Is this why Lexus is increasingly attractive to thieves?

[ColinBarber]

1 minute ago, GMB said:

I had no idea that there were so many. I have never seen one. Is that worldwide or UK ? To think of it I have never seen an IS in this country registered after 2017. Maybe just me not looking?

UK. Here are the sales figures for the series III IS - second row, the top one is for the CT

https://media.lexus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/pdf/Lexus-UK-Sales-Figures-December-End-of-year-2023.pdf

 

[Linas.P]

20 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

Yes. The facelift model introduced LED headlights which are CAN bus connected. Basically any IS built (not registered) from October 2016 until it stopped being sold here in 2020/21 - there were around 5,000 sold.

That is obviously almost all IS300h and maybe handful of IS200t. 

[ColinBarber]

16 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

That is obviously almost all IS300h and maybe handful of IS200t. 

The 200t was discontinued in the UK during 2017 and it wasn't really selling so we are literally only talking about 20 IS200t vehicles that are vulnerable to a CAN bus headlight attack.

[GMB]

Thank you Colin and Linas for taking the time and ☺️clarifying.  I hope the thieves are as up to date on the info.

Much appreciated.

[LenT]

2 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

Yes. The facelift model introduced LED headlights which are CAN bus connected. Basically any IS built (not registered) from October 2016 until it stopped being sold here in 2020/21

Very interesting, Colin.

So if I’ve understood you correctly, the CANbus vulnerability was introduced from October 2016 as a result of what was probably sold to IS buyers as an upgrade at the time.

As mine is an IS250 registered in February 2015, I suppose I should find this reassuring.  Incidentally, I have been LED to believe that that was also the last month in which my particular V6 Premier variant was sold in the UK.  Do you have any sales stats that might confirm this?

[ColinBarber]

9 hours ago, LenT said:

As mine is an IS250 registered in February 2015, I suppose I should find this reassuring.  Incidentally, I have been led to believe that that was also the last month in which my particular V6 Premier variant was sold in the UK.  Do you have any sales stats that might confirm this?

Not sure when they officially stopped taking orders - Lexus don't really make announcements when they discontinue a model, only when they introduce one - the replacement 200t was orderable from September 2015. There were definitely IS 250s registered up until that time - probably long after the order book was closed because of pre-existing orders yet to be delivered, showroom vehicles yet to be sold etc.

[Newbie777]

Hello,

I just wanted to talk about cars stolen from the UK and abroad.

They are rarely going to Middle East countries as many have very strict laws, in Dubai you will see lambos and ferraris abandoned, if the owner defaults payment on the ca, it could be a jail sentence.

Africa (quite many countries) there is a huge demand for SUV and luxury cars. There is so much corruption nobody cares if it has been stolen and where from.

Car stripped for parts, Romania , Poland and some other East European Countries.

Car crime uis rife in most countries..

I was in Pakistan and there is a place called Ghair Alaka. Which is about 15 mile stretch before you hit Afghanistan.

In that area it is full of stolen cars, brand new shoguns etc and you are free to drive there and in Afghanisran, just not in Pakistan where are stolen from. Is anything g done to recover these, nope.

[Malc1]

I doubt it’s just UK originating stolen cars feeding the Africa and Eastern Europe crooked car dealers and breakers ……..

How they get into containers and then freely onboard ships baffles me ……. does no one check, Maersk themselves whatever ? 
 

Clearly the UK insurance industry doesn’t care a hoot …… possibly not economically viable for them to set up any sort of checking system ! 

Simply up the insce premiums to cover themselves OR not even insure some marques …… like Range Rovers now I understand 

Best to simply own a car not worth thieving maybe 🤔

Malc 

[malcolmw]

As most of the countries taking in stolen vehicles have LHD cars, you might think that our RHD models would be less attractive.

[Malc1]

1 hour ago, malcolmw said:

As most of the countries taking in stolen vehicles have LHD cars, you might think that our RHD models would be less attractive.

