Attempted Theft of my RX450h 2020

[GSLV6]

I spoke with a Lexus service manager last week and he stated slightly differently.  A tracker AND Ghost immobiliser are to be fitted...according to him, some software changes are also part of the security package being rolled out from 2 weeks time.  A tracker on its own is a complete waste of everyone's time as it doesn't prevent theft.  It just tells plod where what's left of your (now) severely damaged and possibly stripped out car can be collected from.

[ic2alpha]

20 minutes ago, GSLV6 said:

I spoke with a Lexus service manager last week and he stated slightly differently.  A tracker AND Ghost immobiliser are to be fitted...according to him, some software changes are also part of the security package being rolled out from 2 weeks time.  A tracker on its own is a complete waste of everyone's time as it doesn't prevent theft.  It just tells plod where what's left of your (now) severely damaged and possibly stripped out car can be collected from.

Fingers crossed and let’s hope.

[my pride & joy]

20 minutes ago, GSLV6 said:

I spoke with a Lexus service manager last week and he stated slightly differently.  A tracker AND Ghost immobiliser are to be fitted...according to him, some software changes are also part of the security package being rolled out from 2 weeks time.  A tracker on its own is a complete waste of everyone's time as it doesn't prevent theft.  It just tells plod where what's left of your (now) severely damaged and possibly stripped out car can be collected from.

Hmmm...I've already forked out iro £500 for a Ghost  immobiliser on my RX. Having had my previous RX stolen from outside my house in the dead of night, I didn't see the point of a tracker - my aim was to stop my RX being stolen in the first place, not to watch its movement after the thieves have knicked it.....

[Sybaris]

Will they refund or compensate people that may have had those fitted already or knock it off the cost of a service?

[Spock66]

1 hour ago, Sybaris said:

Will they refund or compensate people that may have had those fitted already or knock it off the cost of a service?

Highly unlikely I would think.

Anyway, we still don't know for sure what the proposal will be or whether we will have to pay for it.

[GSLV6]

I won't be paying for anything and nor should anyone else.  We buy a premium car off a dealer, who deliberately fails to disclose the security vulnerability, your insurance goes through the roof and the dealer then says "we have the solution but you're paying for it!"???? Not a chance.  We should all be demanding this FOC.  We've paid enough as it is.  Toyota/Lexus messed up, they will have to dig not so deep and pay up.

[eightk]

JLR have spent in excess of £10 million sorting their 'issues' plus have pledged £1 million to UK plod.

If we're expected to pay for our 'solution' I will not be impressed.

I've already spent £500+ on a tracker, immobiliser and steering wheel lock but at least I'd get the software change mentioned above. Yay.

[DaveyBoy]

This all sounds very worrying.

I had an immobiliser on a car 20 years ago, the immobile broke and I was stranded. A simple carburettor car, which the RAC managed to bypass with a home made jump lead from Battery positive to the other side of the immobiliser, which therefore gave me permanent ignition and a spark! To stop the car meant popping the bonnet and disconnecting the jump lead. I was able to remove and restore the ignition to factory within half and hour after I'd figured how it was spliced in. That alone took about an hour or as it was a bit of a spiders web of wires.

Such a solution wouldn't work now. So I do worry about the long term reliability of a ghost. And when it fails, where is it, how to remove it. 

I'm ok with a tracker if lexus pay the up keep. But a solid solution to preventing theft is what's needed.

[fezman]

On 6/26/2024 at 10:46 PM, Sybaris said:

Now if theives stole them off Lexus forecourts, I bet improvements would happen fast.

At my local dealership, all the RX's are either locked indoors in the service bay, or moved to a locked and guarded compound every night. Pulled back out every morning!!   

[Sybaris]

3 hours ago, fezman said:

At my local dealership, all the RX's are either locked indoors in the service bay, or moved to a locked and guarded compound every night. Pulled back out every morning!!   

Oh I wonder why that is.  Do Lexus dealerships recognise there is a problem and think they might get stolen and so they protect their cars?

 

[John Ablett Booth]

I understand that new RX Models have the can bus protected so this should not be a problem. I keep mine behind a solid steel gate when not in use and have cctv camera’s. However my insurance is still sky high. Example my Lexus LC 500 £650 per year,  2024 Lexus RX 500h £1000. Where is the logic

[GSLV6]

1 hour ago, John Ablett Booth said:

I understand that new RX Models have the can bus protected so this should not be a problem. I keep mine behind a solid steel gate when not in use and have cctv camera’s. However my insurance is still sky high. Example my Lexus LC 500 £650 per year,  2024 Lexus RX 500h £1000. Where is the logic

Want to sell your LC500? you don't need two lexus cars, tell you what, I'll sell my 450h and buy your LC for what I get for it 😂

[Rob62]

My insurance is due for renewal on 1st November and like others, LV informed me that they will not be renewing it.

I have been with them for years with no claims but such are things.

I managed to find insurance with Aegean for £1,350 which is about £100 more than last year. Still high but the best I could find at the time. It is now £2,000+ when I checked again!

Is a 2023+ RX that much cheaper to insure than a pre 2022 one? I am seriously considering changing if rates keep going up.

