love the Brand and what Lexus really is doing. Over 5 years ago, I began discovering Lexus buying my first car with GS 450h, a car that I purchased from Lexus Edgware Road and had it for 4 years and absolutely loved every minute of it (I drove many German cars in the past: Mercedes and BMW). 

 

I was so happy with the car that I convinced my wife to get a new replacement car for herself and we bought a second Lexus with NX300h over 2 and half years ago. Again, we think the Lexus NX is superb and suits our need with our 2 young kids as a family. In Sept 2022, I decided to opt for a newer car as a replacement with my GS450h and bought an ES300h (2019), which I have been loving very much for its smooth drive and I have been advising many of my friends to go with Lexus if they were in a position to change their cars (I persuaded 3 close friends to purchase a Lexus car of their own!). 

 

So it is fair to say that my experience was overwhelmingly amazing (same with the staff at Lexus Edgware Road who have only been fantastic, always made sure I was very happy with the service and still I am with wonderful team at Lexus Edgware Road) that I even did a new project of my own purchasing a Lexus SC430 in April 2023 and did lots of renovation work with it that even Lexus staff at Edgware Road were astonished with the end result – I had it painted identically with my ES and had the new paint PPF and did lots of upgrade with the audio, sat nav, new suspension, ECU upgrade etc. 

 

Now comes the bad news: on the 15^th Sept 2023, my Lexus ES300h sadly suffered with its first attempted theft at my own home address but luckily, I had installed an additional immobiliser with Metatrak Plus back a few months ago, which made the car fairly secured with immobiliser and tracker and with a 24 hour call if necessary in case of emergency. Lexus at Edgware Road (workshop team) checked the damage and it was found that the car thieves used a technique known as ‘headlight hacking’. 

 

The left front side bumper was pulled out by force near the archway area where front left wheel is (which was found to be damaged on the inside with a missing part that was used to hold a clip – the bumper is not holding well anymore because of the attempted theft now) and they cut 2 main wires from the loom cable. I was then advised to have the loom cable replaced under insurance to get it working properly again. But at the time, I used an alternative option, which was to hire a knowledgeable technician to examine and get the two main loom cables wielded and repaired. Thanksfully the job was done well and the car was back functioning normally but the side bumper still had the damage. 

 

I had a feeling then that the thieves could be returning to try again, hence why I did not do the claim with my insurance the first time and thought I would wait a bit before deciding when to get it done…

 

Sadly, my gut feeling was not wrong, last week on Thurday 19^th October early hours at 0142am, 2 car thieves attempted to steal my car once more at my own parking drive outside my house (same address). They used the same technique again, but this time they cut another section of the loom cable and cut the small wires – they still could not steal the car and left 5 minutes afterward. But the damage this time was more considerable. On both occasions, I have reported the matter to the Police and have got a crime reference number for both incidents with CCTV video footages as thankfully I also have got CCTV cameras recording 24 hours outside our house back and front for our security.

 

The car was again brought to Lexus at Edgware Road (workshop and I could not fault the team as they did their absolute best and quickly too to help me get my car back and running). Upon inspection, it was clear that the loom cable could not be repaired due to extensive damage caused with the small wires being cut right behind the headlight unit. The side bumper suffered more damage as well. I was then informed that the work will be quite expensive i.e. near £6k to change the loom cable on its own plus labour and that it is very likely that the car will be in workshop for 3 months before I see it again.

 

Currently, my ES is with VTEC repair centre approved and arranged by my car insurance (Churchill) and I have been provided with a hire vehicle, which is not of the same category group as my current car sadly (so I am having to complain with car insurance to get me a better car than what I was provided since Monday this week: a Hyundai Ionic Hybrid car). 

 

My whole experience has been quite time consuming and negative to say the least, as I was such a overwhelmingly happy customer (currently owning 3 Lexus cars) and the whole truth that the ES is sadly a very easy car to steal due to this new theft technique with headlight hacking is making feel rather uncomfortable to keep my ES after repair, as I fear sadly that the car thieves know my address and they also know that I own an ES (a very well spec model with all options available) and that they may try for the third time soon. 

