Lexus UK statement on vehicle theft - RX continued

[larryadler]

3 hours ago, GSLV6 said:

5th gen is of no interest to me.  It's over priced for what it is and doesn't have the reason to buy (3.5l V6 motor and the better interior).  Security issues can be fixed at a cost....it's cheaper to buy the 4th gen and just budget for fixing the bugs and be left with an arguably better vehicle than the 5th gen for a lot less.  Insurance will depend on security measures so the sad truth is it's down to owners now to secure their cars as I don't believe Lexus will.

I too have to agree with the sentiment of RX4 v RX5.

The Gen5 is a fantastic vehicle, with the Briggs and Stratton engine, it does handle better, and give much improved MPG over the Gen 4.

But I do consider there is a big difference in quality, the Bean counters have been at work on the Gen5, and I have to agree, the price tag now being demanded is probably more than I would be prepared to pay.

My RX4 has better build quality, better engine, and far more extras as standard, so I’ll be sticking with my RX450h for the foreseeable future .

The insurance is of course an issue, but factor in the RX5 depreciation and the insurance is soon covered.

[GSLV6]

I wouldn't be absolutely sure about economy being much improved given my real world 43mpg achieved on a cross country run in the 4th gen.  Can't see the 5th gen giving much more than that other than on motorway cruising as it's still a heavy vehicle but it depends which model (plug in hybrid possibly being the exception but that's limited in range).  As for the rest, I absolutely agree with your sentiments.

[Ken R]

13 hours ago, GSLV6 said:

I wouldn't be absolutely sure about economy being much improved given my real world 43mpg achieved on a cross country run in the 4th gen.  Can't see the 5th gen giving much more than that other than on motorway cruising as it's still a heavy vehicle but it depends which model (plug in hybrid possibly being the exception but that's limited in range).  As for the rest, I absolutely agree with your sentiments.

I recently completed a 900 mile round trip in my RX450h+ in HV mode and achieved over 50mpg. Journey mainly on motorways (M64/M6/M55) and fuel calculated on a brim to brim basis) EV range only fluctuated 2 miles. So the 5th Gen 4 cylinder RX ICE is amazingly fuel efficient for such a heavy vehicle.

[GSLV6]

But...not that much better on its own than the 3500cc V6 apparently (as compared with the RX350), added to the fact it delivers far less low down shove.  I have been informed by two people who switched that they found a lack of low speed torque on the basic model (not the plug in hybrid) and as conceded above, in fairness I did say that the 450+ was the exception on economy.  I do think that the very fact that quality issues and mixed comments are raising divisions within Lexus owners is very telling.  I cannot remember a year, ever, when owners have been so divided over Lexus models and there's a reason underpinning that fact.  I just don't think they're in the same league as previous models.  Overall running costs may be similar.  I never got the chance to drive the 450+ plug in hybrid as driving the straight 350 hybrid put me off the IL4.  It just didn't seem to be as effortless nor relaxed as the RX3 or RX4 and to me, it was under powered.  It was superb in the ES (which I really like and consider a worthy successor to the GS) as it suited that platform better.  Most of all, the price hikes no longer make them attractive for those of us not interested in pcp deals.  RX3/4 models were I think better vfm and better overall in finish/trim.  I liked the ruggedness of the "3" which has somewhat been lost in later models too.

[Ken R]

I'm on the pro side as far as the Lexus divide is concerned. Never had a gen 4 RX so cannot comment but have had a NX300H and NX450h+ in the past. I considered the 300h to be a superb car but when I changed to the NX450h+ it was a huge advance on the 300h particularly regarding the interior. The 300h was definitely "old school" in comparison. Personally I think the Gen5 RX is a far better looking car than the Gen4 and is proving to be even more economical than the NX which is amazing when you consider the additional bulk of the car.

[GSLV6]

I prefer the Gen 4 looks, engine and interior.  I've owned a 3rd gen which was great too.  I just can't see the value/quality in the new model.  I do like the UX and ES but as the ES is now end of line with no new model, I can't see my buying another.  I may switch to Toyota next time.  Far more bang for the buck.

