Lexus allowed my car to be remote-started by someone else; could have killed my fam.
01-15-15, 12:13 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Lexus allowed my car to be remote-started by someone else; could have killed my fam.
Beautiful but deadly.
My brand new 2015 Lexus RC350 F-Sport was running this morning in the garage when we came down for breakfast at 630am.
I don't know how long it had been running, but the garage was thick with CO. I immediately opened the garage door, ran over to open the car door and turn it off, but the doors were locked.
I quickly hunted for my key fob and unlocked and shut the car down. I still have a headache even though I was trying not to breathe the fumes.
How could this happen?
have been on the phone with Lexus back and forth today and apparently, someone at Lexus assigned someone else to my car (with my VIN!) via their remote start phone app (Enform) and that party thought they were remote-starting THEIR car when in fact they were starting my car, in my garage.
No one died this time, but I'm not sure I can safely even put the car in the garage knowing this is now possible. Not surprisingly, Lexus has been less than helpful on the phone so far today, and they seem clueless as to how this is even possible.
Lexus brought the Enform representative in on the conversation (Channelle L. is all I know) and she had the audacity to tell me I had to prove I own the vehicle because they don't have me listed. This is where I went sort of ape-**** on them. This brand new Lexus could have killed my entire family, including my 6 week old son who sleeps in the room right above my garage. Somehow, some way, Enform seems to have "lost" my information from November 5th to now.
I bought the car November 5th (first one owned in Colorado, yay...), and used the Enform remote start app a handful of times during the first 2 months of ownership. So clearly they knew who I was THEN. I have the app on my phone (and anyone who has set this up knows you have to go through a very lengthy authentication process via your SOS button in the car) and everything was fine. To be clear, I'm the ONLY one who has ever had the app or the ability to remote-start my car.
Then, around January 2nd, I received an email from Enform that a vehicle had been "deleted" from my account. I ignored the email, didn't really care, and I assumed I had like a 60 day trial with that app anyway, and that the vehicle was deleted due to the trial running out. I typically ignore emails like that. No big deal I figured, and I was not going to call Enform subscription services to renew the account.
Fast forward to today, and apparently this was a big deal. Apparently Lexus/Enform did something that you would think would not be possible due to authentication, due to VIN's being used, etc. etc. -but they managed to anyway.
To use the remote start app, you have to enter a LOT of information, including a password multiple times. They (Lexus) did confirm with me this morning that they see "someone else" was listed as the subscriber on my account. Which of course, should be impossible, since I am the only person who owns the car or is listed anywhere.
This is how technology can kill you.
My brand new 2015 Lexus RC350 F-Sport was running this morning in the garage when we came down for breakfast at 630am.
I don't know how long it had been running, but the garage was thick with CO. I immediately opened the garage door, ran over to open the car door and turn it off, but the doors were locked.
I quickly hunted for my key fob and unlocked and shut the car down. I still have a headache even though I was trying not to breathe the fumes.
How could this happen?
have been on the phone with Lexus back and forth today and apparently, someone at Lexus assigned someone else to my car (with my VIN!) via their remote start phone app (Enform) and that party thought they were remote-starting THEIR car when in fact they were starting my car, in my garage.
No one died this time, but I'm not sure I can safely even put the car in the garage knowing this is now possible. Not surprisingly, Lexus has been less than helpful on the phone so far today, and they seem clueless as to how this is even possible.
Lexus brought the Enform representative in on the conversation (Channelle L. is all I know) and she had the audacity to tell me I had to prove I own the vehicle because they don't have me listed. This is where I went sort of ape-**** on them. This brand new Lexus could have killed my entire family, including my 6 week old son who sleeps in the room right above my garage. Somehow, some way, Enform seems to have "lost" my information from November 5th to now.
I bought the car November 5th (first one owned in Colorado, yay...), and used the Enform remote start app a handful of times during the first 2 months of ownership. So clearly they knew who I was THEN. I have the app on my phone (and anyone who has set this up knows you have to go through a very lengthy authentication process via your SOS button in the car) and everything was fine. To be clear, I'm the ONLY one who has ever had the app or the ability to remote-start my car.
