Cs150

How can a dust cover be a major defect, looks to me a garage hungry for work if I am honest. There are huge variances in the MOT test from garage to garage I have seen this personally. Body structure corrosion could just be some surface rust that may be transformed with Lanogaurd or wax covering. You need an independent opinion of this I feel.

I looked at this in a detailed way when running an ES. The Lexus UK position is the gearbox oil is for the life of the car and never needs changing. The question is what is their definition of the life of the vehicle? 10 years, 15 years? What if you want to run for longer? In other countries they change the fluid around 50-60k miles which seems prudent and sensible. If the car is a keeper and manages to avoid being stolen changing the oil at 60k miles max seems a good idea. Independent specialists will do this job with the correct Toyota ATF.

It is quite a position Lexus UK have put themselves in for the ES! Your vehicle can be stolen in minutes due to key systems having no encryption. We will not do anything about this such as a recall or service based modification. We also do not recommend a method how you can protect your vehicle to make it fit for purpose. It is really beyond belief....

Do not want to be negative tried to sell my ES with Carwow and Motorway but nothing came of it. They will give you a nice headline price but there simply is no takers. The used car market is heading down very quickly indeed and word is out on the ES thefts and it has damaged the reputation of the vehicle. Franchise dealers like Steven Eagell are completely overloaded with stock. You could try used car superstores like Arnold Clark and Motorpoint as well as many others. Worth shopping around but values are coming down weekly for the ES so would do it sooner rather than later and take the smallest hit possible.

The Canbus risk was so serious I felt there was no choice but to offload an ES that was only one year of age and take a near £5k loss. The Lexus position made me lose all faith in the ability and ethics of the UK division. There is a strong case for a class action here and eventually it is likely to come to fruition. Karmic consequences are pending for Lexus UK and Chris Hayes....

The small version of the Disklok fits the ES wheel perfectly even with the official cover, the first or second fitting notch on the Disklok both fit and secured it fine, on the second setting it was a little more snug against the wheel so I tended to use this one. The largest hazard with the Disklok is probably rushing to fit it as one wrong move has hard heavy steel hitting something that may cause a scuff.

I used a Disklok and found with the cover and careful fitting it did not mark the wheel at all. The storage case is also essential as without it the thing can be a hazard and move around especially in the boot. As mentioned professionals can remove this but it remains the most secure steering lock on sale in the country. It is a pain though to keep fitting and removing and if done multiple times per day is likely to be seen as an inconvenience. If I were keeping an ES longer term would also fit a third party tracker and immobiliser and ideally place some stickers in the side front windows as a deterrent.

Not aware of other makes having easily accessible wiring and a Canbus system with no encryption to protect the communications. Although have not researched the JLR situation due to having no interest in their vehicles! We have to be mindful a £10 device with basic electronics is being used to steal Lexus and Toyota models. If the diesel emission scandal can generate a class action this seems to be quite plausible with the theft situation.

I think eventually there is a good chance this will happen. Toyota and Lexus will eventually have to face the legal system due to the inaction. It could be argued that designing and building Canbus systems without encryption is a form of negligence.

The Lexus position is short-sighted that could well result in significant brand damage and eventually a loss of revenue that will be difficult to win back. In other industries critical security updates are seen as part of continuous improvement for the reasonable life of a product. Look at operating systems such as Microsoft Windows for the life of a platform which is typically 10 years critical security updates will be provided. Smart devices which are Internet connected are often patched as and when a serious vulnerability is known. Even my 12 year old printer recently received a firmware update that the manufacturer said had key security fixes. All responsible organisations should ensure security is maintained at a reasonable level for the expected lifetime that a product may be in service. The social responsibility with cars you could argue is even more serious as stolen cars could be used for hit and run incidents that may result in death or serious injury as well as the owners financial loss. Incredible that many people are not concerned by the current position of Lexus and Toyota.

A personal decision of course on if getting a new one is appropriate. Based on my recent interaction with multiple Lexus dealers I got the impression sales are quite poor and they are desperate for business. Whilst this time of year is not good for the trade I sensed an air of desperation from some of them. The theft risk must be having a negative impact on business.

Indeed all down to luck it would seem as the criminal does try to manipulate the vulnerable Canbus wiring. The quote could be anything from £120 - £5k plus depending on how careful the criminal is with your property.

Found an independent dealer that would take it for a cash sale. These cars seem to be depreciating quite heavily as the Autotrader guide price was going down around £200 for every week of November.....