[Plivsey69]

On 8/10/2024 at 3:09 PM, eric skerritt said:

Can I ask which dealerships are fitting the tracker right now.

Liverpool say they are 60% 'on the way' to going ahead.

Lexus Preston have just fitted mine, looks like they fit the tracker retrieve which looks like a Battery powered one use tracker with 5 year Battery life

[luckyduck]

Just has my Gen 4 serviced at Lexus Hedge End- asked for the canbus fitting and security update as per the statement Lexus issued on 13th March - guess what, the service agent new there is a security update coming, but they have no idea when. This is 5 months after Lexus said they take security seriously. Having also used a new 450h plug in hybrid, it gave 27 electric miles after a 2 hour charge, and the overall feel of the car was that Lexus have totally lost tgheir marbles - no feeling of a premium car whatever - so glad to get back to my gen 4. I have a feeling Lexus have lost their way, and are now just becoming a mass market manufacturer.

[PDM]

5 minutes ago, luckyduck said:

Just has my Gen 4 serviced at Lexus Hedge End- asked for the canbus fitting and security update as per the statement Lexus issued on 13th March - guess what, the service agent new there is a security update coming, but they have no idea when. This is 5 months after Lexus said they take security seriously. Having also used a new 450h plug in hybrid, it gave 27 electric miles after a 2 hour charge, and the overall feel of the car was that Lexus have totally lost tgheir marbles - no feeling of a premium car whatever - so glad to get back to my gen 4. I have a feeling Lexus have lost their way, and are now just becoming a mass market manufacturer

They are now rolling out the first stage of the updates: tracker and OBD geofence devices.  The next stage will (we all hope) be the true CANbus fix via an additional hardware component called a CAN blocker and this is the thing that has an unknown time frame.  My RX had the tracker and geofence fitted earlier this week and my wife's NX is having it done at the moment. Others on here are also reporting that they have recently had this work done.  So try to push the dealer to get at least that part of the updates installed.  

Cheers,

Paul

[Ken R]

45 minutes ago, luckyduck said:

 Having also used a new 450h plug in hybrid, it gave 27 electric miles after a 2 hour charge, and the overall feel of the car was that Lexus have totally lost tgheir marbles - no feeling of a premium car whatever - so glad to get back to my gen 4. I have a feeling Lexus have lost their way, and are now just becoming a mass market manufacturer.

Only 27 miles! I am getting mid 40's and have has early 50's on my Gen5 which is simply a superb car. Having come from an NX450h+ I fully expected fuel consumption to be higher but in fact the RX is proving to be more fuel efficient than the NX.

Disagree totally regarding your assessment of no feeling of a premium vehicle. I am more than delighted with mine, fit, finish, quality is top notch.

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

On 6/27/2024 at 5:39 PM, eightk said:

Ghost themselves only do a canbus system immobiliser, so the tracker side will be something like one of these.

Ghost is cheap, easy to fit and doesn't need much soldering or messing with the car's wiring like a relay inserted into a loom does.

Downside : it's potentially not infallible - how accurate that post is I dunno, but my guess is a Ghost isn't hack-proof. I know installers are given a couple of locations to fit the thumbdrive sized Ghost unit - if found eg under the drivers door sill trim like on the Audi I had - it can be ripped out in seconds.

Mine's a Scorpion S5 tracker with an immobiliser upgrade that physically cuts a circuit like the Cat 2 immobilisers from decades ago. More work, but harder to get around. Keep it old school 😎

Absolutely Right Andy...The endemic Point IS If A Professional Car Thief Wants Your Car.. ITS OFF.. Thankfully The Grand Majority Of These Scumbags are Rank Amatuers And if you have Steering Wheel locks Ghost immobiler or Scorpian Chances are every slim That they will get off with Your car...Sadly ALL cars are susceptable And The Criminal Car Fraternity Have Increased Largely Down To Economic / Global Financial pressures and Social Immoral Attitudes.Car theft has been with us for along Time And is getting worse Year On Year I,m Afraid its a bit of a Lottery Whether your car Will get Stolen Or Not

[Lex loafer]

It seems in reading through the thread that Lexus are rolling out a two security phase approach; Tracker (soonish) and a CAN blocker sometime later in this year/next. Just did the Lexi insurance, bit of shopping around and it wasn't too bad. Carry on with my 1970s VPP, Disklok, CCVT, barbed wire, electrified door handles solution until Lexus get around to providing a deterrent. Happy days. 

