mister_johnn

https://www.gbnews.com/lifestyle/cars/toyota-lexus-drivers-compensation-keyless-car-theft

Ok. Try asking about this one, seems to be doing a similar job to Ghost

Have you tried looking into Meta track 5 with deadlock and OBD immobilizer? Someone on the forum said that he had this on his ES and you get a better package... A bit more expensive, but might be a good option... He said that he had 2 theft attempts on his ES, and ended up selling it to avoid more attempts because damage will still be done even if they can't drive the car away... https://www.trackershop-uk.com/metatrak-s5-deadlock-pro.html

Looking forward to know the story... In the meantime another theft attempt on an RX and other 2 stolen last night in the London area... More details here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/794001950679901/permalink/7043584442388256/

You are right, this is not for everyone without some experience in electronics. The hardest part is to find the power cables by using a multimeter, and make sure everything is insulated properly after the connections are done. I still recommend the Garmin Mini 2 as a dash cam. Being so small can be easily fitted at front or rear without causing any distraction when driving. Their application is not great for getting video footage from the camera via WiFi, but as long as you can remove the MicroSD card and put it in a laptop you should be good. Their application doesn't split the video in sections (like every 1 min, 3 min) so you end up having a very long video and is very hard to trim by using the app, most of the time is crashing. I didn't use NextBase yet, but my previous dash cam were from Xiaomi and I can say that their software was easy to use and never crashed, the videos were good quality. At the end of the day I recommend any small dash cam which doesn't cause a distraction when driving, without a screen, with WiFi, and a good quality video in which you can read the number plates other cars. Regarding the installation of a dash cam you have 2 options, the simple one is to use a USB from the car to power the dash cam and you can hide the cable under the panels or to get power from the fuse box by using a fitting kit for dash cams that includes all the necessary extras, there's plenty of videos on YouTube on how to do that, and you can hide the cables under the panels. Not hard, but it shouldn't cost much to have it fitted either, it's all up to your budget.

I ended up buying a Garmin Mini 2 because is one of the smallest dash cams without a screen, has WiFi, and went the extra mile by fitting it in the mirror. Had to take down the case from the dash cam, make a good cooling system for the CPU, add a power converter plus a few modifications to the plastic case of the mirror. I like to keep everything nice and tidy, so I took power from the mirror and avoided having extra cables coming from the fuse box or cigarette lighter. All that was noticeable to the mirror was the camera lens next to the mirrors light sensor. I had similar setups in my previous cars, but with different dash cams.

The only cars in the same category are Mercedes E Class, BMW 5 Series, Audi A6, Volvo S90, and maybe a few more. But none of them have a great hybrid system to bring them in line or close to Lexus in regards to fuel consumption or reliability. This is only for the PHEV cars, I didn't consider petrol, diesel, or Tesla Model S (as a fully electric option) because they stopped manufacturing it in the UK around 2020. I will try to make a small summary of what are some main differences/advantages/disadvantages between these cars: - all of them have a 2L petrol engine, so should have similar MPG. About 30 MPG in the city and 35 on the motorway with an empty battery. If you have a driveway then you can improve your MPG by charging the battery overnight, newer models have bigger batteries and you can drive pure electric up to 50 miles. - performance is by far the best with the Volvo S90, the PHEV models have a turbocharger and supercharger. - included tech is more with Volvo. You get remote access in case you forget your keys you can use your phone, remote pre-conditioning like cooling/heating cabin/seats, defrost windscreen, with the rest you have to pay for the most basic things like reversing camera, blind spot monitor, adaptive cruise control, automatic tailgate or other. - booth space 360L Audi A6, 370L Mercedes E Class, 410L BMW 5 Series, 460L Volvo S90, 430L Lexus ES - I haven't found any report or news regarding the theft of a Volvo with a reg plate over 2020, searched on social media, news, and any place possible on the internet. If you know one, please let me know. - when purchasing a new Volvo you get the option to buy a service plan up to 5 years or 90.000 miles (serviced every 18.000 miles) for around £1.150 or £699 for 2 years or 36.000 miles for a pre-approved used. BMW is £1.080 for 2 years or 36.000 miles, Mercedes is £1.152 for 2 years or 20.000 miles, Audi is £520 for 2 years or 20.000 miles. Lexus is £885 for 2 years or 20.000 miles. All are pre-approved, I'm sure most of them have a deal for new cars, but I am looking for a pre-approved one. - Volvo has most of the controls on the central tablet which can be distracting while driving. The rest like design, ride quality, and other things are debatable as we all like different things. I miss my ES, but I want to sleep relax and not think about being stolen or damaged, and so far Volvo ticks the most important boxes for me... for you might be different.