Then, around January 2nd, I received an email from Enform that a vehicle had been "deleted" from my account. I ignored the email, didn't really care, and I assumed I had like a 60 day trial with that app anyway, and that the vehicle was deleted due to the trial running out. I typically ignore emails like that. No big deal I figured, and I was not going to call Enform subscription services to renew the account.
Fast forward to today, and apparently this was a big deal. Apparently Lexus/Enform did something that you would think would not be possible due to authentication, due to VIN's being used, etc. etc. -but they managed to anyway.
To use the remote start app, you have to enter a LOT of information, including a password multiple times. They (Lexus) did confirm with me this morning that they see "someone else" was listed as the subscriber on my account. Which of course, should be impossible, since I am the only person who owns the car or is listed anywhere.
This is how technology can kill you.
01-15-15, 01:07 PM
#3
Rookie
Thread Starter
Right--and you know they DO in fact have a record of me, of course.
This is insane, I've never experienced anything like it. I never in a million years would have guessed my brand new Lexus would randomly start in my garage, causing a potentially fatal event for my family.
And I can't believe the degree to which the lady at Enform (Channelle L.) had no concern for the situation and told me that I need to prove I own the car in the first place.
I also can't believe how long it is taking for anyone at Lexus to call me back with an answer of some kind as to how/why this happened and how it is not going to happen again. It's now 2pm and I notified them at 7am of the issue. If I were Lexus, I would make figuring this out my number 1 mission in life at this point.
This is insane, I've never experienced anything like it. I never in a million years would have guessed my brand new Lexus would randomly start in my garage, causing a potentially fatal event for my family.
And I can't believe the degree to which the lady at Enform (Channelle L.) had no concern for the situation and told me that I need to prove I own the car in the first place.
I also can't believe how long it is taking for anyone at Lexus to call me back with an answer of some kind as to how/why this happened and how it is not going to happen again. It's now 2pm and I notified them at 7am of the issue. If I were Lexus, I would make figuring this out my number 1 mission in life at this point.
01-15-15, 01:58 PM
#4
CO is colorless and odorless but that's not the point, at least you were smart enough to know how serious the situation was. Probably should have called the fire department, they have CO monitors and probably fans for ventilation for sure. I wonder what Lexus would have said to that if had called the fire department. If the situation is not fixed, better leave your car outside tonight. You and your family are VERY lucky that nothing happened.
Beautiful but deadly.
My brand new 2015 Lexus RC350 F-Sport was running this morning in the garage when we came down for breakfast at 630am.
I don't know how long it had been running, but the garage was thick with CO. I immediately opened the garage door, ran over to open the car door and turn it off, but the doors were locked.
I quickly hunted for my key fob and unlocked and shut the car down. I still have a headache even though I was trying not to breathe the fumes.
How could this happen?
have been on the phone with Lexus back and forth today and apparently, someone at Lexus assigned someone else to my car (with my VIN!) via their remote start phone app (Enform) and that party thought they were remote-starting THEIR car when in fact they were starting my car, in my garage.
No one died this time, but I'm not sure I can safely even put the car in the garage knowing this is now possible. Not surprisingly, Lexus has been less than helpful on the phone so far today, and they seem clueless as to how this is even possible.
Lexus brought the Enform representative in on the conversation (Channelle L. is all I know) and she had the audacity to tell me I had to prove I own the vehicle because they don't have me listed. This is where I went sort of ape-**** on them. This brand new Lexus could have killed my entire family, including my 6 week old son who sleeps in the room right above my garage. Somehow, some way, Enform seems to have "lost" my information from November 5th to now.
I bought the car November 5th (first one owned in Colorado, yay...), and used the Enform remote start app a handful of times during the first 2 months of ownership. So clearly they knew who I was THEN. I have the app on my phone (and anyone who has set this up knows you have to go through a very lengthy authentication process via your SOS button in the car) and everything was fine. To be clear, I'm the ONLY one who has ever had the app or the ability to remote-start my car.
Then, around January 2nd, I received an email from Enform that a vehicle had been "deleted" from my account. I ignored the email, didn't really care, and I assumed I had like a 60 day trial with that app anyway, and that the vehicle was deleted due to the trial running out. I typically ignore emails like that. No big deal I figured, and I was not going to call Enform subscription services to renew the account.
Fast forward to today, and apparently this was a big deal. Apparently Lexus/Enform did something that you would think would not be possible due to authentication, due to VIN's being used, etc. etc. -but they managed to anyway.