 

Honestly, I am not prepared to pay another excess of £470 plus being forced to drive a smaller group hire car such as Hyundai car that I dislike so much for another what may be 3 months once more…

 

I am writing to you to say that I am really dismayed that Lexus has not yet combatted this situation swiftly enough to address the security issues with the ES. I am also aware that I am not the only customer who suffered similar situation as my case (quite a few sadly have been getting their cars stolen).

 

I have done extensive research on this and understand that the RX450h has also been a problem of its own with high number of thefts using the same technique and that Lexus has now got a solution fitting a metal plate to safeguard the loom cable and CANBUS. I also discovered that the newer model Lexus from 2023 have got an upgrade with the CANBUS system to prevent this theft technique to succeed. 

 

But sadly nothing has yet been addressed with customers like myself who already own a Lexus ES (I even fitted the Metatrak Plus with my wife’s NX to prevent successful theft with the same technique) hence my emailing you now. 

 

You will agree with me that I have gone above board to try and keep our cars safe from theft investing additional expense with Metatrak Plus immobiliser installation. But overall, when the same car is targeted twice in my own home, I DO feel very nervous that it will be bound to continue until they successfully steal the car or until the Police successfully arrest them too. 

 

So my email is really to give you my overall experience as a customer how much I love the brand (and still do!) but this situation with my ES and the zero solution to address this security weakness is leaving me with no choice but to sell my ES car as soon as it will be back from repair. I am lucky enough that I have 2 additional Lexus cars (NX and the SC) that I can still very much enjoy driving in the meantime, but this ongoing problem is also giving me some serious thoughts about replacing my ES (only) with another brand car that is more secure in that respect.

 

This decision about changing car with another brand, should really concern you in my view, as it is potentially a huge risk that I may like another car manufacturer better than my current ES. 

I run my own business and I know how much hard work we have to do to keep customers happy (but Lexus has achieved that easily over the years) and it is on the contrary very easy to lose a loyal customer after a negative experience that has not been addressed and more quickly so if I may say. I fear that you could be losing far more quickly loyal customers like me, who have been in the same position as mine. This ought to be tackled as a top priority if I may say.

 

In my opinion, it is madness to allow such security weakness to to carry on without correcting this (I would suggest a recall even would be appropriate in this instance if Lexus had a good solution to stop this theft problem) as none of the ES cars are currently safe from such thieves (unless it is fitted with an additional immobiliser like myself of that it is a newer car built from 2023). 

 

I am hoping you will read my email and digest one example of my unfortunate incident, which otherwise, I really really love the ES. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Thank you and warm regards,

[Cs150]

3 hours ago, NICO1972 said:

I do feel so strongly about what has happened that I just wrote an email to CEO Lexus in Uk Chris Hayes... Here is what I wrote and sent to Chris today:

Dear Chris,

 

My name is Nick and I would like to reach out to you to explain what has happened recently with my ES – I have been victim of 2 attempted thefts in the space of 4 weeks recently at my own home address in London.

 

But first, allow me to say that I have been a Lexus customer for over 5 years now and I truly love the Brand and what Lexus really is doing. Over 5 years ago, I began discovering Lexus buying my first car with GS 450h, a car that I purchased from Lexus Edgware Road and had it for 4 years and absolutely loved every minute of it (I drove many German cars in the past: Mercedes and BMW). 

 

I was so happy with the car that I convinced my wife to get a new replacement car for herself and we bought a second Lexus with NX300h over 2 and half years ago. Again, we think the Lexus NX is superb and suits our need with our 2 young kids as a family. In Sept 2022, I decided to opt for a newer car as a replacement with my GS450h and bought an ES300h (2019), which I have been loving very much for its smooth drive and I have been advising many of my friends to go with Lexus if they were in a position to change their cars (I persuaded 3 close friends to purchase a Lexus car of their own!). 

 

So it is fair to say that my experience was overwhelmingly amazing (same with the staff at Lexus Edgware Road who have only been fantastic, always made sure I was very happy with the service and still I am with wonderful team at Lexus Edgware Road) that I even did a new project of my own purchasing a Lexus SC430 in April 2023 and did lots of renovation work with it that even Lexus staff at Edgware Road were astonished with the end result – I had it painted identically with my ES and had the new paint PPF and did lots of upgrade with the audio, sat nav, new suspension, ECU upgrade etc. 