[luckyduck]

Canbus are being fitted now, and have been for some time - certainly my dealer knew nothing of anything else available now. Seems that tracker and software updates are some way away, depending on where you live. Are they just focusing on stolen hotspots like London?

[Spock66]

12 minutes ago, luckyduck said:

Canbus are being fitted now, and have been for some time - certainly my dealer knew nothing of anything else available now.

Only the protection plates, the promised Can Blocker is not yet available or any date announced.

[GSLV6]

^^^^^

This

 

CANBUS fix is still some way off.  Some dealerships are fitting trackers but no geofence just yet.  Post code lottery whether people have to wait for the geofence.

[eightk]

I have been emailing and speaking to Lexus UK - they can offer a cat S7 tracker which allows the tracker company to track the car when it’s been stolen PLUS an OBD geofence device that alerts the owner when the car is moved unexpectedly. A ‘can blocker’ is in the pipeline.

I have an LC - canbus plates aren’t available for anything except the RX and even if they were I’m not convinced they’d work.

I already have a better cat S5 tracker and immobiliser that actually PREVENTS theft AND allows ME to track the car (not just the tracker company as on an S7 as far as I can find out) so there is no point in me getting their S7 tracker.

The geofence device sounds like belt and braces but could be worth doing for me.

So… as of this week Lexus UK have emailed my dealer to ask that they fit the OBD geofence device when my car is next in with them. I’m north west England - Stockport are my local dealer.

Fair play to Lexus - customer services are really trying and have been super helpful but without offering an actual immobiliser (the canbus blocker?) I’m not convinced a tracker and/or geofence is good enough.

Plus as I’ve said repeatedly, there is no visible sign any of this has been fitted, so there is still the risk of thousands of pounds worth of damage being caused before thief realises canbus hacking won’t work.

[Spock66]

1 hour ago, eightk said:

Fair play to Lexus - customer services are really trying and have been super helpful

I agree with you re the individual agents you engage with, however the overall corporate response is very poor to say the least.

All of these updates are via word of mouth only, there has been no corporate comms programme to actively engage with customers, until that happens the thieves will continue to target Lexus and yes your car may not get stolen but you can expect a fair amount of damage in the attempt.  The logical conclusion would be their strategy is to save money by only offering updates to customers who proactively request them - Experience Amazing....

[luckyduck]

I was in my dealer only 3 days ago for service on my RX and asked for all the latest security and software updates - all they knew of and fitted was canbus plates. They keep asking central Lexus and told there is no more available yet - someone somewhere in central Lexus needs to get their act together - what about all the other poor owners who are not on this owners club, who are totally in the dark, as dealers are not being pro-active. For a premium brand Lexus will lose a lot of goodwill and customers at this rate. If JLR can sort their mess out what is stopping Lexus?

[Toyota Owner]

4 hours ago, eightk said:

Plus as I’ve said repeatedly, there is no visible sign any of this has been fitted, so there is still the risk of thousands of pounds worth of damage being caused before thief realises canbus hacking won’t work.

That's why I went with an alternative solution by fitting an aftermarket alarm & immobiliser.

Anyone attempting CAN invader theft is in for a noisy surprise. 

Lexus / Toyota will do the cheapest " fix " possible. 

[Sybaris]

They should also refund anyone who has had to put their own security in while waiting for lexus to get of their lazy arses

[PeterI]

I have given up on Lexus fixing this.

Sadly another attempt on my Gen 4 happened on Friday, the Lexus insurance installed immobiliser worked so the car only moved around two feet but this is attempt number three on my car.

This is going to cost around 800 GBP to get fixed as the toerags damaged the wheel arch trim. Interestingly they didn't get through the plate this time and the exterior damage looked a bit worse so I'm not sure if it's new way into the CANBUS.

I've just bought a Gen 5 RX450h+ instead today and I'm part-exing the Gen 4 with the dealer as if it's going to cost 800 quid every six months the joy has gone from the car.