To use the remote start app, you have to enter a LOT of information, including a password multiple times. They (Lexus) did confirm with me this morning that they see "someone else" was listed as the subscriber on my account. Which of course, should be impossible, since I am the only person who owns the car or is listed anywhere.
This is how technology can kill you.
My brand new 2015 Lexus RC350 F-Sport was running this morning in the garage when we came down for breakfast at 630am.
I don't know how long it had been running, but the garage was thick with CO. I immediately opened the garage door, ran over to open the car door and turn it off, but the doors were locked.
I quickly hunted for my key fob and unlocked and shut the car down. I still have a headache even though I was trying not to breathe the fumes.
How could this happen?
have been on the phone with Lexus back and forth today and apparently, someone at Lexus assigned someone else to my car (with my VIN!) via their remote start phone app (Enform) and that party thought they were remote-starting THEIR car when in fact they were starting my car, in my garage.
No one died this time, but I'm not sure I can safely even put the car in the garage knowing this is now possible. Not surprisingly, Lexus has been less than helpful on the phone so far today, and they seem clueless as to how this is even possible.
Lexus brought the Enform representative in on the conversation (Channelle L. is all I know) and she had the audacity to tell me I had to prove I own the vehicle because they don't have me listed. This is where I went sort of ape-**** on them. This brand new Lexus could have killed my entire family, including my 6 week old son who sleeps in the room right above my garage. Somehow, some way, Enform seems to have "lost" my information from November 5th to now.
I bought the car November 5th (first one owned in Colorado, yay...), and used the Enform remote start app a handful of times during the first 2 months of ownership. So clearly they knew who I was THEN. I have the app on my phone (and anyone who has set this up knows you have to go through a very lengthy authentication process via your SOS button in the car) and everything was fine. To be clear, I'm the ONLY one who has ever had the app or the ability to remote-start my car.
Then, around January 2nd, I received an email from Enform that a vehicle had been "deleted" from my account. I ignored the email, didn't really care, and I assumed I had like a 60 day trial with that app anyway, and that the vehicle was deleted due to the trial running out. I typically ignore emails like that. No big deal I figured, and I was not going to call Enform subscription services to renew the account.
Fast forward to today, and apparently this was a big deal. Apparently Lexus/Enform did something that you would think would not be possible due to authentication, due to VIN's being used, etc. etc. -but they managed to anyway.
To use the remote start app, you have to enter a LOT of information, including a password multiple times. They (Lexus) did confirm with me this morning that they see "someone else" was listed as the subscriber on my account. Which of course, should be impossible, since I am the only person who owns the car or is listed anywhere.
This is how technology can kill you.
01-15-15, 02:17 PM
#5
Rookie
Thread Starter
CO is colorless and odorless but that's not the point, at least you were smart enough to know how serious the situation was. Probably should have called the fire department, they have CO monitors and probably fans for ventilation for sure. I wonder what Lexus would have said to that if had called the fire department. If the situation is not fixed, better leave your car outside tonight. You and your family are VERY lucky that nothing happened.
I have CO detectors in my house. But it does not take much CO to wipe out a 6 week old. In fact, a lot of people who get wiped out by CO gas did not know it was happening.
Last edited by Infrared; 01-15-15 at 02:29 PM.
01-15-15, 02:53 PM
#6
Rookie
Thread Starter
Update:
Just talked to a very nice and professional Customer Case Manager at Lexus named Jeanine. She confirmed that there was in fact a situation that caused all of my information to be deleted from the Enform account and that another user was in fact assigned.
She confirmed that this other user thought they were remote-starting their own car this morning, but in fact they were starting my car. Again, I cannot overstate how dangerous this situation can be. I'm sure pretty much all Lexus' are in garages, so they all potentially could be remote started by someone else.
Jeanine at Lexus assured me they have disabled the remote start capability on my RC350 until this is all resolved.
Make sure you have working CO detectors.
Just talked to a very nice and professional Customer Case Manager at Lexus named Jeanine. She confirmed that there was in fact a situation that caused all of my information to be deleted from the Enform account and that another user was in fact assigned.
She confirmed that this other user thought they were remote-starting their own car this morning, but in fact they were starting my car. Again, I cannot overstate how dangerous this situation can be. I'm sure pretty much all Lexus' are in garages, so they all potentially could be remote started by someone else.
