Hi all,

I have a friend that had their RX350 stolen this past summer. Last night a different friend got theirs stolen right from their front driveway.

Are these vehicles highly targeted and easy to steal?
Anyone get their car stolen?

I'm somewhat paranoid but at least at home I'm parked in a garage. Should we all be using Faraday pouches to prevent thieves stealing our car key RF? Should we use steering wheel locks?

The thought of coming out from the mall or work to find the vehicle missing is heart wrenching.

Share your ideas and experience.

 

Lacking any other evidence of how they got in and drove it away, I'm led to believe they are somehow "cloning" the signal going between the fob and the car. That way they clone their own fob and just drive away. Faraday bags are a good idea but what I've learned to do is to disable the fob if I'm parking the car either for a period of time or if I think I'm in a bad area. I merely lock the car, take the fob and press and hold the "lock" button while pressing the "unlock" button twice and wait till I see the red led light on the fob blink 4 times, then release the lock button. That disables the fob, preventing any signals transmitting from it. When you want to drive it, just press the unlock button on the fob and you're good to go.
First couple of times I did this, it seemed to take a moment, now I can do it in about 3 seconds without giving it a second thought!

 

FYI, the only Lexus listed is the RX450h, on the Lowest risk list.

Vehicles with the highest claim frequencies for whole-vehicle theft (Source:Highway Loss Data Institute)

2016-18 model years

Vehicle size/typeRelative claim frequency (100 = average)

Dodge Charger HEMILarge 4-door car544

Dodge Challenger SRT HellcatLarge 2-door car529

Infiniti Q50 4-doorMidsize luxury car525

Infiniti QX80Large luxury SUV422

GMC Sierra 1500 crew cabLarge 4-door pickup393

Dodge ChallengerLarge 2-door car358

Nissan MaximaMidsize 4-door car351

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cabLarge 4-door pickup320

Chrysler 300 4WDLarge 4-door car293

Mercedes-Benz S-Class 4-door long-wheelbase 4WDVery large luxury car291

Dodge Charger 4WDLarge 4-door car274

Dodge Durango 4WDLarge SUV271

Land Rover Range RoverLarge luxury SUV271

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab 4WDLarge 4-door pickup269

Dodge ChargerLarge 4-door car266

Nissan Titan crew cab short bedLarge 4-door pickup250

Chevrolet Silverado 1500Large 4-door pickup248

GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab 4WDLarge 4-door pickup241

Audi A7 4WDLarge luxury car239

Infiniti QX80 4WDLarge luxury SUV236

Vehicles with the lowest claim frequencies for whole-vehicle theft

2016-18 model years

Vehicle size/typeRelative claim frequency (100 = average)

BMW 3-series 4-doorMidsize luxury car4

Tesla Model S 4WDLarge luxury car11

Tesla Model X 4WDLarge luxury SUV12

Chevrolet Equinox 4WDSmall SUV15

Buick Encore 4WDSmall luxury SUV15

Subaru Legacy with EyeSightMidsize 4-door car17

GMC AcadiaMidsize SUV19

Subaru Forester with EyeSightSmall SUV20

GMC Acadia 4WDMidsize SUV20

Volkswagen New BeetleSmall 2-door car21

BMW 3 series 4-door 4WDMidsize luxury car21

Subaru Outback with EyeSightMidsize station wagon22

BMW X5Midsize luxury SUV22

Subaru CrosstrekSmall station wagon25

Chevrolet TraverseMidsize SUV26

Subaru Crosstrek with EyeSightSmall station wagon26

Lexus RX 450h 4WDMidsize luxury SUV28

Honda OdysseyMinivan28

Mazda MX-5 MiataMini sports car30

Cadillac XT5Midsize luxury SUV30

 

What Revenuer said plus the Faraday pouch if you're really worried, but the latter is redundant.

 

My friends Highlander was stolen off his driveway in Toronto. The security video showed two guys in the car with a lap top and one guy by the front door probably boosting signal. It seems like they had the laptop to program a new key
or something along those lines. They were outside for about 25-30 mins. It was during that spree where they had stolen 20-30 in a month. I think it was a group of Montreal hatians working for the Montreal mob sending cars oversees.
the cop told my friend that Lexus RX and Highlanders are targeted and may even be because of how many they can fit in a container. Just speculation but an interesting angle.

 

Interesting story. All the more reason to protect (faraday) or disable the fob.

 

Do these fob sleeves sold by Lexus block the signal and protect the fob to be hacked?

 

The Lexus gloves only protect the fob from scratches and the like. Electronic signals easily pass through it. You need a specialized pouch to prevent hacking. Check Amazon.com.

 

I disable the FOB it takes only 4 seconds and I can sleep better

 

Me too...…..!

 

Good thing they don't or none of our cars would ever start

 

Apparently the RX350 is the most stolen luxury vehicle in Ontario... I found this out when I was shopping for auto insurance - the RX costs a couple hundred more than any other SUV to insure (including Porsche).

Thieves are using signal boosters to steal cars where owners are leaving their key fobs close to the entrance of their homes. Lexus and Toyotas in particular are in high demand overseas (Africa) so those are stolen the most.

Other than parking in a closed garage whenever possible - what kind of security systems do you guys have on your RX's? Do you just use the stock system or did you upgrade to an after-market system? Anyone still use the Club or did that die in the 90s lol

 

When necessary, I disable the fob. Simple and it's in the manual.

 

I have heard anecdotal reports of the RX being more expensive to insure in Ontario, but from my experience, it was actually cheaper than a few comparable vehicles such as the Acura MDX...

That said, the pre-refresh 4RXs had one big problem: not only were they easy to steal, you couldn't track them once they were stolen! At least with the refresh, Lexus Canada decided to finally install Enform Safety Connect on the RX so you can track your vehicle if it's stolen. Although, even Enform doesn't do a good job of tracking because the reps are based in the United States: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...ed-since-april

I've been safe so far (knock on wood), but I do try to take as much precaution as I can: I have a condo garage so that gives it another layer of security, I almost always ask to park in the garage or have another vehicle park behind my RX when I'm visiting family and friends in the suburbs, I have a second key fob that I disable at all times, and if I'm parking in more sketch areas and I know I'll be nearby, I'll disable my main key fob.

 

Do you guys think having the Club is effective at all as a visual deterrent?

Do people even still use that thing? I used it on my old Honda Civic back in the early 2000s hah