Attempted Theft of my RX450h 2020

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

On 7/22/2023 at 1:15 PM, LenT said:

I think that would disappoint me too.  The Autowatch website certainly strongly suggests that a button combination chosen from three different locations is available.  But it appears that maybe all the buttons have to come from one location, of which there could be a choice of three.

Of course this may just be determined by the Installer.  If it’s a frustration it may be worth checking back with the Installer to see if the steering wheel could have been selected.  It maybe that accessibility to the wiring may have been the deciding factor.

On the other hand, the steering wheel might be the most obvious location - and so the last one to choose!

Nevertheless, the chances of any ambitious thief stumbling on the right combination of location and buttons must be extremely remote.  So I hope it does the job!
BTW: Have you checked to see if this additional layer of security has gained you a reduction in your Insurance?

PS: What do you think of the Milenco steering lock?

I Have the Milenco steering wheel lock and it fits perfectly VERTICALLY over the wheel BETWEEN THE Struts... I Am Really Impressed with it..!!

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

On 7/22/2023 at 12:36 PM, my pride & joy said:

Ronnie- I am the good lady and as much as I love my car, I certainly won't be bedding down for the night in it!

Don,t Blame You Let Crokky do His Job J

[my pride & joy]

On 7/22/2023 at 9:28 PM, LenT said:

Possibly not…but it can be stolen!

As Rayaan suggests….lose the fob!  In fact, it’s rather worrying that such a thing can even be made.

I decided not to use the fob anymore. I took it out of my bag and removed the Battery. However,  when I went out this afternoon, the Ghost beeped twice without my entering the code and the car started!  When I got home I saw the spare key and fob on.the hall table (my son had used it half an hour earlier) and wondered if the car had 'read' that fob.  I went out again to test if it would do again but it didn't so a bit of a mystery. NB. Have now taken the Battery out of the spare fob too.

[LenT]

37 minutes ago, my pride & joy said:

I decided not to use the fob anymore.

Probably for the best!

On reflection, it occurred to me that the purpose of the fob IS to override the security system.  For example, if you need to leave it with a Lexus Dealer.

Or you need to entrust it to your son temporarily.  Or make use of valet parking.

In other words, when someone has a legitimate need to use the car, but you don’t want to reveal the Ghost code.

[my pride & joy]

58 minutes ago, LenT said:

Probably for the best!

On reflection, it occurred to me that the purpose of the fob IS to override the security system.  For example, if you need to leave it with a Lexus Dealer.

Or you need to entrust it to your son temporarily.  Or make use of valet parking.

In other words, when someone has a legitimate need to use the car, but you don’t want to reveal the Ghost code.

You are right, it would be useful for that, although there is a service mode that you can activate for those purposes too.

[Mad_4u]

On 7/23/2023 at 6:46 PM, ColinBarber said:

Is your insurance company ok that your alarm no longer works. At the very least I suspect they wouldn’t cover any claims against contents from the vehicle being stolen.

Would the alarm help with can bus theft or relay attack? None of them will trigger the alarm 

As a test i kept the door lock open and used the kill remote to kill the Battery.

Car was dead but as soon as I open the door the alarm was triggered and it start beeping.

oh and for the insurance company they don’t car if you install tracker or Ghost 2 the price are the same.

 

[Greisingel]

No damage?

[Sybaris]

I hear that Lexus are now fitting the plate FOC and anyone who paid will be getting a refund.

[WipeOut]

Mine is booked in for next week for the security plate to be fitted FOC.

 

[kenvin100]

Greetings from Canada. The RX350 theft is an epidemic over here. With respect to the plate to block the canbus is Lexus UK advertising? Can anyone share a picture or how to purchase the plates. Trying to push Lexus Canada but they've stated both Lexus companies are separate. Grateful to have my engine lock but thieves still tampering my vehicle. Thanks in advance.

[JasonH]

2 hours ago, kenvin100 said:

Greetings from Canada. The RX350 theft is an epidemic over here. With respect to the plate to block the canbus is Lexus UK advertising? Can anyone share a picture or how to purchase the plates. Trying to push Lexus Canada but they've stated both Lexus companies are separate. Grateful to have my engine lock but thieves still tampering my vehicle. Thanks in advance.

Please, no one post any pictures of the fix on the internet. Criminals use the internet too.

Kenvin100 you'll just have to keep pushing Lexus Canada. In the UK they're fitting the fix on demand and then will roll it out to all RX customers as soon as they can.

[Spock66]

3 hours ago, kenvin100 said:

Can anyone share a picture or how to purchase the plates.