Where did you see the price? Have you contacted the seller?

I had the 2021 version with the big screen without touchscreen and I tried improving it by adding an Android box with wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay and I was able to install anything from Google Play Store, like Netflix, YouTube, Games, Facebook, Instagram... I can say that watching a movie on Netflix felt like being in a cinema due to the sound, but most of the movies didn't play on the whole screen... Any apps available on the store were available... Which sounds great, but because of not having touchscreen capability it was infuriating using the touchpad because is not precise and the games didn't work at all and felt like a very bad experience... I tried adding a Bluetooth keyboard, a PS5 controller and still didn't work properly... so I ended up selling the device and only used the screen when I was reversing, or to switch off the AC from the menu because there's no physical button in the car (I have some friends which don't like AC), or during winter to use the wiper defrost, sometimes my other half to change radio stations... Other than that I kept the map showing on the full screen and avoided using it, most of the controls have buttons somewhere... Personally I didn't like the infotainment system from Lexus because it felt outdated. I had previously the IS300h from 2014 and almost everything was exactly the same, even the quality of the reversing camera hasn't changed... But once you have the car you start forgetting about these things and really like the way it drives, its reliability, best MPG in its class, comfortable, quiet... Then you find out that it can be easily stolen, its value drops and in the worst case it does get stolen... so instead of thinking about the infotainment system you end up stressing about the car's value or how to keep it safe... maybe I went too far, but it's the sad reality.

I was doing some research regarding 3rd party immobilizer for PHEV cars, and I stumbled upon this: https://youtube.com/@IKARkeyless4go?si=CCVTDMncaBx5fUZc This is a YouTube channel where they advertise devices for stealing cars, Toyota and Lexus included. I noticed that they have a video on the device (JBL speaker) used to steal a Toyota/Lexus... The guy is a bit slow to do the demonstration, but he just wants to prove that this device can do it:

This reply from Lexus gets me ... they had quite a few chances of advising me (or anyone else) about theft rising on these models, they are aware, but obviously will never admit it. I wish there was a way to find all the people affected (Lexus and Toyota) and take them to court... Almost 2 months later I'm still waiting for a settlement payment which made me lose about £8.500 in 1 year of ownership, plus the fact that the insurance doesn't cover extra costs... a week before the car was stolen I did a full service, tires, wipers, MOT... costing almost £1.500... so yes, almost 10k down... plus when I purchased the car I was "lucky" to buy it almost 4.4k under the market value (according to Autotrader)... Plus my insurance premium will be up for the next 5 years... 😠 Sorry for the rant, but felt the need to say it...

I wish mine was one of them... Missing my ES...

Forget about key cloning. CAN theft is what you should be worried. My car was stolen 2 weeks ago... If you want to still find the car the next morning make sure you fit an immobilizer and a tracking system, but damage will still be done... read the thread about CAN BUS theft! The administrators from this website mixed all conversations about all people discussing about their stolen ES so it might be very difficult to read or understand...

Do you have a link or a picture with the article? That sounds about right... I'm 1 million % sure that Lexus is aware of this and they won't admit it until is too late...

I was waiting to see your post regarding the sale... I'm happy that you finally let it go. At least you still had a car to sell compared to others, including me... I was kind of expecting the replies you've got from the dealers, but at least you found a good one in the end. I might need to make a post regarding the refund of a service plan, as I have no car to service so I'm just curious how easy will this be. I've sent them an email and waiting for a reply. Mondeo is a good car and I'm sure you won't need to worry about car theft too soon... Did you copy/paste from the insurance claim? 🙂 My time to move on will follow once the claim is over and I won't be looking back. That means that they know but they won't admit it... and all Lexus and Toyota are subject to this vulnerability, no matter what model it is.