Probably come out at the cheaper end of their market and more affordable to anyone with the cash to get one …… they want more more more and stolen RHD cars are more easily sold …… so more more more get stolen here and shipped over in containers that no one inspects or take any interest in 🤫

Malc 

[Newbie777]

6 hours ago, Malc1 said:

I doubt it’s just UK originating stolen cars feeding the Africa and Eastern Europe crooked car dealers and breakers ……..

How they get into containers and then freely onboard ships baffles me ……. does no one check, Maersk themselves whatever ? 
 

Clearly the UK insurance industry doesn’t care a hoot …… possibly not economically viable for them to set up any sort of checking system ! 

Simply up the insce premiums to cover themselves OR not even insure some marques …… like Range Rovers now I understand 

Best to simply own a car not worth thieving maybe 🤔

Malc 

One issue with this country we just claim off our insurance and no chase or bother by police or anyone  else.

Yes more should be done in the docks.

There will be an issue in other European countries too, but I think we ee always slow to react in the UK.

Insurance companies do not care. They are in thus business and work off cars getting stolen and not recovered.

The owner will always lose, come renewal or have to oay an excess

 

[Linas.P]

On 1/20/2024 at 11:49 AM, Malc1 said:

I doubt it’s just UK originating stolen cars feeding the Africa and Eastern Europe crooked car dealers and breakers ……..

How they get into containers and then freely onboard ships baffles me ……. does no one check, Maersk themselves whatever ? 
 

Clearly the UK insurance industry doesn’t care a hoot …… possibly not economically viable for them to set up any sort of checking system ! 

Simply up the insce premiums to cover themselves OR not even insure some marques …… like Range Rovers now I understand 

Best to simply own a car not worth thieving maybe 🤔

Malc 

UK insurance does not need to care - it is police job!

Shipping companies do not care either - they rent you container, you fill the container, if you want to send it over to Africa empty - that is fine. It is border control problem and responsibility. That said - UK has no fffing border control, certainly not on the way out, it barely exists on the way in. So the way they see this - there is no harm if "illegal" stuff goes out, it is on the destination country to check. In theory that works, but when destination country is Nigeria or Angola we all know what happens. They are just corrupt and nothing get's checked, by the time car arrives there it already has all the forged documents or maybe not... maybe $100 is all the paperwork they need.

On 1/20/2024 at 5:04 PM, malcolmw said:

As most of the countries taking in stolen vehicles have LHD cars, you might think that our RHD models would be less attractive.

UK is attractive country to steal from because we have loads of new premium cars in great condition, non-existent police response, non-existent boarder force. One can steal car from Germany, but apparently it is much harder to get German car out of EU, because Fontex apparently knows how to protect the borders and German Polizei takes no shaite for an answer. In EU there is no BS like in UK where they can catch person with tools, but without stolen car, or with stolen car and without tools and they can get away. No that doesn't work that way, if they get person with tools that is reasonable grounds for arrest, they will detain the suspect for say 72h and then comb thought his phones, chats, calls, locations etc. and track down what he was up-to. Also there are no excuse for driving stolen car like in UK, driving stolen car is in itself a crime. And I mean that is not only the case in German, most of Europe. Eastern Europe in particular, because they had a lot of issues with car theft, so by now they are very adept dealing with them. Also in most European countries there are not so much desirable cars - what are they going to steal? Dacia Sandero? Whereas UK is really heavy on particularly luxury SUVs.

So yes - logic says LHD should be more desirable than RHD, but countries where the cars are going to have so little of traffic laws that it hardly matters, they are only technically driving on the right side of the road. Secondly LHD cars are much harder to steal and to export, as such I assume they are much more expensive to buy and therefore not as desirable, but UK is kind of soft spot really, with lenient laws, high burden to charge for car theft, police that isn't really interested in investigating car related crimes, people who happy just to claim on insurance etc. It is just many different issues in one.