On the paperwork there was no part no, just stated parts supplied direct from Lexus.

Plus we will need to wait and see if this is a fully effective solution.

[northpolar]

On 7/23/2023 at 12:46 PM, DaveyBoy said:

I'm gutted for you. This is outrageous.

I would suggest looking into vehicles using encrypted canbus units.

I've just had my Lexus fitted with protection plates. They look like they go on both sides of the car. They will definitely stop thieves removing the plug from the headlights. Time will tell if this is successful. I think it will be.

https://kentindell.github.io/2023/04/03/can-injection/

https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/06/can_injection_attack_car_theft/ this links to the link above too.

I feel a right *ick putting a Stoplock on every time. But I've gotten into the habit now. Still, there are videos of them removing stoplocks in about 5 minutes with angle grinders. Sick of explaining to co-workers why I'm using a stoplock.

Jurys still out whether Ghost et al will work against this exploit. The link to the research suggests in general, immobilizer chips don't work. The author has been asked directly in comments a couple of times and has not answered. Possibly because they don't know for sure / don't want to risk being sued.

Trackers are not that useful because they have GPS & phone jammers. Lexus cars are shipped out of the UK in a matter of days, in shipping containers. So GPS doesn't work inside a metal box. That's often when they lose track of the car, as the container is then moved. Other brands are stripped in just 24h. There's a Youtube channel from a tracker firm which shows you just how fast the thieves work. Stripped to bare chassis, engine out the lot. They even box it all up ready to go. 

Anyone have any ideas on a suitable kill switch device?

Please don't be too quick dismissing the potential benefits of a tracker unit.  Captain Hindsight here - when my 2016 RX was stolen earlier this year (before I had read this thread!), I thought the same as your notes above.  A month later however, I received a penalty charge notice for parking in a residents bay in the adjacent borough of Hackney.  The ticket was booked the evening after the night the car was stolen and it seems that the thieves parked it up in broad public view without even changing the number plates.  Two observations struck me - one they were testing to see if there was any tracking device fitted; two they had total confidence that none of the authorities were looking for my stolen vehicle.  On the basis of my experience, and it may be unusual, I have fitted a tracker to my replacement vehicle.  I'm still contemplating a Ghost immobiliser, but taking too long deciding!

I do feel angry that Lexus sat on their touche and said nothing to me - my car was serviced by the same Lexus dealer since 2017, most recently in February and not a word mentioned to me about it.

My sentiment was not helped by my insurer - they paid out very quickly what I considered to be a fair price however, despite protected full no claims they advised that the BMW 3 series I chose to replace the RX with was not something they could offer, despite it being cheaper etc than the equivalent.  Of course, the industry then treats you like a leper when you seek a renewl

Peter

[CT200h-TL]

I have the plates fitted FOC as well. Emailed Lexus UK CR and they were quick to respond. They arranged for my local dealer to fit them in less than two weeks. Both sides of the car are protected. 

[Goodplan53]

3 hours ago, CT200h-TL said:

I have the plates fitted FOC as well. Emailed Lexus UK CR and they were quick to respond. They arranged for my local dealer to fit them in less than two weeks. Both sides of the car are protected. 

Hi Charles,

That’s encouraging.  My local dealership is Swindon - did they fit the plates to your car? If so I’ll press them to do mine too - it will help my case if there is a precedent I can refer to.  

[CT200h-TL]

3 hours ago, Goodplan53 said:

Hi Charles,

That’s encouraging.  My local dealership is Swindon - did they fit the plates to your car? If so I’ll press them to do mine too - it will help my case if there is a precedent I can refer to.  

Hi Tim,

Yes, Lexus Swindon fitted the plates. In my case, the fitting took about 3.5 hours instead of the expected 1.5-2 hours. Perhaps this is the first time they fitted the plates on a RX but then again they were quite busy with several customers coming in for the routine service. 

I would start with contacting Lexus UK instead of going straight to the dealer. I received a phone call from the head office a few days after I sent them an email. 

Hope this helps.

 

[Sybaris]

Lexus CR have been bombarded or ambushed by a lot of unhappy RX owners complaining that nothing was being done and they took notice.  The plates that have been fitted so far I believe are the first batch, I understand that they are being produced and distributed in small but frequent batches to all dealerships in the UK.  I also understand that Lexus insurance have been told to stop refusing to insure the RX or stop insuring it at silly prices and something is happening there, basically everyone told them to F**k off and suddenly they lost revenue and this was noticed in Japan, questions were asked and it became a bit of an issue for them... so I hear.