 

Now comes the bad news: on the 15^th Sept 2023, my Lexus ES300h sadly suffered with its first attempted theft at my own home address but luckily, I had installed an additional immobiliser with Metatrak Plus back a few months ago, which made the car fairly secured with immobiliser and tracker and with a 24 hour call if necessary in case of emergency. Lexus at Edgware Road (workshop team) checked the damage and it was found that the car thieves used a technique known as ‘headlight hacking’. 

 

The left front side bumper was pulled out by force near the archway area where front left wheel is (which was found to be damaged on the inside with a missing part that was used to hold a clip – the bumper is not holding well anymore because of the attempted theft now) and they cut 2 main wires from the loom cable. I was then advised to have the loom cable replaced under insurance to get it working properly again. But at the time, I used an alternative option, which was to hire a knowledgeable technician to examine and get the two main loom cables wielded and repaired. Thanksfully the job was done well and the car was back functioning normally but the side bumper still had the damage. 

 

I had a feeling then that the thieves could be returning to try again, hence why I did not do the claim with my insurance the first time and thought I would wait a bit before deciding when to get it done…

 

Sadly, my gut feeling was not wrong, last week on Thurday 19^th October early hours at 0142am, 2 car thieves attempted to steal my car once more at my own parking drive outside my house (same address). They used the same technique again, but this time they cut another section of the loom cable and cut the small wires – they still could not steal the car and left 5 minutes afterward. But the damage this time was more considerable. On both occasions, I have reported the matter to the Police and have got a crime reference number for both incidents with CCTV video footages as thankfully I also have got CCTV cameras recording 24 hours outside our house back and front for our security.

 

The car was again brought to Lexus at Edgware Road (workshop and I could not fault the team as they did their absolute best and quickly too to help me get my car back and running). Upon inspection, it was clear that the loom cable could not be repaired due to extensive damage caused with the small wires being cut right behind the headlight unit. The side bumper suffered more damage as well. I was then informed that the work will be quite expensive i.e. near £6k to change the loom cable on its own plus labour and that it is very likely that the car will be in workshop for 3 months before I see it again.

 

Currently, my ES is with VTEC repair centre approved and arranged by my car insurance (Churchill) and I have been provided with a hire vehicle, which is not of the same category group as my current car sadly (so I am having to complain with car insurance to get me a better car than what I was provided since Monday this week: a Hyundai Ionic Hybrid car). 

 

My whole experience has been quite time consuming and negative to say the least, as I was such a overwhelmingly happy customer (currently owning 3 Lexus cars) and the whole truth that the ES is sadly a very easy car to steal due to this new theft technique with headlight hacking is making feel rather uncomfortable to keep my ES after repair, as I fear sadly that the car thieves know my address and they also know that I own an ES (a very well spec model with all options available) and that they may try for the third time soon. 

 

Honestly, I am not prepared to pay another excess of £470 plus being forced to drive a smaller group hire car such as Hyundai car that I dislike so much for another what may be 3 months once more…

 

I am writing to you to say that I am really dismayed that Lexus has not yet combatted this situation swiftly enough to address the security issues with the ES. I am also aware that I am not the only customer who suffered similar situation as my case (quite a few sadly have been getting their cars stolen).

 

I have done extensive research on this and understand that the RX450h has also been a problem of its own with high number of thefts using the same technique and that Lexus has now got a solution fitting a metal plate to safeguard the loom cable and CANBUS. I also discovered that the newer model Lexus from 2023 have got an upgrade with the CANBUS system to prevent this theft technique to succeed. 

 

But sadly nothing has yet been addressed with customers like myself who already own a Lexus ES (I even fitted the Metatrak Plus with my wife’s NX to prevent successful theft with the same technique) hence my emailing you now. 

 

You will agree with me that I have gone above board to try and keep our cars safe from theft investing additional expense with Metatrak Plus immobiliser installation. But overall, when the same car is targeted twice in my own home, I DO feel very nervous that it will be bound to continue until they successfully steal the car or until the Police successfully arrest them too. 