Jeanine at Lexus assured me they have disabled the remote start capability on my RC350 until this is all resolved.
Make sure you have working CO detectors.
01-15-15, 03:05 PM
#7
I not trying to upset you or anything because I know you had a very close call today but in your OP you said it was thick with CO. I understand the garage will not be clear when running a car with the doors closed. I suggested the Fire Department because even though you were smart enough to know CO was an issue, the thing you did not know was the O2 content of the garage, depending on how tight your garage is , the level could have been low enough to cause an issue for you. That's all im saying, good luck getting the issue squared away.
Run your car in the garage with the doors shut for a couple hours and let me know if you can "see" anything. Yes I know it's colorless and odorless, but I guarantee you that you will see a very distorted, almost foggy appearance. Let me know what you find out.
I have CO detectors in my house. But it does not take much CO to wipe out a 6 week old. In fact, a lot of people who get wiped out by CO gas did not know it was happening.
I have CO detectors in my house. But it does not take much CO to wipe out a 6 week old. In fact, a lot of people who get wiped out by CO gas did not know it was happening.
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01-15-15, 03:12 PM
#8
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Thread Starter
Sorry if I over-reacted, but yeah it has not been a great day. I do stand by my "thick with CO" statement. I think if you come across that situation you'll know what I mean. It is difficult to describe a gas that is colorless and odorless, but in a high-enough concentration environment it is very apparent. Much like if you see gas fumes distorting your field of view as they emanate from a nozzle.
We actually did get the fire department out, but all readings matched my CO detectors at 0ppm.
I think the real issue here that this could even happen in the first place. If it happened to me, it will probably happen to someone else.
We actually did get the fire department out, but all readings matched my CO detectors at 0ppm.
I think the real issue here that this could even happen in the first place. If it happened to me, it will probably happen to someone else.
01-15-15, 04:47 PM
#10
Glad it all worked out for you, I'll bet Lexus could tell you what time the car was started through their records. Be thankful the other car owner didn't work the graveyard shift or the car could have running for hours if he started it at 11pm or so. The irony is Im sure the other car owner was on the phone first thing complaining how the system does work worth a crap when he found his car cold and not running.
Sorry if I over-reacted, but yeah it has not been a great day. I do stand by my "thick with CO" statement. I think if you come across that situation you'll know what I mean. It is difficult to describe a gas that is colorless and odorless, but in a high-enough concentration environment it is very apparent. Much like if you see gas fumes distorting your field of view as they emanate from a nozzle.
We actually did get the fire department out, but all readings matched my CO detectors at 0ppm.
I think the real issue here that this could even happen in the first place. If it happened to me, it will probably happen to someone else.
We actually did get the fire department out, but all readings matched my CO detectors at 0ppm.
I think the real issue here that this could even happen in the first place. If it happened to me, it will probably happen to someone else.
01-15-15, 05:48 PM
#11
Rookie
Thread Starter
Yes I think that's what happened. But the rub is that my Enform app was working for me. Then it stopped working for me... Then apparently it started working for someone else, on my car.
01-15-15, 06:42 PM
#12
My thoughts are assuming you setup your LexusDrivers.com account yourself for your Enform Apps that should work no doubt, meanwhile the dealership which set up the other part of Enform (Subscriber Connect, Destination Assist and Enform Remote) is the culprit. Maybe your VIN was applied to the 'other guy'. It's unfortunate this happened, though I have to imagine a rarity. Perhaps give it a few days for it to get settled by Jeanine and the Lexus team, but certainly try pressing your SOS for the SC make sure that works. Use DA make sure that works, and of course the Remote and Apps too. GL sir.
01-15-15, 07:11 PM
#13
Glad to hear that you and family are safe. One thing I don't understand is the car suppose to shut itself off after 10 minutes running after the remote start. I know in a closed space even with 10 minutes, it is still dangerous to be around.
01-16-15, 01:48 PM
#15
This makes it a really bad idea to use Enform as remote start, using internet connection as a way to trigger remote start. My Nissan Altima does not use internet connection, it works like a typical car remote control with range so there's no messing up of VIN registration, especially if someone at Lexus corporate was entering Enform registration by hand.