Cloning

[wahoo]

Hi Folks,

For the second time my car (RX400h) has been entered unlawfully during the night and items have been stolen from the boot. On both occasions the car was locked - without question Locked. There was however no sign of forced entry suggesting I had either left it unlocked (which I know for certain I had not because I checked it before going to bed) or the thief had another means of accessing the car. The only thing that springs to mind is a cloned key fob. My Lexus service centre said they had heard of this once before. Lexus U.K. said they had never ever heard of this and the Police Forensic team said it happens all the time with nice cars of all brands.

Has anyone else had similar experiences or have any proven knowledge of cloning? Is there another way of getting in and leaving no trace that I don't know about? No 'Beam me up Scottie' jokes please.

Any genuine help appreciated. Thanks.

[Andy-R]

Heard of this happening years ago but didn't think it was possible anymore with new security systems could very well be wrong and i'm sure someone on here will know for sure, bit worrying if it's still possible

Welcome to LOC matey, pitty it's under these circumstances :)

[Steviewevie]

I would have thought that there's a much bigger chance the previous owner kept one of the keys and someone is using that ?

[aido]

Hate to say it but I'd be looking into one of those wireless CCTV cameras that DLink do and get them on video so you can see exactly what's happening (and also if you recognise them as per Stevie's comment there)

[Steve]

i was thinking the same thing... cctv is always handy anywhere

it can even email pics to an external email address

[Steviewevie]

I don't know if it's possible to program keys on the RX300 in a similar way to the IS200. If so, then I'd be inclined to delete all the additional keys programmed to the master key, and add the other keys back in. If someone else has got a key, then it won't work any more after that.

[ColinBarber]

I would recommend you ask your dealer to delete all keys from the system and program back in the ones you own. Not sure if the procedures you will find on this site will work for the 400h

[gib]

Hi Folks,

For the second time my car (RX400h) has been entered unlawfully during the night and items have been stolen from the boot. On both occasions the car was locked - without question Locked. There was however no sign of forced entry suggesting I had either left it unlocked (which I know for certain I had not because I checked it before going to bed) or the thief had another means of accessing the car. The only thing that springs to mind is a cloned key fob. My Lexus service centre said they had heard of this once before. Lexus U.K. said they had never ever heard of this and the Police Forensic team said it happens all the time with nice cars of all brands.

Has anyone else had similar experiences or have any proven knowledge of cloning? Is there another way of getting in and leaving no trace that I don't know about? No 'Beam me up Scottie' jokes please.

Any genuine help appreciated. Thanks.

I have only experienced cloned keys from many years ago. It happened when you pressed the key fob to unlock the vehicle and the thief was nearby and 'grabbed' the frequency using electronic wizardry. When you left he would simply press the button on his 'grabber' and it unlocked.

New security systems overcame this by using rolling codes. Each time you pressed the key fob, the frequency changed, rendering 'grabbers' useless.

The only question I would ask, if someone DID have a cloned fob, why havent they stolen the car? Lets face it, you wouldnt hear a thing in the 400h. For the technology that would be required to clone the fob professionally, stealing items from your car seems 'unprofitable'.

Get Lexus to check the system is working (I know this is obvious).

[DJ Wozza]

Get your Dealer to check the correct operation of the lock & alarm system,

then get him to delete & re-code the key sets you have.

BTW welcome to LOC :)

[ColinBarber]

I have only experienced cloned keys from many years ago. It happened when you pressed the key fob to unlock the vehicle and the thief was nearby and 'grabbed' the frequency using electronic wizardry. When you left he would simply press the button on his 'grabber' and it unlocked.

New security systems overcame this by using rolling codes. Each time you pressed the key fob, the frequency changed, rendering 'grabbers' useless.

The only question I would ask, if someone DID have a cloned fob, why havent they stolen the car? Lets face it, you wouldnt hear a thing in the 400h. For the technology that would be required to clone the fob professionally, stealing items from your car seems 'unprofitable'.

Get Lexus to check the system is working (I know this is obvious).

It is technically possible to clone a key if you get physical access to it although very difficult. You certainly cannot grab them remotely like you could 10+ years ago.

On older Lexus models (e.g. IS200) It is also possible for a key to be programmed to unlock the vehicle but not to disable the immobiliser and therefore start the vehicle. Not sure if that is still the case with the 400h but that could explain why it hasn't been stolen.