[Andy B]

23 hours ago, northpolar said:

Please don't be too quick dismissing the potential benefits of a tracker unit.  Captain Hindsight here - when my 2016 RX was stolen earlier this year (before I had read this thread!), I thought the same as your notes above.  A month later however, I received a penalty charge notice for parking in a residents bay in the adjacent borough of Hackney.  The ticket was booked the evening after the night the car was stolen and it seems that the thieves parked it up in broad public view without even changing the number plates.  Two observations struck me - one they were testing to see if there was any tracking device fitted; two they had total confidence that none of the authorities were looking for my stolen vehicle.  On the basis of my experience, and it may be unusual, I have fitted a tracker to my replacement vehicle.  I'm still contemplating a Ghost immobiliser, but taking too long deciding!

For anyone that is considering having a tracker fitted but who doesn't want to go to the expense and trouble of having an "all singing and dancing" one installed, you may wish to consider a cheaper alternative, i.e. the tracking tags that are available from both apple (called "AirTags") for IOS devices and Samsung ("SmartTags") for Android. These small devices broadcast their location by constantly pinging apple (or Samsung) devices (e.g. smartphones or tablets) in their vicinity, who in turn relay this location to central servers. The owner of the tag can then view it's location on their smartphone (maybe to within a few houses\streets). Primarily designed for keeping tabs on keys; pets; etc. they can be hidden somewhere in the car to provide a basic tracker solution. 

Of course I'm not suggesting that they are the perfect option but in the above scenario where the thieves park the car in a location for a day or two before going back to move it on, these tags may just help you find it. And for their relative cheap price (about £25 each) what do you have to lose?

[DoozeUK]

Hi…. Sorry I am late coming into this. I have just brought a 2022 RXL and keen to get a plate fitted. Could someone share the email address for that we need to contact and didn’t know if there was a template email someone had composed? 
 

On another note, had a real issue getting insurance as apart from Tesco I couldn’t get insurance, not even from Lexus themselves and that’s with a clean license and 30+ year driving! Presume there’s a thread about that too which I will find! 
 

what have I let myself in for lol

[Spock66]

3 minutes ago, DoozeUK said:

Could someone share the email address for that we need to contact and didn’t know if there was a template email someone had composed?

cr@lexus.co.uk

Shouldn't need a template, just say you would like to have the modification.

[Goodplan53]

15 hours ago, CT200h-TL said:

Hi Tim,

Yes, Lexus Swindon fitted the plates. In my case, the fitting took about 3.5 hours instead of the expected 1.5-2 hours. Perhaps this is the first time they fitted the plates on a RX but then again they were quite busy with several customers coming in for the routine service. 

I would start with contacting Lexus UK instead of going straight to the dealer. I received a phone call from the head office a few days after I sent them an email. 

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks Chris - I emailed Lexus UK Customer Relations over the weekend and I have this morning (Monday 31 July) received a positive response from them, authorising Lexus Swindon to fit the plates to my RX.  Result!  I await a call or email from the Lexus Swindon aftersales team to book the car in for the installation, that the letter states will be absorbed by Lexus UK.  

[DoozeUK]

10 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

cr@lexus.co.uk

Shouldn't need a template, just say you would like to have the modification.

Email sent. Many thanks for the help.

[Sybaris]

There are 2 big pluses for a properly fitted tracker.

1) Your car is being monitored by someone else 24x7.  If you are asleep, its monitored.  If you are at the shops, its monitored, if you are in the cinema its monitored.  If it moves you get a phone call.

2) The police react much better to monitored vehicles than your own DIY tracker.  Some of the bigger manufacturers have a very high recovery rate, somewhere in the 90%s I believe.

If you spend tens of thousands on a car are you really going to go for the cheapest option or the one that offers you the most protection?

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, Sybaris said:

If you spend tens of thousands on a car are you really going to go for the cheapest option or the one that offers you the most protection?

You shouldn't need a tracker. The vehicle should have adequate security and even if it is stolen that's one of the reasons why you have insurance. You shouldn't have to pay hundreds of pounds on top of all the other costs.

At the end of the day it is 'just' a Lexus RX, replaceable with hundreds of identical vehicles - if it was an irreplaceable classic then I see the value in a tracker.

[DoozeUK]

4 hours ago, DoozeUK said:

Email sent. Many thanks for the help.

By way of update, email sent to Lexus at 12:15 and local dealer called at 16:15 to book me in. Thats quality customer service. I was informed though that the initial roll out was just for dealers inside the M25 and not for the rest of the country yet. As I emailed though they are making an exception and I’m all booked in.