 

So my email is really to give you my overall experience as a customer how much I love the brand (and still do!) but this situation with my ES and the zero solution to address this security weakness is leaving me with no choice but to sell my ES car as soon as it will be back from repair. I am lucky enough that I have 2 additional Lexus cars (NX and the SC) that I can still very much enjoy driving in the meantime, but this ongoing problem is also giving me some serious thoughts about replacing my ES (only) with another brand car that is more secure in that respect.

 

This decision about changing car with another brand, should really concern you in my view, as it is potentially a huge risk that I may like another car manufacturer better than my current ES. 

I run my own business and I know how much hard work we have to do to keep customers happy (but Lexus has achieved that easily over the years) and it is on the contrary very easy to lose a loyal customer after a negative experience that has not been addressed and more quickly so if I may say. I fear that you could be losing far more quickly loyal customers like me, who have been in the same position as mine. This ought to be tackled as a top priority if I may say.

 

In my opinion, it is madness to allow such security weakness to to carry on without correcting this (I would suggest a recall even would be appropriate in this instance if Lexus had a good solution to stop this theft problem) as none of the ES cars are currently safe from such thieves (unless it is fitted with an additional immobiliser like myself of that it is a newer car built from 2023). 

 

I am hoping you will read my email and digest one example of my unfortunate incident, which otherwise, I really really love the ES. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Thank you and warm regards,

Very unlikely for Chris Hayes to respond. Typically such communication is ignored from his office. If lucky it may be delegated for one of his minions to send a templated response that will not address the issues raised. Following up with a public TrustPilot review will increase the chance of a templated response rather than the default Lexus UK ignore. Have low expectations....

[NICO1972]

7 hours ago, Cs150 said:

Very unlikely for Chris Hayes to respond. Typically such communication is ignored from his office. If lucky it may be delegated for one of his minions to send a templated response that will not address the issues raised. Following up with a public TrustPilot review will increase the chance of a templated response rather than the default Lexus UK ignore. Have low expectations....

Worth trying though... I will keep you all updated if I ever receive a response.

[DrShockr]

Nick, can I ask if you had a steering lock in place during either or both attempted thefts?

I am genuinely surprised nobody has had another go at mine since I've had it back. The only thing I've changed is having the very visible steering lock on at all times when not being driven. I also am in London.

[Mincey]

On 10/26/2023 at 12:45 AM, Cs150 said:

Very unlikely for Chris Hayes to respond. Typically such communication is ignored from his office. 

I remember faxing the then MD Stuart McCulloch back in 1999 after getting really ****** off with Marshall Cambridge. I received a letter containing an acceptance that they weren't providing the full Lexus Experience and a service voucher a few days later. Times have changed.

[beyond the blue]

This is a reply I got a couple of months ago......

 

Lexus Customer Relations ref: CASE1920879

Dear Mr Rider,

Thank you for your email regarding your Lexus ES and concern with vehicle theft. We certainly understand your reasons for contacting us and appreciate your enquiry.

I understand that a new type of attack against vehicles involves a sophisticated, expensive and custom built electronic device, developed to forcibly gain access to cars. For Lexus, we have seen a push and increase in attacks on the RX model in particular. For the Lexus RX, at present we have a protective 'plate' which has been released as a physical blockage into a commonly attacked area of the Lexus RX.

Even with such a protective plate installed, sadly there is no solution against vehicle theft as a determined criminal will find and develop new and novel ways to enter and steal vehicles. 

This development is due to the focussed attack on the RX model by well organised and pre-prepared criminal activity within the M25 region. Regrettably we do not have any information related to this plate for other models including the ES.

We are continuing to look into other developments and protective measures that may help our customers. For the moment we regrettably do not have any other advice we can offer outside of suggestion to look at third party devices which can increase vehicle security. For example, it is widely reported to us by owners and in the press that these "second stage" immobilisers can be effective in preventing a vehicle from being started.

I do hope that this inforamtion is helpful and thank you for contacting Lexus UK.

Kind regards

Craig Allen
Customer Relations Case Manager
Toyota (GB) PLC - Lexus Division

[NICO1972]

15 hours ago, DrShockr said:

Nick, can I ask if you had a steering lock in place during either or both attempted thefts?

I am genuinely surprised nobody has had another go at mine since I've had it back. The only thing I've changed is having the very visible steering lock on at all times when not being driven. I also am in London.

Sure, sadly on the two attempts I never had a steering wheel lock in place. A mistake now, but it is really annoying to be having to do this these days...