Just got to hope nothing happens between here and mid-october when I get the Gen 5.

[eightk]

14 hours ago, Sybaris said:

They should also refund anyone who has had to put their own security in while waiting for lexus to get of their lazy arses

I forgot to mention that over on the LC forum Lexus UK refunding for a tracker was mentioned. I pushed on this with Lexus, was asked to send them a copy invoice, and they have confirmed I will be refunded 50% of the cost of my 2023 tracker purchase. If I’d had it fitted via a Lexus dealer my understanding is that I would have been 100% refunded (but I chose to save money at the time and get it fitted by trackerteam).

When I bought my car early 2023 I found I was unable to insure it on the Lexus scheme with or without a tracker, and couldn’t get anyone at all to touch it without a cat S5 tracker, so it was delivered and hidden and blocked in in my garage (completely uninsured!) for a couple of days until the tracker company could come to my house to install. 

[CT200h-TL]

13 hours ago, PeterI said:

I have given up on Lexus fixing this.

Sadly another attempt on my Gen 4 happened on Friday, the Lexus insurance installed immobiliser worked so the car only moved around two feet but this is attempt number three on my car.

This is going to cost around 800 GBP to get fixed as the toerags damaged the wheel arch trim. Interestingly they didn't get through the plate this time and the exterior damage looked a bit worse so I'm not sure if it's new way into the CANBUS.

I've just bought a Gen 5 RX450h+ instead today and I'm part-exing the Gen 4 with the dealer as if it's going to cost 800 quid every six months the joy has gone from the car.

Just got to hope nothing happens between here and mid-october when I get the Gen 5.

Sorry to hear this. Did they manage to get through the protection plate the previous time? 

[PeterI]

5 minutes ago, CT200h-TL said:

Sorry to hear this. Did they manage to get through the protection plate the previous time? 

I believe so, I'm going on what the technician said and the parts list on the invoice as I didn't bother to dig around in the engine bay before I dropped it off.

[First_Lexus]

On 8/15/2024 at 5:38 PM, Ken R said:

I'm on the pro side as far as the Lexus divide is concerned. Never had a gen 4 RX so cannot comment but have had a NX300H and NX450h+ in the past. I considered the 300h to be a superb car but when I changed to the NX450h+ it was a huge advance on the 300h particularly regarding the interior. The 300h was definitely "old school" in comparison. Personally I think the Gen5 RX is a far better looking car than the Gen4 and is proving to be even more economical than the NX which is amazing when you consider the additional bulk of the car.

I’m afraid, from my perspective, Lexus have lost their way a bit. Putting the theft issue to one side, I bought my first Lexus, an NX300h in 2017. I then had my second in 2018, and my RX450h in 2021.

On each occasion Lexus convinced me to change with strong offers, both for my existing vehicle and large discounts on the new vehicle. At the time of moving away from my second NX300h they tried to convince me into the new NX350h. It wasn’t for me. I felt the interior was a quality downgrade, with ‘technology’ for the sake of it rather than because (to borrow from Honda) it ‘…just worked.’

Unimpressed with the new NX I was tempted into the RX450h gen4, one of the last. Why? Yes, a great deal was offered, but also the quality interior I was used to. It felt ‘special’ in an unquantifiable way. It made me feel good when I drove it, or just sat in it.

Move forward to the last few months. I’ve had a gen5 RX to test, but was unimpressed when compared with the gen4. That was mainly down to the engine, but again I felt interior quality had been downgraded. With a large reduction in mileage and car use, I decided to downsize but the LBX - nice though it is - is simply too expensive imho. Could I justify almost £10k more for an equivalent spec LBX against a Toyota CH-R? Some might, but not me. The product didn’t justify the price difference in my opinion.

I think Lexus have increased prices too much in recent years. My RX was about £55k in 2021, the new one is more like £65k but I can’t see what that increase provides. Similarly the UX, NX and LBX all feel far too pricey against the competition when general quality is increasingly similar.

Back when I entered the brand, I felt I was getting something really special. Sorry to say when I came to change I didn’t feel the same way.