Stolen Is220d Key

[Rocktabulous]

Hi,

Bit of a sad topic for a first post. Last Monday some thieving scum broke into our house and amongst the items taken was one of the keys to our is220d.

With a missing key out there I have to keep the motor in our secured office car park until I can get the locks changed. The local Lexus dealership has quoted me £2185 to replace the lock set, keys, ECU and computer. If I claim on my car insurance then bang goes my no claims discount. Since the car wasn't taken I'm hoping to claim on the contents insurance, but there is probably an upper limit for keys & locks cover - still studying the small print.

Does anyone have any past experience of this or opinions on what action can be taken? Could the car be re-coded to a new set of keys and have the mechanical locks replaced?

Thanks - all opinions gratefully received.

[Paradroid]

What an absolute nightmare. You need to know your car is going to be there when you get up in the morning, but that's a vast amount of money to be certain that the stolen keys can't be used.

The only other option I could think of is to try an independent place like a key cutting and alarm programming expert in case they're any cheaper, but they might just refer you to a Lexus dealer.

[Parthiban]

When my car was stolen a few years ago (with the key) I had to have everything replaced at similar cost. As the car was stolen though, everything was handled through the car insurance but I think you're right that you could make a home insurance claim in your circumstances. Best to ring them and check.

However, is there not a way to stop the stolen key from working? That way you'd only need the mechanical locks in the doors changed but I'm not sure how the locking systems on the newer cars work.

[philthy]

When my car was stolen a few years ago (with the key) I had to have everything replaced at similar cost. As the car was stolen though, everything was handled through the car insurance but I think you're right that you could make a home insurance claim in your circumstances. Best to ring them and check.

However, is there not a way to stop the stolen key from working? That way you'd only need the mechanical locks in the doors changed but I'm not sure how the locking systems on the newer cars work.

When I purchased my old IS220d I queeried the radio frequency for the remote and what would stop anyone with another fob getting into your car. The alarming news, (no pun intended), was there are only two frequencies as far as they knew. A thief with a fob therefore potentially has access to any IS out there until the Battery dies down. The staff weren't concerned at this prospect so I assume there must be some safeguard against random access. The immobiliser must have a random access code for start up associated with the cars specific fob making it useless for starting someone else's car, but it will always remain active for your car. You need a new lock and key set as far as I can see unless Lexus can access the systems brain to lock out the stolen fob.

[dave1]

Might be worth checking with these ...

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

Hi,

Bit of a sad topic for a first post. Last Monday some thieving scum broke into our house and amongst the items taken was one of the keys to our is220d.

With a missing key out there I have to keep the motor in our secured office car park until I can get the locks changed. The local Lexus dealership has quoted me £2185 to replace the lock set, keys, ECU and computer. If I claim on my car insurance then bang goes my no claims discount. Since the car wasn't taken I'm hoping to claim on the contents insurance, but there is probably an upper limit for keys & locks cover - still studying the small print.

Does anyone have any past experience of this or opinions on what action can be taken? Could the car be re-coded to a new set of keys and have the mechanical locks replaced?

Thanks - all opinions gratefully received.

At least none of you got hurt/mugged in person...

Just one other factor - do you not have to legally tell your car insurance company of what has happened, regardless of whether you claim or not?

[alpine]

When I purchased my old IS220d I queeried the radio frequency for the remote and what would stop anyone with another fob getting into your car. The alarming news, (no pun intended), was there are only two frequencies as far as they knew. A thief with a fob therefore potentially has access to any IS out there until the battery dies down. The staff weren't concerned at this prospect so I assume there must be some safeguard against random access.

You are confusing frequencies with the code transmission. Your beloved german and swedish cars use precisely the same frequencies as Lexus, since those are the ones licenced for use in local rf transmission for keys in the UK. It's the coding of the transmission that counts, not the frequency.

[Rocktabulous]

Thanks for the input.

A bit of an improvement with the prices - an independant locksmith (thanks dave1) could recode & supply a new key for £1000 but Lexus have since estimated £682 for the recoding plus new cylinder, key & transmitters. It won't be covered by the house contents insurance because all things motor vehicle are excluded so it'll be a knock against the protected NCD on the car insurance + £150 excess.