4RX and theft
Rookie
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 36
Likes: 19
From: Ontario
Hi - make sure to go back and read the detailed post (#101) I wrote within this thread on how to protect your RX350. I have likely spent a lot more time than most on assessing the risks and developing a reasonable defence. I put all kinds of safeguards into my own RX including a very unique protection method that I came up with on my own.
It boils down to two main attacks. FOB Relay attack and OBD port access (to create a new key).
To prevent the first, always put your key FOB to sleep after you lock your car by holding lock down then pushing unlock twice. You should see 2 flashes followed by another 2 flashes. That stops the relay attack. You can additionally put the FOB into a faraday pouch but be careful as some have proven to be RF leaky. I did my own testing and found it to be true. I keep my own FOBs in a used tea tin which creates a tight RF seal. And it was no cost.
To stop the second risk, you need to prevent OBD port access. Port locks do not seem to be very effective. You can find numerous YouTube videos of them being defeated. The thieves can likely bypass most. There are also dummy OBD cables for sale on eBay. I believe the thieves will just follow the cable to the hidden real OBD port if they suspect it’s use.
To address this, I replaced the original OBD port connector with a completely different type of electrical connector that the thieves would not be able to connect to or figure out. Not without a lot of time and some brains, both of which they do not
have. I used a 20 pin computer ATX (male) connector. Then I made up an OBD (original) to ATX (female) jumper cable. When I or Lexus service need access to the OBD port I just plug in my jumper cable. It took me $10 for the ATX connectors and about an hour’s worth of time to solder and build the cable. Overall it was easy. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this you could always get a stereo or alarm installer to do it for you.
You could also install an aftermarket alarm system with immobilizer. They work well to prevent vehicle theft but they are expensive and sometimes finicky to operate.
Or you could just remove two fuses such as the fuel Injector or fuel pump ones from the engine bay fuse box. Works well but a bit of a pain to do each time.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions or need any help. Good luck with whatever approach you use.
It boils down to two main attacks. FOB Relay attack and OBD port access (to create a new key).
To prevent the first, always put your key FOB to sleep after you lock your car by holding lock down then pushing unlock twice. You should see 2 flashes followed by another 2 flashes. That stops the relay attack. You can additionally put the FOB into a faraday pouch but be careful as some have proven to be RF leaky. I did my own testing and found it to be true. I keep my own FOBs in a used tea tin which creates a tight RF seal. And it was no cost.
To stop the second risk, you need to prevent OBD port access. Port locks do not seem to be very effective. You can find numerous YouTube videos of them being defeated. The thieves can likely bypass most. There are also dummy OBD cables for sale on eBay. I believe the thieves will just follow the cable to the hidden real OBD port if they suspect it’s use.
To address this, I replaced the original OBD port connector with a completely different type of electrical connector that the thieves would not be able to connect to or figure out. Not without a lot of time and some brains, both of which they do not
have. I used a 20 pin computer ATX (male) connector. Then I made up an OBD (original) to ATX (female) jumper cable. When I or Lexus service need access to the OBD port I just plug in my jumper cable. It took me $10 for the ATX connectors and about an hour’s worth of time to solder and build the cable. Overall it was easy. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this you could always get a stereo or alarm installer to do it for you.
You could also install an aftermarket alarm system with immobilizer. They work well to prevent vehicle theft but they are expensive and sometimes finicky to operate.
Or you could just remove two fuses such as the fuel Injector or fuel pump ones from the engine bay fuse box. Works well but a bit of a pain to do each time.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions or need any help. Good luck with whatever approach you use.
Last edited by CL1000; Jul 15, 2021 at 07:38 PM.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 4
Likes: 2
From: ON
Hi - make sure to go back and read the detailed post (#101) I wrote within this thread on how to protect your RX350. I have likely spent a lot more time than most on assessing the risks and developing a reasonable defence. I put all kinds of safeguards into my own RX including a very unique protection method that I came up with on my own.
It boils down to two main attacks. FOB Relay attack and OBD port access (to create a new key).
To prevent the first, always put your key FOB to sleep after you lock your car by holding lock down then pushing unlock twice. You should see 2 flashes followed by another 2 flashes. That stops the relay attack. You can additionally put the FOB into a faraday pouch but be careful as some have proven to be RF leaky. I did my own testing and found it to be true. I keep my own FOBs in a used tea tin which creates a tight RF seal. And it was no cost.
To stop the second risk, you need to prevent OBD port access. Port locks do not seem to be very effective. You can find numerous YouTube videos of them being defeated. The thieves can likely bypass most. There are also dummy OBD cables for sale on eBay. I believe the thieves will just follow the cable to the hidden real OBD port if they suspect it’s use.