[NICO1972]

22 minutes ago, beyond the blue said:

This is a reply I got a couple of months ago......

 

Lexus Customer Relations ref: CASE1920879

Dear Mr Rider,

Thank you for your email regarding your Lexus ES and concern with vehicle theft. We certainly understand your reasons for contacting us and appreciate your enquiry.

I understand that a new type of attack against vehicles involves a sophisticated, expensive and custom built electronic device, developed to forcibly gain access to cars. For Lexus, we have seen a push and increase in attacks on the RX model in particular. For the Lexus RX, at present we have a protective 'plate' which has been released as a physical blockage into a commonly attacked area of the Lexus RX.

Even with such a protective plate installed, sadly there is no solution against vehicle theft as a determined criminal will find and develop new and novel ways to enter and steal vehicles. 

This development is due to the focussed attack on the RX model by well organised and pre-prepared criminal activity within the M25 region. Regrettably we do not have any information related to this plate for other models including the ES.

We are continuing to look into other developments and protective measures that may help our customers. For the moment we regrettably do not have any other advice we can offer outside of suggestion to look at third party devices which can increase vehicle security. For example, it is widely reported to us by owners and in the press that these "second stage" immobilisers can be effective in preventing a vehicle from being started.

I do hope that this inforamtion is helpful and thank you for contacting Lexus UK.

Kind regards

Craig Allen
Customer Relations Case Manager
Toyota (GB) PLC - Lexus Division

Thanks for sharing. The thing is having a second immobiliser causes another issue with loom cables as thieves are not going to know it is fitted with one. so they will continue doing the damage and even if the vehicle is not stolen, it will have to go in for repair and for quite a few weeks as it is for my case. Not fun at all, you own a car that you cannot drive for 3 months is not ideal...

 

[NICO1972]

4 hours ago, Mincey said:

I remember faxing the then MD Stuart McCulloch back in 1999 after getting really ****** off with Marshall Cambridge. I received a letter containing an acceptance that they weren't providing the full Lexus Experience and a service voucher a few days later. Times have changed.

It is very sad indeed. I remember the first time experience with LS400 when there was a recall to be made, they collected cars from customers home addresses, got the work done, clean the car and fill up with petrol before returning it to customers. That was impressive...

 

[beyond the blue]

51 minutes ago, NICO1972 said:

It is very sad indeed. I remember the first time experience with LS400 when there was a recall to be made, they collected cars from customers home addresses, got the work done, clean the car and fill up with petrol before returning it to customers. That was impressive...

 

To be fair to some dealers, I did get the above when mine went in for a recall 6 weeks ago, Bolton dealership.

[GMB]

Mine went for the fuel pipe recall and, as advised to help the mechanic I ran the fuel into reserve. A bit worrying as the recall was cancelled and re-scheduled so the car was on reserve warning for about 20 miles.

They did the job and put back the two teaspoons of fuel that they took out, probably with all the muck from the bottom of the tank included.

I had a "buttock-clenching" drive to the nearest petrol station about 4 miles away.

I was hoping that they might have put a pint or two of clean new fuel in but times must be hard for them.

[Cs150]

5 hours ago, beyond the blue said:

I understand that a new type of attack against vehicles involves a sophisticated, expensive and custom built electronic device, developed to forcibly gain access to cars.

Really an accurate statement would have been: They designed a Canbus system without encryption for a number of model years and made the physical wiring access very easy and straightforward. The only complexity and sophistication here is the spin that is being added by the Lexus UK customer service team....

[Navnan2]

Does anybody know if the latest model has any improved security? I have an ES on order due January 2024.

[Ken R]

23 hours ago, beyond the blue said:

To be fair to some dealers, I did get the above when mine went in for a recall 6 weeks ago, Bolton dealership.

My experience of Lexus Edinburgh is that they go above and beyond in terms of customer care.

[Cs150]

50 minutes ago, Navnan2 said:

Does anybody know if the latest model has any improved security? I have an ES on order due January 2024.

Lexus UK have been cagey on this. It is believed MY23 vehicles have Canbus encryption, what strength of encryption has been used is unknown. In theory vehicles built from Aug 2022 should have this additional protection, how effective this is remains unclear. Criminals could still do £5k plus worth of damage to your vehicle in respect of wiring loom damage regardless if encryption is added or not. 

