I would like to bring to the attention of this community and the manufacturers (if they are looking at this thread) a hazard that could potentially screw up your drive.

In more poor stricken countries, especially Indonesia and apparently Nicaragua (according to my friend), thieves go about looking for Lexus RXs to steal their side mirrors, to resell for money. This is apparently because the RX is a popular car (and maybe it's so easy to steal them without breaking it). So we are sitting ducks in traffic.

The process to steal one mirror is less than 5 seconds, not kidding, it's that easy to dislodge it from the housing.

(I am so annoyed that i have knocked down one guy, who still got away with one side!!!) The solution to this is to engrave the mirrors with your registration number as such they cannot resell. Otherwise, may lexus please design a mirror that break if it is tried to be removed? Or are there any aftermarket safety parts for the mirrors? :'(

 

I was at a nice restaurant in Indonesia and ordered pheasant under glass.
I noticed a sign on the wall that said 'Watch Your Hat and Coat'.

So, I'm watching my hat and coat and somebody steals my pheasant!

 

Thanks for the laugh, Raoul.

Juliusw, I'm sorry to hear about losing one of the side view mirrors to a thief. I believe there's been a few incidents here as well. Replacement mirrors are painfully expensive and only sold as a complete housing. I don't know of any aftermarket safety parts. Lexus did make one for the 2RX when headlights were being stolen. I saw an RX that lost both headlights. Now that was scary to look at. Maybe you can talk to your dealer about the problem. They must be aware of it and could have some recommendations. Good luck.

 

Would that really help? The thief won't know it's engraved, and an unscrupulous buyer probably won't care.

 

What a crazy problem you have to deal with...

How about adding some sort of security cable or u-lock to your mirrors? =P

 

So the way it works here, there are some blackmarket vendors who buys the stolen mirrors. If you engrave the mirror, the vendors will not buy it, cause then, the buyers will know it was a stolen, and people will know that you are a cheap lexus driver, who refuse to buy mirrors from authorised dealers, very un-lexus-ish. But if you think about it, if you are victim, won't you not want to fuel the trade that led to your sufferings? Anyway, it works... Mine hasn't been stolen ever since i got it engraved. Or alternatively i've heard of some people buying mirrors of Innovas.

 

Yeah. i was thinking of lining the inside of the housing with some spikes, better if it is rusted iron filings... since we dont usually stick our finger in there. LOL! Cable may just work, especially if you fasten it in a way, that it breaks the mirror if tugged. But nah, don't want a thief anywhere near my car. I may just kill someone the next time it happens....

 

Apparently this is the real deal in South Africa

 

But how does a thief know that it's engraved before they rip it off? Do they actually take the time to look for an engraving?

 

Usually the VIN is etched right on the mirror itself as low as possible and not on the mirror housing. So you can't help but see the VIN when you look in the mirror.