StGeorge

In case anyone is still reading this thread, I've had my renewal through today having called and they've accepted the immobiliser they provided and my premium, whilst it's gone up, hasn't gone by that much. And, getting some comparison quotes, it's 3rd cheapest of those that came up and the cheaper ones were from insurers that I'd not heard of, so, I'll be renewing with Lexus.

I'm guessing this is the secondary immobiliser that Lexus Insurance fitted to cars for a while, back in, I want to say 2021/22. It's to help get around the Canbus vulnerability as I understand it. There are a few things to be aware of with it; Don't sit in the car for long periods without starting (10 mins was what I was told, but the documentation says longer), else it will trigger the immobiliser. However, if/when it does, you will get a message Hybrid System Stopped or similar from memory when you try to start the car. If this happens, just open the drivers door and close it and then try starting again (or get out, close and lock the car and open/get in again). If all else fails, take the fob apart, including removal of the battery and there is a USB stick in it, insert this into the USB ports in the arm rest and try starting again. Batteries in ours lasted a decent while, but started to play up so replaced them and all was good in the world. This is the user guide (assuming it's the same thing); https://download.avmap.it/tis/manuals/Immobilizer_PIN4i_UserManual.pdf ETA; as far as I'm aware, not a tracker, just immobiliser. Doesn't require registering, just needs the keyfob thing to be in the car with you.

Just had an email from Lexus Insurance saying it's now a condition of renewal on our NX300h to have a 'Secondary Approved Immobiliser' and need to call to confirm what options there are. I would hope that having had them fit their recommended one a couple of years back, this will just be a formality, but, slightly concerning, the list of approved manufacturers from Thatcham and TASSA that they share links to, doesn't include the manufacturer of the immobiliser that they fitted.. Guess I'll need to call and find out. Assume others will get this message too on renewal.

Hi all, Our 18 plate NX seems to have developed an intermittent issue whereby the front passenger door won't always lock/unlock with the rest when using the remote keyfob. I've seen a few suggestions online about the actuators being temperamental, but also wondered if there was some kind of reset of the central locking or something of that ilk that might be worthwhile trying? It's due its service in a couple of months so could get it looked at then, but it's just a pain in the butt it not unlocking reliably. Thanks

Friends of ours had their 18 plate F-Sport stolen from their drive last weekend and just seen another reported overnight on Facebook. Their neighbour's CCTV showed them at the wheel arch. After their car was stolen we noted that our wheel trim was off and thought they must have been to ours first as they are only a road or so away, but CCTV showed no evidence. However dashcam footage showed a few days earlier in a cinema car park, a dude trying the wheel arch. Not sure if he was disturbed, but no cigar for him that time. We do have a secondary immobiliser that Lexus Insurance fitted free gratis a year ago, so, hoping this did the job and saved them thousands! In our part of London we will soon have the only NX in the village 🤣

Am sure this is an easy question for this group.. I was in the passenger seat for a long journey today so spent some time looking around (which I don't do very often as mostly in the driver's seat) and spotted an appendage to the left of the rear view mirror housing - pic attached. Any ideas what it is? Mid-2018 NX - can't see anything obvious in the car manual, all the sensors suggested to be in the block behind the mirror. Thanks

I ave this occur on the odd occasion and have found just unplugging/re-plugging in if oft sufficient to kick it into life - have also had some iffy cables over the years which seem to cause issues, it seems quite fickle in liking some cables and not others.

I had a similar experience with my local dealer this time last year over the AP/AA update. There were no license keys available and had to wait about a month IIRC - I asked about it being a physical 'part', which is a tad misleading as a term, as I understand it, they get a physical something (assume, a card/bit of paper 🤷‍♂️) with the license key on it that is used to enable/register the update - or something of that ilk. It's worth the wait though, transforms the screen from a POS to something resembling usable 21st century tech. Only downside on the 18 plate that we have is that it's reliant on the scratch pad thing rather than touchscreen, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

I wonder if there are certain vehicles/model years that are particularly vulnerable, thus they are prioritising these? Be interesting to see if you call them, what their answer is.

