CANBUS remedial work with main dealers.

[IronLizard]

It's been over a month now, and I've personally not had any joy so I have to ask, has anyone actually booked in to have this work since the Lexus statement came out?

The original article comments all appear to have been wiped and there's not much on there at all now.

[eightk]

Latest article (I agree it's not the original post-BBC Watchdog statement) is here https://mag.lexus.co.uk/lexus-uk-statement-on-vehicle-theft/

They said 'from April' - and here we are. I might email my dealer again and see if anything has progressed.

[paulGS250]

My local Dealer (Hatfield) said they would start booking at the end of the Month.

[Brian R]

Just thought I would ask whether anyone has had any related contact with/from their dealer? I, too, was supposed to hear from mine around now, and perhaps during the course of next week I may well give mine a prod unless others might be aware of any change to the Lexus scheduling.

[wendle]

The problem is that it won't stop them doing nearly 4K worth of damage trying to steel it.

Thy pull back the bumper on the LC as there is not enough room to get in through the wheel arch.

[Tickedon]

6 hours ago, Brian R said:

Just thought I would ask whether anyone has had any related contact with/from their dealer? I, too, was supposed to hear from mine around now, and perhaps during the course of next week I may well give mine a prod unless others might be aware of any change to the Lexus scheduling.

Lexus changed their public update from “April” to “coming weeks” - suggesting a delay… 

[Brian R]

3 hours ago, wendle said:

The problem is that it won't stop them doing nearly 4K worth of damage trying to steel it.

Thy pull back the bumper on the LC as there is not enough room to get in through the wheel arch.

I'm kind of hoping Lexus will do their best to "advertise" they are now ready, willing and able to fix this significant problem in an effort to dissuade burglar Bill from bothering with our cars. It does seem as if JLR are now reducing the theft rate of their products, but yes I agree for a while longer the Lexus brand will be a prime target and the sooner this problem is resolved the better.

[talaipwros]

7 hours ago, Brian R said:

Just thought I would ask whether anyone has had any related contact with/from their dealer? I, too, was supposed to hear from mine around now, and perhaps during the course of next week I may well give mine a prod unless others might be aware of any change to the Lexus scheduling.

I had to call them again and again, but they eventually did it.

[Brian R]

1 hour ago, talaipwros said:

I had to call them again and again, but they eventually did it.

So are you saying they fixed the Canbus problem by encryption or some such method, or did they put a mechanical plate over the access point?

[talaipwros]

1 hour ago, Brian R said:

So are you saying they fixed the Canbus problem by encryption or some such method, or did they put a mechanical plate over the access point?

Just the plate

[IronLizard]

Looking at the latest comments on the article Lexus have finally fessed up that there's no updates and they're still working on it, so for now at least it's seemingly pointless contacting your local dealer.

[Brian R]

I must admit I didn't get a chance to phone my dealer as I suggested I would, but I will fire off an email later today and ask for an update.

Having received my insurance renewal notice and with the premium increasing (to the penny) by exactly 100% I'm now more inclined to ask what the hell is going on. Darwin Insurance by the way and they are clearly applying greed inflation and in the process have taken on a new demeanour which I sensed last year and when I should have then told them to shove it.

Curiously, my home insurers have gone one step further and upped their premium by 118% Cheerio RIAS I'm leaving you after 13 years and having never made a claim!

[eightk]

12 hours ago, IronLizard said:

Looking at the latest comments on the article Lexus have finally fessed up that there's no updates and they're still working on it, so for now at least it's seemingly pointless contacting your local dealer.

I’d disagree it’s a waste of time harassing your dealer - the more flak they get at a local level (loudly, front and centre of showroom, weekends preferably) the more likely it’ll be passed up to the ivory tower that is Lexus UK’s anti theft team (unless, as I suspect, they all left their laptops in their now-absent company cars a few months ago).

[Brian R]

Well, I heard back from my dealer, and clearly I wasn't the first to make further enquiries. Regretfully, it appears there are no updates from Lexus, but they will be in contact just as soon as there are. Aside from the owner's frustration, I feel for the folk in the dealers who are probably and quite unfairly having to contend with a problem to which as there is still no solution.

[Spock66]

Lexus seem to be making a right mess of how to manage the situation....

[IronLizard]

I'd expect at least a statement from Lexus to manage expectations as we bumble into another week, but here we are in the void.

At this point I'm starting to wonder if they just pushed something out to appease the public without actually having a solution ready to go, I wouldn't be surprised if what they propose is just a licensed version of the autowatch ghost or similar.

Cynicism aside I'm sure it's something they can fix/encrypt, and hopefully they announce something bespoke that does the trick soon.

Oh well, at least the disklok diamond is out soon 🫠

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

On 4/28/2024 at 1:39 PM, Brian R said:

I'm kind of hoping Lexus will do their best to "advertise" they are now ready, willing and able to fix this significant problem in an effort to dissuade burglar Bill from bothering with our cars. It does seem as if JLR are now reducing the theft rate of their products, but yes I agree for a while longer the Lexus brand will be a prime target and the sooner this problem is resolved the better.

Spot On..!!!

[Alan305]

I wrote to customer services to explain why, after owning six of their cars, I was sadly leaving the brand. I also asked what happened to the “by the end of April” comment in the press release.

Here is part of their response.

“The intention is to make the security enhancement available to all vehicles where a countermeasure is available. Exact timings are still to be confirmed but will be available in due course.”

“Available” sounds like chargeable. Good luck.

[eightk]

17 minutes ago, Alan305 said:

I wrote to customer services to explain why, after owning six of their cars, I was sadly leaving the brand. I also asked what happened to the “by the end of April” comment in the press release.

Here is part of their response.

“The intention is to make the security enhancement available to all vehicles where a countermeasure is available. Exact timings are still to be confirmed but will be available in due course.”

“Available” sounds like chargeable. Good luck.

You are not the only ex-customer. As above, even a Ghost type thing would do far more good than Lexus sitting on their hands for weeks. Until every single car is protected none of us are protected against damage from a theft attempt.

This is a brands reputation that’s at risk.

Lexus don’t have the history, the motorsport or the ubiquity many others do - their reputation is solely based on customer service and quality - if as a business you lose that you may as well pack your bags. 

If they teamed up with Trackerteam or someone similar who has a network of fitters they could roll out simple immobilisers incredibly quickly at less than £200 per car. Brake light switch, gear selector, trans ECU, fuel pump relay - there are plenty of options that’d be easy to fit but a pain in the backside to locate, access and hack.

Meh. I’m disappointed. It’s now May.