Only a temporary situation will not be permanent, the Mondeo has better handling than the ES with its hydraulic power steering giving great feedback to the driver but in all other areas it is inferior of course.

In the case of the MY23 ES it has the encrypted Canbus but is still subject to £5k plus worth of damage as has occured with members of this forum.

Fair point of course, the risk of an attempted theft damaging the Canbus wiring with a possible £5k bill or insurance claim seems something valid to be concerned about. Insurance is of course increasing but the percentage is not close to that experienced on the ES with other household cars.

After just over one year of ownership have parted ways with a 72 plate ES Premium Edition, but why? Why would someone get rid of such a car which has no finance on it and is completely owned outright and had originally planned long-term ownership. Well the top three reasons why the vehicle has been disposed of is: 1, Theft or potential attempted theft damage risk 2, Theft or potential attempted theft damage risk 3, Theft or potential attempted theft damage risk Already had two attempts in which observed people hanging around the car in strange ways possibly planning a targeted attack against the vehicle. There was a third event in which a car kept driving past the vehicle when I was parked in a town centre, this third attempt might have been a false positive so not completely clear. Due to getting the car at absolutely rock bottom price brand new did lose £4,800 on the disposal price after one year and nearly two months of ownership. Whilst it is never great to lose out financially can easily live with that relatively small loss for the ownership period. Attempting to offload the vehicle I contacted seven Lexus dealerships some quite a distance away from me and others close, will not name them although if anyone is interested happy to name them over a DM. The results were as follows: Lexus dealer 1: Already had an email address of a named contact, the response was that they are fully stocked and have no room for cars until early in the new year Lexus dealer 2: Contacted by phone and they said they are not taking vehicles until after March next year at the earliest for direct sales and would only consider used vehicles if traded in. Lexus dealer 3: Initial enquiry by phone, received a call back by the groups car buying manager he advised what would be a realistic price for the vehicle and was very helpful. Stated his dealership group has too many vehicles and was currently on a blanket ban until the end of Jan which he thought might be extended. Lexus dealers 4, 5, 6 and 7: These dealers did take details of the car and was assured I would receive a call-back either way, even if to confirm that they are not taking cars. None of these dealers did have the common courtesy to respond so more "Premium Lexus" experience on display. Surely these dealers must realise that for every person they ignore they are losing a potential customer indefinitely? The ES is overall a fine car that represents good value for money but the constant concern of attempted theft or actual theft were too great to live with. The attempted thefts seem to be causing very expensive levels of damage that would likely result in an insurance claim, insurance was already rising concerningly for this model as it did increase from £400 to just over £600 on renewal which percentage wise is significant. Such premium is inappropriate for an IAM member with 25 plus years no claims living in a fairly low risk postcode. For the interim period will be running a car I already own which is currently in storage with a SORN status it is an old Ford Mondeo petrol which no one would ever want to steal or give a second glance. Quite happy in 2024 to be considered an "outdated Mondeo man". Will sit on the sidelines for all of next year and see where the car market goes as there potentially could be some good sales as the economy further deteriorates and may consider a new or nearly new vehicle in early 2025.

Extremely thoughtful and well written post. Been trying to offload my ES for a few weeks now and have interacted with multiple Lexus dealers over the planned disposal. It has been most telling the interaction with them and when the sale is completed will provide a post about the experience.

Insurance is going to rocket for these vehicles, after all the thefts aiming to offload mine before Christmas. One year of ownership is enough to get rid. Not due to the car having any issues the ES is a fine vehicle but due to poor dealers and thefts add in Lexus UK being completely silent. Values already appear to be heading significantly South quite possibly due to the word being out on the weak security.

Lexus near the top of the league, well done Chris Hayes take a bow. I suggest all current Lexus owners see Range Rover depreciation during the last 12 months...

Worrying to hear, must need some serious equipment to cut through the bar it appears to be hard steel.

Disklok is the best in the business, even in professional tests it has taken a good while to remove!

Very sorry to hear this, can I ask what steering lock you had on the vehicle?

Very well said, from a personal standpoint being a Lexus owner for one year and new to the brand their lack of action is a disappointment. In my eyes the brand is tarnished with poor dealer experience and a UK division that has badly let their customers down. When my ES is replaced it absolutely will not be with another Lexus vehicle. Even if they acted now and did a recall it is all too late and not good enough.

Encrypting the Canbus would be a good start so that the vehicles cannot be stolen with a £10 device....