Thanks.

[fezman]

On 7/3/2024 at 10:05 PM, Sybaris said:

Oh I wonder why that is.  Do Lexus dealerships recognise there is a problem and think they might get stolen and so they protect their cars?

 

Ooh just seen this

They started doing it because of cat thefts, then canbus attacks. Not seen any gen4’s there for sale for a while now. 

[Salvador]

Have you tried Aviva?

[Rob62]

8 minutes ago, Salvador said:

Have you tried Aviva?

Yes. Not very competitive.

[Ken R]

2 hours ago, Rob62 said:

My insurance is due for renewal on 1st November and like others, LV informed me that they will not be renewing it.

I have been with them for years with no claims but such are things.

I managed to find insurance with Aegean for £1,350 which is about £100 more than last year. Still high but the best I could find at the time. It is now £2,000+ when I checked again!

Is a 2023+ RX that much cheaper to insure than a pre 2022 one? I am seriously considering changing if rates keep going up.

Thanks.

Gen 5 RX's are cheaper to insure.

[DaveyBoy]

I hope everyone remembers how lexus did next to nothing to resolve this problem. They're dead to me. I'll not consider a gen 5 regardless. They'll be happy once all gen 4s have been stolen. Then nobody will remember and they'll regain their reputation. 

I feel for you. Outside London, insurance is about £600. For now! 

[fezman]

14 minutes ago, DaveyBoy said:

I hope everyone remembers how lexus did next to nothing to resolve this problem. They're dead to me. I'll not consider a gen 5 regardless. They'll be happy once all gen 4s have been stolen. Then nobody will remember and they'll regain their reputation. 

I feel for you. Outside London, insurance is about £600. For now! 

This is exactly how i feel. I won't be buying another Lexus. 

This year I paid £1200 in South Yorkshire - 15k mileage. This was up from £300 for my gen 3 

[fezman]

I am having the tracker fitted FOC at my next service - but all that will help with is getting a damaged vehicle back if it gets nicked. I'm not sure I will want it back! 

[Glyn Jennings]

Posted this in a different forum but probably more applicable to this one.

 

I had mine fitted to my RX Tuesday last week both the tracker and the OBD. I left the dealer with the Tracker card and was told I would be sent documents by Tracker. I rang Tracker today as I hadn't received anything and they emailed the dealership and it is now sorted.  They don't issue stickers as they don't believe advising a would be thief that a tracker is fitted so they don't go looking for it. The Tracker fitted is a S7 Locate as far as I am aware and Lexus have paid for a 3 year subscription but it does not seem to be transferable to a new owner if you sell the car. That is what the Tracker T & C s say however it might be different as Lexus paid for the subscription and not me. My car is a 2016 so already 8 years old so I doubt if I still have the car in 3 years time I will renew it.

From my understanding of the system I don't actually see the point of the geofence on the app as if it is on apparently you will get an alert by email every time you drive the car that needs a response back to Tracker to say the car is not being stolen within the range selected for any given location.  You can set this to a range of 250m to 5000m.  The other option on the app is to use safe mode with will alert Tracker if the car is moved at all.  This does mean you will have to turn in on and off every time you enter or leave the car via the app which although a pain seems to be the best option.

So with this Tracker, Pandora Storm Immobiliser and plates fitted I don't see what much else can be done to make the my car any more protected from theft.

[Rob62]

4 minutes ago, fezman said:

I am having the tracker fitted FOC at my next service - but all that will help with is getting a damaged vehicle back if it gets nicked. I'm not sure I will want it back! 

I wouldn't bother as I wouldn't want a damaged vehicle coming back.

I have had a Ghost immobiliser fitted about 9 months ago. Hopefully they will not be able to start the car and therefore not be able to steal it (unless they literally lift it off the road).

But none of these seem to make any difference to insurance quotes.

[WipeOut]

I sold my RX450h six months ago due to the ongoing lack of action to secure it adequately from CANBUS attacks, resulting in excessive insurance costs and uncertainty as to whether I would return to my car once parked.

I now have a Honda CR-V 2.0 Hybrid, which is just as good, if not better, than the RX350h. It has a lower list price, a 5-year warranty, roadside assistance, and servicing included, and is very well specified. I am very happy with the car and won't be in a hurry to return to the Lexus brand after their lack of effort to protect their customers from CANBUS vulnerabilities.

[Fatts]

To echo everyone’s comments above am one of the unlucky ones who had my 22plate RX Takumi stolen from my driveway last June. Though LV settled me in full and I have moved on to BMW with a Ghost immobiliser and tracker installed. I will never come back to Lexus, nothing they can do will ever make me to come back to the brand. 
Am still feeling the pinch of high insurance premiums due to the “theft claim history” on  my insurance record which sadly I will have to keep declaring for the next 4 years. All due to a manufacturer carelessness 😡

[Rob62]

I have just come across this and think that you should all register your interest.

No sure if anything will come out of it but I guess there is nothing to lose.

Please post on all relevant sites and let's try to get as many people to sign up.

Toyota and Lexus owners may be owed compensation as some keyless vehicles found vulnerable to theft | Leigh Day