To address this, I replaced the original OBD port connector with a completely different type of electrical connector that the thieves would not be able to connect to or figure out. Not without a lot of time and some brains, both of which they do not
have. I used a 20 pin computer ATX (male) connector. Then I made up an OBD (original) to ATX (female) jumper cable. When I or Lexus service need access to the OBD port I just plug in my jumper cable. It took me $10 for the ATX connectors and about an hour’s worth of time to solder and build the cable. Overall it was easy. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this you could always get a stereo or alarm installer to do it for you.
You could also install an aftermarket alarm system with immobilizer. They work well to prevent vehicle theft but they are expensive and sometimes finicky to operate.
Or you could just remove two fuses such as the fuel Injector or fuel pump ones from the engine bay fuse box. Works well but a bit of a pain to do each time.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions or need any help. Good luck with whatever approach you use.
It boils down to two main attacks. FOB Relay attack and OBD port access (to create a new key).
To prevent the first, always put your key FOB to sleep after you lock your car by holding lock down then pushing unlock twice. You should see 2 flashes followed by another 2 flashes. That stops the relay attack. You can additionally put the FOB into a faraday pouch but be careful as some have proven to be RF leaky. I did my own testing and found it to be true. I keep my own FOBs in a used tea tin which creates a tight RF seal. And it was no cost.
To stop the second risk, you need to prevent OBD port access. Port locks do not seem to be very effective. You can find numerous YouTube videos of them being defeated. The thieves can likely bypass most. There are also dummy OBD cables for sale on eBay. I believe the thieves will just follow the cable to the hidden real OBD port if they suspect it’s use.
To address this, I replaced the original OBD port connector with a completely different type of electrical connector that the thieves would not be able to connect to or figure out. Not without a lot of time and some brains, both of which they do not
have. I used a 20 pin computer ATX (male) connector. Then I made up an OBD (original) to ATX (female) jumper cable. When I or Lexus service need access to the OBD port I just plug in my jumper cable. It took me $10 for the ATX connectors and about an hour’s worth of time to solder and build the cable. Overall it was easy. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this you could always get a stereo or alarm installer to do it for you.
You could also install an aftermarket alarm system with immobilizer. They work well to prevent vehicle theft but they are expensive and sometimes finicky to operate.
Or you could just remove two fuses such as the fuel Injector or fuel pump ones from the engine bay fuse box. Works well but a bit of a pain to do each time.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions or need any help. Good luck with whatever approach you use.
First of all, thank you very much for taking the time to respond with a very easy and logical plan to follow. Thanks to this thread/community, I put both the fobs to sleep comfortably in a faraday pouch after a couple of tests (good so far). My main concern is the thieves this time around seem to have a master key (inside job Toyota? who knows). Based on conversations with my neighbours, the culprits did not have any problems gaining access to the vehicle and one confirmed they had both their fobs in a Faraday box. This brings us to the OBD port - I love your creative way of addressing the challenge and will reach out to you via DM.
I was looking at https://canada.desertcart.com/produc...al-basic-black which I would think is fairly foolproof - any experience/feedback on this? It's a bit hard to procure since most of these are coming from Europe and charging a lease payment for shipping.
My concern with most other methods is that the OBD port is still accessible to do the intruder who knows what they are doing. Completely agree with you on OBD port blocker hacks - which is why I am not too convinced by OBD Blocker - https://www.obdblocker.com/. All these would still allow a fairly competent thief to follow the wires and gain access to the port in a matter of minutes (based on the installation videos).
I am going to a few performance and light/sound shops to look into aftermarket security solutions: alarm, GPS tracker, kill switch, etc. how would you rate these if I have to pick and choose for budget/convenience.
I don't see myself messing with the fuses for eg. as my technical competence is fairly limited and will most likely hire someone for your approach. Here is what I'm planning to do:
1. Fobs put to bed every night in a Faraday pouch (Check)
2. Swap OBD port based on CL1000 OR Add a port blocker/ATX blocker (if available) for an additional measure such as https://canada.desertcart.com/produc...al-basic-black or the one shown in this video:
4. GPS Tracker
5. Hidden Kill switch (room for manual errors here though)
7. Switch to disable fuel injection? Not sure this is a thing but will find out.
Thanks again and apologies if I was repetitive.
Rusty
Rookie
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 36
Likes: 19
From: Ontario
Hi Rusty - no problem. I see you are in Ontario. I am in Ottawa. Always interested in this topic if you come up with new ideas.
Don't forget to purchase and use a double-prong yellow The Club 3000. It won't stop the thieves, but it makes a lot of work for them since they must undertake 2 cuts instead of just one 1. It is very visible so it might mean the difference of the thieves leaving yours alone and instead of going after a non-Club protected RX350.