[RadicalCoupe-Fuji]

As long as you don't buy a range rover your chances of car theft are not that high

[Tickedon]

1 hour ago, RadicalCoupe-Fuji said:

As long as you don't buy a range rover your chances of car theft are not that high

The Lexus RX has made a top 10 list of stolen cars… it’s also much more likely to be stolen than a Fiesta (given how many more Fiestas are on the road compared to relatively few RXs!).

[Linas.P]

6 hours ago, Tickedon said:

The Lexus RX has made a top 10 list of stolen cars… it’s also much more likely to be stolen than a Fiesta (given how many more Fiestas are on the road compared to relatively few RXs!).

Yeah - spot on, it seems it is not big issue before one realises that that 884 RX represents significantly higher proportion of cars than 6015 Fiestas. 

Also note - RAV4 which is most vulnerable car for stealing is also in 6th place. 

[PDM]

4 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Yeah - spot on, it seems it is not big issue before one realises that that 884 RX represents significantly higher proportion of cars than 6015 Fiestas. 

Also note - RAV4 which is most vulnerable car for stealing is also in 6th place. 

Linas,

Assuming the thefts are gen 4 RX models, it's about 5% of all UK sold vehicles.... in 1 year.

Paul

[Linas.P]

1 minute ago, PDM said:

Linas,

Assuming the thefts are gen 4 RX models, it's about 5% of all UK sold vehicles.... in 1 year.

Paul

That would be ridiculous, hopeful it is not only 4th Gen. But if it is, then I now understand some owners being extremely concerned.

[PDM]

21 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

That would be ridiculous, hopeful it is not only 4th Gen. But if it is, then I now understand some owners being extremely concerned.

Yeap....

[eightk]

On 1/26/2024 at 7:12 AM, RadicalCoupe-Fuji said:

As long as you don't buy a range rover your chances of car theft are not that high

Utter rubbish, with the greatest respect.

Land Rover have recalled approx 70,000 cars so far, to improve security. They're actually DOING something.

Lexus, apart from RX canbus plates that you have to know about and ASK for, have done nothing apart from suggest owners sort themselves out, or blatantly lie and say there isn't a problem with an enquirers specific model.

RX was in the top ten most stolen list I saw a few months ago.

France has the NX or UX right up there, can't remember which. The Rav4 has the same crap canbus system - popular and going missing in huge numbers worldwide.

There's a new forum member joining literally every few days and asking why their car has vanished.

Look at youtube - there are Ring doorbell videos galore showing Lexus being disappeared in seconds.

Heck, a seller of the thieves equipment is on there advertising it for £2000-odd!

Look at twitter - Essex police stolen vehicles unit posts up pictures of Lexuses almost as often as Fords and JLR products.

Look at insurance costs - RX owners in particular are finding their renewals are massively inflated.

Lexus, unless they pull their fingers out of their canbus port, are fast becoming as problematic as Land Rover.

[GMB]

4 minutes ago, eightk said:

Lexus, unless they pull their fingers out of their canbus port, are fast becoming as problematic as Land Rover

I can see the next directors meeting now....... Hey Guys, sales are doing great, why bother about a few thefts it will only cost us money. Anyway they will probably buy another lexus and they will get paid by their insurance anyway. More champers anyone?

[Malc1]

3 hours ago, GMB said:

I can see the next directors meeting now....... Hey Guys, sales are doing great, why bother about a few thefts it will only cost us money. Anyway they will probably buy another lexus and they will get paid by their insurance anyway. More champers anyone?

Not quite like that BUT yes, the sales will go up up up and better targets met and corporate profits too ……. neither Lexus nor the insurers will lose a penny …… car buyers pay the insce premiums and insurers continue to excel at profit making …… Lexus too selling lots more cars with security improvements that cost money that the buyer pays whatever ……. It’s only the car buyer that loses with increasing insce premiums …… and Maersk do well with the containers being more fully used ! 
It’s all a Win Win for everyone bar the car buyer 🤔

AND there really is no need for the police to get involved coz everyone doesn’t lose a penny for the police to worry about …… it’s the insurance companies just allowing all this to happen and I’m thinking not worth their time bothering with 

Malc