The USB usage is just a backup option in case the CR2032 battery in the fob dies. Beyond that, in normal usage, it's just an extra fob on your key ring and the car just starts as normal. Suspect most of the stuff the installer went through is irrelevant for most users who get in the car, drive, get out the car lock it <and repeat>. I didn't ask, but assume that the fob needs to remain in the USB for the duration of the journey where the fob battery has died as the fob normally needs to be in the car for the duration of the journey. And, yes, it's the USB-A socket that I was told to use (probably another rabbit hole I could go down is seeing if it would work just plugged into a USB hub plugged into the cigarette lighter socket in the arm of our NX, but that's a level I'll resist for now!)

Just came back to report that I'd just had mine fitted and to share details but @PeterI has beaten me to it by a couple of days. Seems fairly straightforward, but the fob is mahoosive, added to the car key, Apple AirTag, steering lock key and the dealer fob, it's quite a bunch on the keyring. But hey-ho, if it makes it more secure, that's what we have to live with. The installer said that even if someone manages to start the vehicle through whatever vulnerability this seems to be there to fix, it will stop driving in a matter of seconds. Also worth noting he said that if you sit in the car for more than 10 mins without starting it, you need to open the door for 10 secs to reactivate the search for the fob to then be able to start it (though the instructions seem to suggest 21 mins). Stuff like this I need to relay to the wife to avoid any confusion. Also interesting on the telematics point; the manual points to needing GSM coverage, which would suggest that it's certainly possible to be tracking the vehicle/device - whether it is is another matter - will email Lexus ins and ask. Info on what has actually been installed is rather thin on the ground (read; non-existent), which is fine if you are not an inquisitive so-and-so like me who has a lot of time on their hands 😬.. The installer and I did have a bit of a chuckle about the person who asked him if they could just leave the fob plugged into the USB socket because it was really bulky on their keyring - I guess this will be a risk with something as chunky as it is and someone who doesn't understand what the thing is being fitted for 🤣

I had this letter yesterday too for my 2018 NX. Will be taking up the offer, clearly - came here to check if others had it through. I've always justified what is perhaps a slightly higher premium through Lexus Ins by the fact that the car goes to Lexus for the repairs. When I was with another insurer previously, they wanted the car to go to their approved repairer, which wasn't my choice and IIRC I had to pay the excess for the privilege of having work done by Lexus on a no fault accident. My local dealer (Woodford) now have their own bodyshop too, which should make things easier in future - hoping obvs that I had no need. Looks like it comes with a fairly chunky key fob to add to the key ring, but I guess, small price to pay for extra security.

Interesting.. So, my NX went in for it to be done Weds last week and I got a call mid-morning to say they needed to keep it overnight as they hadn't got the right licence key from Lexus. Then get a call the next morning saying they were on 'back-order' so would need to rebook for it to be done in a couple of weeks. Also, a friend who also has a 2018 has theirs in for service and to have the update applied, collected their car and it hadn't been done but didn't seem to have a good explanation as to why it wasn't done - sounded like they 'forgot', which is very unlike Lexus. Maybe you got the real reason why they didn't apply it and I just got flannel.

Thanks @AtomAnt @pobrown for your answers, that's good to know. I've just emailed my contact at the Lexus Centre to find out what they will charge. I'm also tech savvy, but seeing that some have had issues, I'd rather not risk bricking the thing!

Hi, I can see many posts on this subject, just wanted to try to clarify the situation with my NX. Just traded in our lovely 2020 RX (which had all the bells and whistles, including CarPlay and Android Auto) for a June 2018 registered NX - long story, which I won’t bore you with, but, I do miss the RX and the vast improvement that CarPlay and AA gave over the built in SatNav etc. Anyhow, looking at the current versions of everything on the NX, was hoping someone would confirm or otherwise, whether we have the right basis for getting the CapPlay/AA update, please. I saw reference to CY17, I think it was, somewhere in the depths of a menu, but can I find it now, can I heck? Thanks ETA : sorry, realised I’ve posted this in an ES forum..don’t seem to be able to delete..