I can send you a picture of the fuse box and fuses to take out. It is very simple and you can certainly do it in about 1 minute. If you want. To improve this defence a little bit more, you take a second set of fuses and drill out the fuse link with a small drill bit and put these in instead of the originals. The thieves will not want to start trying to figure out electrical issues. They will just move onto the next unprotected Lexus.
Craig
Don't forget to purchase and use a double-prong yellow The Club 3000. It won't stop the thieves, but it makes a lot of work for them since they must undertake 2 cuts instead of just one 1. It is very visible so it might mean the difference of the thieves leaving yours alone and instead of going after a non-Club protected RX350.
I can send you a picture of the fuse box and fuses to take out. It is very simple and you can certainly do it in about 1 minute. If you want. To improve this defence a little bit more, you take a second set of fuses and drill out the fuse link with a small drill bit and put these in instead of the originals. The thieves will not want to start trying to figure out electrical issues. They will just move onto the next unprotected Lexus.
Craig
Rookie
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 36
Likes: 19
From: Ontario
While the OBD lock might slow down the thieves, it is always possible to break the plastic on the OBD connector and detach it from the lock, on any OBD lock. Also, if you ever watch the Lockpicking Lawyer on YouTube, he recently posted a video on how he easily defeated these types of locks using a bit of sandpaper and needle-nose pliers.
I researched a lot of aftermarket alarms and was hoping to install the Ghost II CAN-bus immobilizer, but wasted a ton of time trying to first buy it from the Canadian dealer and have a local installer put it in. I finally gave up. But I do believe in these aftermarket alarms/immobilizers.
Kill-switches can be very effective. But cost a bit to install and can be time-consuming to use. I think of the fuse-removal technique as a form of kill-switch but at no cost. I would not use it as my primary defence, It will disable fuel delivery. Thus the thief might get a few feet down the road where the vehicle will die.
GPS devices work very well but are expensive to install and maintain the monthly fees. And they won't stop the theft in the first place. I recently experimented with adding an Apple Airtag ($30) hidden in my RX350 as a form of after-theft tracking, after I removed the internal speaker so it doesn't alert the thieves. It works very well. It is routinely picked up by neighbors walking their dogs past my house (with cell phone in hand), unbeknown to them. This would give me 8-32 hours of silent potential tracking after theft to find the vehicle. I could always get a head start by just going to the Montreal seaport, walking around with my cell phone tracking of the Airtag, and finding my Lexus in a container before it heads out to India or Nigeria. :>)
I researched a lot of aftermarket alarms and was hoping to install the Ghost II CAN-bus immobilizer, but wasted a ton of time trying to first buy it from the Canadian dealer and have a local installer put it in. I finally gave up. But I do believe in these aftermarket alarms/immobilizers.
Kill-switches can be very effective. But cost a bit to install and can be time-consuming to use. I think of the fuse-removal technique as a form of kill-switch but at no cost. I would not use it as my primary defence, It will disable fuel delivery. Thus the thief might get a few feet down the road where the vehicle will die.
GPS devices work very well but are expensive to install and maintain the monthly fees. And they won't stop the theft in the first place. I recently experimented with adding an Apple Airtag ($30) hidden in my RX350 as a form of after-theft tracking, after I removed the internal speaker so it doesn't alert the thieves. It works very well. It is routinely picked up by neighbors walking their dogs past my house (with cell phone in hand), unbeknown to them. This would give me 8-32 hours of silent potential tracking after theft to find the vehicle. I could always get a head start by just going to the Montreal seaport, walking around with my cell phone tracking of the Airtag, and finding my Lexus in a container before it heads out to India or Nigeria. :>)
Last edited by CL1000; Jul 16, 2021 at 05:19 AM.
Pit Crew
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 114
Likes: 74
From: Ohio
Key Fob Shut Off Feature
I discovered that my 2021 RX350 has a feature which is designed to save the fob's battery. While depressing the lock button, press the unlock button twice. A red light on the fob will blink 4 times as confirmation the fob is no longer sending out a signal. To reactivate the fob, press any button.
But there are two other more handy applications for this feature:
1) If your car is parked outside, it prevents thieves from capturing the fob's code while it's still in your house.
Check out this video:
and
2) While hand washing your car, every time you pass the sponge over a door handle the car will lock or unlock. For 2016-2019 models, the rear hatch may be activated to open by passing the sponge over the Lexus logo. Deactivating the fob eliminates this. Hope this helps. FYI.
But there are two other more handy applications for this feature:
1) If your car is parked outside, it prevents thieves from capturing the fob's code while it's still in your house.
