My daughter has a 2024 Lexus TX 500h FSport that someone attempted to steal outside of Toronto last night. So much for the kids summer vacation to Niagara falls Two guys in masks and gloves broke a rear window tore into the front passenger dash area and took off unsuccessfully after 4 minutes. They unplugged several connectors but cut one or two wires. After plugging the harness back together the car starts and locks but it still has a Hybrid error. Wondering if anyone with a wiring harness schematic can tell me what devices are on that side of the dash area and if anyone can identify the cut wire. It looks like a small harness with a white and possibly a blue lead?

 

That is EXACTLY what happened to me. Very similar damage and style. I let insurance handle it. I wind up towing my to Buffulo Lexus. They handled everything. Make sure main ICU is not compromized and there is no extra key for your car.

 

Wow that's interesting. My daughters car was one of three Lexus TXs in the lot . Why they choose it we don't know it was relatively close to the main entrance. They already had it towed to Buffalo Lexus as well. Can you explain more about the potential compromised ICU and extra key. Is this a break they create a new key and come back and steal the car at a later date? How long did the repair take at Buffalo Lexus? Any issues with hybrid functions after the repair?

 

My TX is not a hybrid, just a regular gas model, so I didn’t have the issue with the hybrid system. They did splice a couple of wires, but the people at Lexus told me they scanned the ECU and did not find any extra keys programmed to the vehicle, which is good. I think the fact that they couldn’t steal it right away means they probably did not manage to code an extra key to the car.

Just like in your situation, four cars were hit the same night in Niagara Falls while we were there.

I didn’t have any major issues with the repair at Buffalo Lexus, as they call it, Northtown Lexus, except that the parts took a really long time to arrive. I did have to file a supplemental claim once I got my car back for a small dent on the trunk, which I believe happened while the vehicle was being transported. I had pictures of the car when it was loaded onto the tow truck, and later there was a small dent on the trunk that had not been there before. I also had to file a claim because the replacement door panel had not arrived and they initially attempted to repair the original one.

That being said, they were very receptive and provided the necessary documentation to the insurance company for the parts they could not properly repair or replace due to the lack of available parts. The new glove compartment they installed did not come with a lock, but honestly, I couldn’t care less about that. It’s not visible anyway. It would also be fair to say that the new glove compartment they received from Lexus already had a couple of minor scratches on the edges when it arrived, but those are not visible once installed because of the glove compartment’s placement.

I would say that communication with the Lexus dealership in Buffalo was kind of average—sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Like I said, though, in the end my car was restored properly and is back in pristine condition.

Needless to say, when all of this happened, the vehicle only had about 2,500 miles on the clock.

 

Thanks for the additional info.

 

Can I reasonably presume, since these are failed thefts, that the CAN bus in the TX has been updated to be more secure than previous vulnerable Lexus models?

 

This raises another question: Doesn't the TX come with a factory alarm? If so, could an aftermarket alarm system or part of one be added for more security?

 

My understanding is that a CAN bus attack on the earlier Lexus models had the car thinking the fob was present so the factory alarm would shut off and the vehicle would drive as if it had the key. Some of the thieves would actually program their "new" key at the same time, which is why the original owner's keys would no longer work. The Canadian attempts detailed above sound like the attempts on older models, where they break a rear window (because the front windows are laminated) and then climb through the window without opening the door, which would set off the alarm. Once inside they go for the wiring where they can plug in their module to reprogram the Controller Area Network (CAN). There were many options to defeat such an attack, but they had to operate outside the car's original computer system as the car is led to believe the proper key is present.

I am hopeful Lexus hardened the CAN system to prevent such attacks, but that won't stop thieves who don't know that their old methods will no longer work on newer vehicles - leaving folks with a torn up Lexus the thief couldn't drive away. If the TX is susceptible to a CAN bus attack, I may need to install a hidden kill switch to utilize, or pull a necessary relay or fuse, when the vehicle might be parked for a while in an at risk area (airport, etc.).

 

As a person who very recently went through exactly the same issue with an attempted theft of my Lexus TX, I can share my perspective.

After it happened, I spent quite a bit of time thinking and re-thinking different ways to further protect my vehicle and prevent something similar from happening again. After considering all the options, my conclusion was somewhat unexpected: I decided to do nothing additional.

First, in over 30 years of living in roughly the same area in US and traveling extensively throughout the East Coast from Massachusetts to Florida visiting many Metropolitan areas and staying in different hotels I have never experienced anything like this before. Granted, it can happen anywhere, but statistically it has been an extremely rare event in my personal experience.

Second, many of the anti-theft measures people recommend, such as kill switches and aftermarket alarm systems may, and very likely will, interfere with remote functions and other features that I regularly use and enjoy. For me, that trade-off simply wasn't worth it.

Another factor is insurance. In my case, insurance covered everything. Overall, my vehicle was restored in pristine, brand new condition. Honestly, I'm not sure what is worse: having a vehicle completely torn apart and vandalized during an attempted theft, or having it stolen outright and receiving a payout that allows you to replace it. There is a financial loss and inconvenience either way, but I genuinely don't know which scenario is preferable.

Again, fortunately, in my case, everything was restored to factory condition. However, while my Lexus was being repaired, I heard some horror stories at the dealership about vehicles with dashboards completely torn apart by vandals, and repairs dragging on for months.

From what I understand, this type of crime has become a particularly significant problem in parts of Canada. Personally, it has made me much more cautious about traveling there with my vehicle in the future. At this point, I don't even want to fly over.)

 

I am with you on the hassle of additional features to secure the car.

That said, I used to pull a fuel injection relay when parking long term at the DFW airport as several associates lost cars there well before the highly publicized arrests a few years back (nearly 150 muscle cars and high end SUV's a year stolen off airport property).

If the TX is immune to the CAN bus issue, I do not feel the need to do any more.

However, if it can be easily taken by hacking into the wiring behind the dash, I will look for an easily accessible relay or fuse that will keep it from driving away. Having just obtained our 550h+ and knowing they are halting production for 2027 and making some anticipated changes, I would rather keep it and repair it since I am not sure I would be able to easily replace it and it truly is one of the few SUV's that covers our needs - fully electric day to day but capable of cross country driving once or twice a year without the hassle of trying to find charging stations between Colorado and California.

I am hopeful the two experiences discussed in this thread indicate the CAN bus vulnerability has been addressed in the TX, but still hoping to find some confirmation of that.

 

Ironically, when it happened to us, four vehicles were targeted during the same night. Based on the original post, it sounds like three additional vehicles besides his were also targeted the same night as OP.

During my own ordeal, while juggling with the damaged vehicle, rental car, and trip back to the Canada and back to United States, I personally witnessed two vehicles being towed from Canada into the United States across the bridge with broken rear glass. One TX and one Grand Highlander. From what I saw, there appeared to be a significant number of vehicles that thieves were attempting to break into and steal. However, there did not seem to be nearly as many vehicles that were actually stolen.

My wife even asked me, “What kind of thieves are they if they broke into four vehicles and didn’t manage to steal a single one?”

When I spoke with the Canadian police after the incident, they confirmed that four vehicles had been broken into and that all four appeared to have been targeted for theft. However, none of the vehicles were successfully stolen, and no vehicle thefts were reported from that location that night.

Based on that experience alone, it seems that gaining entry into these vehicles may be relatively easy for criminals, but actually stealing them appears to be much more difficult. I am certainly not an expert in vehicle electronics or anti-theft systems, so this is nothing more than my personal observation from what I experienced firsthand.

 

Yes, and the cars are shipped out of the country. TV news here have done stories and tracked down cars still with license plates on them in various parts of the world.