If anyone is interested in the device used to steal our cars, I found this article and it has all details: https://kentindell.github.io/2023/04/03/can-injection/ So far my car is still missing, is 2 weeks now and I don't think I'll ever find it. In case your car was stolen from London or around, try looking for it in the area from Barking all the way to Grays because it seems that there's no CCTV around and many cars are being left to "cool down" before they are shipped abroad, the location is quite close to the river and docks for easy shipping. My neighbours car was stolen this Tuesday from around Kingston and was found Friday morning in Rainham on a small road.

I had exactly the same experience when the car was around 20k and only happened once, did another 35k and didn't happen again. Maybe it was a random glitch...

It's not only the economy which is affecting the current value of the cars, is also the fact that more and more are being stolen and people avoid buying them or try to get rid of them creating surplus on the market which increases depreciation. When I bought my last Lexus I was told by the sales representative that they avoid getting Lexus in their stock due to being really hard to sell and they end up making a loss, so whenever they to get one the price will be lower then in other places so they can sell it fast and make a profit, small but still a profit, at least this was the case or what I was told when I bought it. I bought it from a car supermarket, they only had the car I bought in stock from Lexus and it was a "bargain" due to being over 4k undervalued compared to similar cars with exactly the same age and specs. The car was in perfect condition and I drove it about 50k until it got stolen. Other than that never had any issues...

Message towards the admins of this page: Why did you end up merging the conversations about our stolen Lexus ES? I understand that these are similar issues, but different stories with different outcomes which I was following, and I'm sure other people too. We have something to learn from every thread. By merging the conversations you have created confusion because all conversations are mixed (these are sorted by date and time), extremely hard to read and follow, nothing makes sense, plus the title makes a new member feel like this is only to do with the Takumi version (misleading). This should be changed to "WARNING LEXUS THEFT - CAN method" (or something similar) and be pinned to all Lexus forums at the top. People will be more interested to know that their car can be easily stolen than fixing a rattle or something else that is fixable. I know that this might not be the case, but this feels like it was made on purpose to make the reader skip reading because the stories are hard to read, and don't make sense. For example: - one was stolen having the Disklock steering wheel protector, which should be the best. We learned that is better than other ones but it can still be removed, and it helps as a deterrent. - one was tried to be stolen, but the owner had a MetaTrak S5 Plus with the tag, which helped in not having the car stolen. We learned that it definitely helps as a deterrent, but damage to the car will still be done and the repair can last quite some time or be very costly, about £6.000, and the insurance premium will go up with every claim even if this is a non-fault. - one was tried to be stolen but the owner fitted an immobilizer and a tracking system, was 3 times repaired (wiring loom and bumper replacement), and 4th time the thieves also cut all the seats plus needed the normal repair (wiring loom and bumper replacement). This one I found out from a group on Facebook. - most of the people relied on the brand Lexus and had no idea that it could be stolen so easily, ended up without a car. We learned that GAP insurance is well recommended. - maybe more... Overall we are learning to adapt, and is hard for most of us because we love the brand, but we feel like we are being left out. Lexus could have done something to make us aware, and not only us from this forum but all Lexus owners (Toyota included). The way we adapt is by moving away from the brand... which is sad and not beneficial for Lexus, you are losing customers, you are losing money, you are losing us. I've added also a few pictures with some posts about stolen Lexus cars from a Facebook group, but this is just one of them, there are many groups to be found related to stolen cars depending on the region, some people post on local groups, some use X (Twitter), some people don't use social media, and so on... It's sad that our cars were and are stolen, but this is the reality. I'll try to keep you posted in case anything exciting happens related to my stolen car... but I feel discouraged to continue posting because other people have different stories mixed in the same thread, and I don't want to break the line... P.S. Yesterday on my way home I saw a Lexus ES on a driveway, and felt the need to inform the owner about stolen Lexus cars. The car didn't seem like it had anything fitted (theft prevention) so I knocked on the door, I've let the owner know about this issue so he can prepare. The owner was very happy to know this even if it wasn't what he wanted to hear about his car. Felt good... 🙂

Is it just me or has someone just merged the threads about stolen ES cars? Now everything is mixed and messages might not make sense... 😡

JLR admited thay have a flaw in the system and trying to fix it from their pocket, maybe it's not the best system, but at least they are trying. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-12774935/Jaguar-Land-Rover-older-models-Range-Rover-security-tech-keyless-theft.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton Lexus does nothing but loose it's customers, not even a theft prevention leaflet or email. I know it happens to all car manufacturers, but at least try to give the head's up because they know that these cars are vulnerable and the number of stolen Lexus (or Toyota) are on the rise. I trusted Lexus, owned 2 of their cars, but now my trust is broken.