Check out this video:
2) While hand washing your car, every time you pass the sponge over a door handle the car will lock or unlock. For 2016-2019 models, the rear hatch may be activated to open by passing the sponge over the Lexus logo. Deactivating the fob eliminates this. Hope this helps. FYI.
Last edited by NotAFiat; Jul 19, 2022 at 03:54 PM. Reason: To make more readable.
Advanced
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 557
Likes: 53
From: Ontario
Anti-theft
I just picked up some tires for my 2022 Rx from a lady who had her Rx stolen from their driveway. There are videos on here of thefts and this one was the same( through the front wheel well). I knew this would freak my wife out so , in addition to her Faraday box , i was wondering if pulling a fuse would be enough. I then found a system called IGLA pin code anti-theft system. Not sure what to think of this. It is VERY impressive and yet VERY expensive ( i know , don't say it).
Any thoughts?
What are you doing for protection now?
1. Hoping for the best
2. Faraday , foil or similar
3. IGLA pin code or similar
4. Pulling fuses
Any thoughts?
What are you doing for protection now?
1. Hoping for the best
2. Faraday , foil or similar
3. IGLA pin code or similar
4. Pulling fuses
Last edited by kitlz; Jul 16, 2023 at 03:02 PM.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,941
Likes: 581
From: New York
I just picked up some tires for my 2022 Rx from a lady who had her Rx stolen from their driveway. There are videos on here of thefts and this one was the same( through the front wheel well). I knew this would freak my wife out so , in addition to her Faraday box , i was wondering if pulling a fuse would be enough. I then found a system called IGLA pin code anti-theft system. Not sure what to think of this. It is VERY impressive and yet VERY expensive ( i know , don't say it).
Any thoughts?
What are you doing for protection now?
1. Hoping for the best
2. Faraday , foil or similar
3. IGLA pin code or similar
4. Pulling fuses
Any thoughts?
What are you doing for protection now?
1. Hoping for the best
2. Faraday , foil or similar
3. IGLA pin code or similar
4. Pulling fuses
3rd Gear
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 3
Likes: 1
From: Quebec
Protect your RX
I am in Canada and I own a 2022 RX350 Executive (80K value). On September 16, at 5:30 AM they stole it from the street in front of the house.
-- They broke the left rear window and went in through the window so not to start the alarm.
-- I had a Club on it and they cut the steering wheel.
-- They broke and took apart the electronic box behind the mirror.
-- They removed the side of the console (between the front seats) and cut the wires under.
-- They also pulled down the back of the ceiling and cut the wires connecting to the fin antenna.
All this to disconnect the GPS and the cellular connection so the car cannot be found.
Police found it the same day and it is now with the dealer for over two months: damage in excess of 30K. Dealer tells me it will be as new but believe me, you don't need that.
I am writing all this as I learned something so you guys learn too what to do and what not to do:
-- Use a tracking system. We have the TAG in Canada and they don't touch the cars as they can be traced immediately.
-- There is and OBD II plug under the dash on the driver side which they use to start the car in 30 seconds and they don't even need your keys. This plug can be locked (disabled) and you can find solutions online but the dealer here is also offering this for about 80$. You can also buy a window label stating the plug is locked.
-- Any other mechanical solutions will not help. They have no respect for the integrity of the cars. Police showed me a pic of a car that was driven with a Denver sandal until the wheel exploded.
-- Dealer has now 7 cars like mine that were vandalized in different ways. On one of them they just ripped off the fin antenna.
-- They broke the left rear window and went in through the window so not to start the alarm.
-- I had a Club on it and they cut the steering wheel.
-- They broke and took apart the electronic box behind the mirror.
-- They removed the side of the console (between the front seats) and cut the wires under.
-- They also pulled down the back of the ceiling and cut the wires connecting to the fin antenna.
All this to disconnect the GPS and the cellular connection so the car cannot be found.
Police found it the same day and it is now with the dealer for over two months: damage in excess of 30K. Dealer tells me it will be as new but believe me, you don't need that.
I am writing all this as I learned something so you guys learn too what to do and what not to do:
-- Use a tracking system. We have the TAG in Canada and they don't touch the cars as they can be traced immediately.
-- There is and OBD II plug under the dash on the driver side which they use to start the car in 30 seconds and they don't even need your keys. This plug can be locked (disabled) and you can find solutions online but the dealer here is also offering this for about 80$. You can also buy a window label stating the plug is locked.
-- Any other mechanical solutions will not help. They have no respect for the integrity of the cars. Police showed me a pic of a car that was driven with a Denver sandal until the wheel exploded.
-- Dealer has now 7 cars like mine that were vandalized in different ways. On one of them they just ripped off the fin antenna.
