zachkylealger

Sorry to hear of your car being stolen Mac, it really is awful that Lexus UK haven't stepped up sooner. It seems like Lexus have been in the spotlight based on other forum posts with a BBC Watchdog article. If it was a forum member/affected owner that pushed for this, good on them! Shame that it took 3 years and such an article to prompt a national campaign. Hopefully the remedy that Lexus are looking to implement is a proper one and actually does resolve the issue, not just a sticking plaster like the RX plates. There have been some pretty damning comments on the Lexus press release, deservedly so I'd say. Feel free to put in your two pence worth, that article will have quite a bit of footfall I'd have thought. Please do let us know how you current LC owners are affected by this and any information you can glean, I'd be interested to hear for sure. Fingers crossed I can resume my search for a new car.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the two years I've had with my GS. Not an F-Sport like yours, just a plain Luxury. Comfy, great sound system (Mark Levinson), fast and it managed 47MPG (indicated) on a single-tank trip from Inverness to Taunton. I've had two years of 'sensible' though, now I'm feeling life is too short for sensible cars! Especially with the way things are going with new cars...

Turns out the missed call from Lexus was just to book in a service! I'd planned to go see the LC tomorrow (500 mile round trip!). Unfortunately I think I'll have to cancel for now and hope the issue is addressed. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more updates on here. Fingers crossed another example as nice and well priced is available when (or if) this all gets sorted out. I'll stick with the GS for the meantime!

So I've done a little more digging. Firstly I contacted the Lexus dealer I've used previously. Sales dept. didn't know what I was referring to initially but then mentioned they were aware of one RX succumbing to thieves. They couldn't provide an answer but thought the LC wasn't vulnerable. They asked the service department to get in touch, I've received a voicemail today that I'll follow up tomorrow. I've also had a thought about the one publicised theft of an LC. We thought this was a CANBUS theft because of the recovery pictures where the front bumper was damaged: Did we definitively find out it was CANBUS and not relay? Not sure if the LC fobs are UWB or not. In the photos, the LC is stacked nose first in a container at a ~45 degree angle. Perhaps that is why the front bumper is dislodged and not to get access to probe the port? In the photos, the top half of the bumper is heavily warped, it seems odd that the thieves could do that in four minutes, particularly when the bottom part of the bumper is bolted in place to an under tray... This is several thick plastic components, it's not just peeling back a few clips on a wheel arch liner. I've watched a video on front bumper removal on the LC and I can't see the same port which has been seen here (bus of contacts with two larger sockets in one connector): https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-4th-gen-2016-2022/1013835-block-off-plates-for-canbus-under-driver-side-headlamp.html I'm no electrical engineer mind, they could just be different connectors. I don't know which have CANBUS access and which don't. It seems like the only accessible wire is for the parking sensors/indicators.

Not filling me with confidence there Andy! I guess the questions are: 1) Do the CANBUS style immobilisers work, is there any evidence? 2) Is it going to be obvious enough to thieves that they aren't going to be able to start the car after they've pulled the bumper off and caused £000's of damage? Having that happen 3 times on the trot probably isn't going to be favourable come renewal time. For me, the theft in of itself isn't the only worry. It's also that if this does go down the same way as it has for Range Rovers, am I going to end up with a 2 tonne paperweight that can't be insured and nobody wants to buy for more than a fiver because they can't insure it either. If Land Rover have genuinely fixed the issue with the 70k car recall, that means the top target is now less likely to be preyed upon. That probably means thieves will prioritise others on their list and cases of theft for those makes and models will increase to compensate (I.e. Lexus). Like you say, you only live once and I really do want an LC, but this kind of thing has caused me a lot of stress in the past (cat theft likelihood both for my S2000 and my GS). I'm past that point now and I'm not sure I want to go back. Perhaps I'll wait a few months or a year and see if things improve. Shame because the car really is a perfect spec and a great price!

Thanks Malcolm and Andy for getting back to me. As I thought, it probably is a serious issue. This puts me at a conundrum - do I risk the purchase in the hope that Lexus will remedy the issue soon, or back away... I suppose I could hold out a bit longer and see if there is any kind of response, but based on what happened with the catalytic converter issue I'm not holding out much hope. Now is also the perfect time to get a pre-OPF car at a good price and still have reasonable warranty remaining. I will contact the dealer I bought the GS from and service it with to see if they have any insight, but I'm not expecting much given I'm not buying the car from them (or any Lexus dealer). I've been after this car for around a year now - like you say, what else do you get instead? There is nothing else with a naturally aspirated V8 AND a 10 year dealer warranty, the sound or the design. Alternatives could be something like a Civic Type R or an Alpine A110, but the Lexus was at the top of my list... Am I right in thinking it is just the nearside wheel arch which is the issue? I can park within 10cm of a wall to block access. My main fear is when I'm away from home and need to street park overnight - wouldn't happen often, but it isn't something I want to have to worry about.

Hi all, I'm looking at purchasing an LC 500. I've been on the hunt for months, and a rather nice and well priced example has made an appearance in the past few weeks. I'm quite fastidious, but in all my research I hadn't been aware of the vulnerability to the CANBUS exploit. As well as being fastidious, I'm also a chronic worrier. I bought my current GS450h two years ago, when catalytic converter thefts were high, and worried incessantly about the cat being stolen. Two years later, no issues. I am aware there has been one publicised theft. My question to you is whether it is a genuine concern or nothing to worry about. Has anyone had any interaction with Lexus UK about it or any preventatives implemented? It will be my only car, and I'm not quite fortunate enough to have a large gated drive, so it'll just be sat on the drive next to the road. I do park with nearside next to a wall, so home theft isn't really a concern, rather parking out and about. Having said that, I do live in quiet leafy village in Somerset. Thanks in advance, Zach