On 11/25/2023 at 4:13 PM, DrShockr said: Really sorry to hear that you had to go through this a 2nd time and I hope it will get sorted soon without major consequences in your insurance premium. Just wanted to ask how long did it take for the insurance company to make the payment 1st time? I'm in the same boat and wanted to know if the payment you received was accurate, to the car's value at the date which was stolen. Next time get a tracking system and immobilizer, keep the steering wheel lock as an extra deterrent. But keep in mind that you will suffer the consequences again in case they try to steal it and they will fail, damage will be done. I've made a longer post in the thread Another ES Stolen...

I posted by mistake... I had to make and edit and now should all the information required... Please check my edited post above. Thank you!

Thank you for the messages and support. I just wanted to bring some updates... so far nothing, the car is still stolen... last night I got a bit hopeful as an article from BBC was saying that a thief was caught in Grays and had a Lexus, but it was an NX300h... full article here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-67526914.amp Also wanted to add an interesting article from JLR: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-12774935/Jaguar-Land-Rover-older-models-Range-Rover-security-tech-keyless-theft.html?fbclid=IwAR0Rv7IF9K0aUeL1lxHn3vtFL-klUjEnpLSYPWDvMbFZkdoHafAtDDyvsWw JLR is doing something about their theft issue, maybe is not the perfect solution, but at least they are trying, they admit they have a problem and are trying to fix it. The thing that annoys me the most is that Lexus could have done an awareness leaflet (email) for every person buying, owning, servicing, or anything to do with having a car from them or using a service they offer, saying that they are aware of the increased numbers of Lexus (or Toyota) being stolen via CAN method and encourage the use or fitting of extra deterrents (steering wheel lock, immobilizer, tracker...), this way people can are aware and prepare. I was servicing my car at Lexus every few months, so they had plenty of opportunities to make me aware. I'm not referring only to me, other people don't use forums or they trust the brand too much to think that this can happen to them, or maybe they think that the car is bulletproof against theft or they don't use the internet to keep up to date, maybe other reasons... Lexus (and Toyota) are losing customers because of this, I won't be buying another Lexus, and if my car is recovered I will sell it straight away... I'm still hopeful... but I'm aware of the fact that even if I'm adding extra deterrents to keep it from being stolen the thieves will still try to steal it and damage will be done every single time... to replace the cable and front bumper is around 6K... In the last week, I got in touch with quite a few people who were in similar positions, Lexus owners... if their stolen car didn't have a tracking system or immobilizer it was never recovered... if they had a tracking system or immobilizer then they were left with the car, but damaged... one person had 4 attempts and after being repaired 3 times (bumper and wiring loom, which takes a few weeks for parts to be delivered and fitted, insurance premium goes up) the 4th time the thieves decided to cut all seats... so far everyone which had their car stolen or vandalized had moved away from Lexus... just by curiosity, try to go to a Lexus dealer and ask if they want your car... they might say that their stock is full... more and more people are realising the hard way that this is not a great car to own because of theft... other than that is amazing, reliable, fuel-efficient... I know that not everyone will agree with me, but I do hope that people are being informed more by the manufacturers... It's a game of cat and mouse, thieves are always finding new ways of stealing, but the manufacturers can make a difference by at least keeping their customers informed and aware... Sorry for the long post, but I do hope this will be read and shared with other Lexus (or Toyota owners)... and I do hope that they are heading in the right direction, maybe trying to fix the problem like JLR... maybe other manufacturers... Have a great day and I'll keep you updated if anything exciting happens....

Just wanted to add a quick update... Toyota has followed up with an email in which they confirm that the car has been fitted with an embedded SIM, therefore there is a possibility that the vehicle can be tracked... they are only waiting for the police to request the tracking... I've sent another email to update the police... quite a few days passed and chances of finding it are dropping fast, by now the car might have been shipped to another country or dismantled for parts... I know that if the car doesn't have any power, then it can't be tracked... but maybe the location where the car was taken might give them away... I know is a long shot, but I'm still hopeful...