Resistt

I live in a sketchy area and my girlfriend parked her car in an empty lot, usually a cop sits there, but clearly not last night. All of her windows were down, which led us to question that we may have left them down, but no way we did that and her driver side door showed clear signs of forced entry so that was definitely how they got in. She says that her windows don't work unless the car is on so how did the person that broke in manage to lower all of the windows?

Everything was rummaged through, she had some jewelery and her birth certificate in the car, but as of now she doesn't think anything is missing, so its just really weird to us.

NVAKeith

iTrader: (1)

What were the signs of forced entry?

The RX has a feature that you can open all the windows by holding down the unlock button on the key fob or by turning and holding the key in the unlock position in the driver door lock cylinder.

If the breakin involved the driver door handle, maybe they somehow activated the auto down feature of the lock cylinder.

I've inadvertently opened all the windows when other stuff presses on RX key in my pocket.

Resistt

The driver door handle was all jacked up, the cover for it was under the car and a part of the cylinder was on the ground. The exposed keyhole was pretty crooked and I could see a spring and stuff hanging out.

I think what you said is exactly what happened. Seems like a pretty crappy feature to have.

mylexbaby

I'm sorry the break-in occurred to your GFs car.

The feature of lowering all windows allows for a quick airing out of the car, like on a very hot day.

takeshi74

It's very handy down here -- especially at this time of the year. The feature didn't allow them to break in. They would have gotten in with or without all down.

NVAKeith

iTrader: (1)

Yup, once they broke the lock cylinder, the car was unlocked and factory alarm disarmed before the windows went down.

I believe the all windows down feature is part of the Lexus customizable settings. A dealer may be able to disable it.

Resistt

Pretty much. Thanks everyone for the information!

mandyfig

It is good that the damage was not as extensive. However just wondering why the Birth Certificate was in the car? They could have taken a picture of it and I am sorry to say that stolen identity is a much worse nightmare. I would freeze her credit just to be sure.

RX3302004

Agreed, if the birth certificate was stolen that's a key piece of ID theft. Depending on your state you can freeze your credit (no one including you gets a new line of credit without a code), or other options. At least check her credit in a few weeks to see if there's anything new such as an account or address she doesn't recognize.

jakenbake

The window feature is pretty standard on any luxury car and a lot of upgraded non-luxury car brands. But regardless of that feature, if the thief can get the key cylinder off, they can unlock the doors and disable the alarm by making the BCM think that the key was used to unlock the car. The Key cylinder is only held in place by one screw (again pretty standard on any car) but the metal is pretty soft and strips easily. It doesn't surprise me that a little force would pop it right off and allow the thieves to disable the alarm and unlock the doors.

In short, if a thief wants in your car, they are going to get in your car. It doesn't matter what features it has or if it has an alarm. The best way to not have a break in is to keep the inside clean so when the thief looks in the window, they won't be enticed. Also, never use the tonneau cover in the cargo area. My cop buddy says that they might as well be called "come break into this car, covers" because it makes the thief think there is something good under there.