[Navnan2]

On 10/28/2023 at 11:39 AM, Cs150 said:

Lexus UK have been cagey on this. It is believed MY23 vehicles have Canbus encryption, what strength of encryption has been used is unknown. In theory vehicles built from Aug 2022 should have this additional protection, how effective this is remains unclear. Criminals could still do £5k plus worth of damage to your vehicle in respect of wiring loom damage regardless if encryption is added or not. 

Thank you Carl, fair point.

[Navnan2]

Just now, Navnan2 said:

Thank you Carl, fair point.

I guess Lexus broadcasting improved security on new models can be a good and bad thing. Don't broadcast it and thieves damage your car before realising the new security stops them. Broadcast the improved security and the are forewarned and try alternative approaches to steal it. You would hope it might put them off though. 

[Duggie B]

On 10/27/2023 at 12:40 PM, GMB said:

Mine went for the fuel pipe recall and, as advised to help the mechanic I ran the fuel into reserve. A bit worrying as the recall was cancelled and re-scheduled so the car was on reserve warning for about 20 miles.

They did the job and put back the two teaspoons of fuel that they took out, probably with all the muck from the bottom of the tank included.

I had a "buttock-clenching" drive to the nearest petrol station about 4 miles away.

I was hoping that they might have put a pint or two of clean new fuel in but times must be hard for them.

Email lexus customer service and report the above matter to them.

I had two cars in for the same recall work at separate dealers, neither of which offered fuel replacement, one gave me a courtesy car free of charge and the other charged me.

The recall rules are quite clear to dealerships ....refill car with approx £20 of fuel and give courtesy car free of charge.

I emailed customer service regarding my experiences and within 36 hrs had been duly compensated to the tune of £100.

Don't try you don't get !!!

Good luck !!

[Ken R]

My experience of recalls has indeed been free courtesy car and fuel tank refill.

[ColinBarber]

As Doug has stated, you should get a free courtesy car and a certainly amount of fuel to compensate you for having to bring the car in. What seems to happen is some dealers pocket that money they get from Lexus GB as they perhaps feel they aren't given enough time/money to perform the work (or more accurately they could make more money performing work for customers at £200 per hour if they didn't have to do recall work paid for by Lexus).

[Dippo]

On 10/28/2023 at 11:39 AM, Cs150 said:

Lexus UK have been cagey on this. It is believed MY23 vehicles have Canbus encryption, what strength of encryption has been used is unknown. In theory vehicles built from Aug 2022 should have this additional protection, how effective this is remains unclear. Criminals could still do £5k plus worth of damage to your vehicle in respect of wiring loom damage regardless if encryption is added or not. 

Someone attempted to steal mine earlier this year. The left hand front bumper was pulled away. I took it to the dealer, and the bodyshop manager told me the headlamp wiring had been disconnected, and that they must have been disturbed as they were within a few minutes of driving it away. Mine's MY23, so I guess it was actually saved by the Lexus canbus mod, which the bodyshop guy probably wasn't aware of. It still cost me £120 to have the wiring reconnected and all the plastic clipped back together again.

[Cs150]

7 hours ago, Dippo said:

Someone attempted to steal mine earlier this year. The left hand front bumper was pulled away. I took it to the dealer, and the bodyshop manager told me the headlamp wiring had been disconnected, and that they must have been disturbed as they were within a few minutes of driving it away. Mine's MY23, so I guess it was actually saved by the Lexus canbus mod, which the bodyshop guy probably wasn't aware of. It still cost me £120 to have the wiring reconnected and all the plastic clipped back together again.

Unfortunately damage to all vehicles including MY23 versions seems a real risk. Lexus should recall all ES vehicles before MY23 and offer a third party immobiliser or Canbus encryption upgrade. The current position is causing loss of reputation in the brand. The office of Chris Hayes ignoring customers has also not helped....

[beyond the blue]

l've lived close to a Manchester Metrolink station for decades but have never used it to travel into the city centre, preferring to use the car. But today despite the rain my wife and I decided to leave the car at home and use the tram after hearing about the increased car theft attempts in the cities car parks. Sad times.