ripe911

I used to have a 1990 Mercury Cougar. I remember my mechanic showing me by removing the ignition cylinder how easy it was to start the car and get away. I really didn't care about that car much since it was only worth $3,000 at the time.

Now, I have a 96 ES and its always garaged but sometimes I have to park in a questionable neighborhood. I just use a regular club and I have an alarm on the car in addition to the factory one. Does anyone know how easy it is to steal this car. Does the key have a "chip" in it?

LexFather

Pretty hard.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

If the ES has the engine immobilization system (transponder in key, reciever in dash) then it would be pretty hard if the dirty rat didn't have the key or key card.

Dema

It does I think. You can't start engine using a wallet key without a card. But it's passive I think since has no batteries.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

The key cards for the 02 and 03 ES will start the car. The chip is imbedded in the plastic. I don't know if this was available for older model ES's, nor do I know if it is an upgrade. The card does have to be programmed same as the valet key.

When the lojack was installed in my ES the lojack guy even said that the ES is very very hard to steal. I then asked him to tell me why I was paying him $595.00? He told me what I already knew....for the peace of mind.

I sleep at night.

sj

meZoom!

its not hard if they pick it up and take it away. I'd (sorta) rather get an anti-vandalism theft. Those happen more often and make me as mad.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

Mine is a narrow frame of mind. I usually think of the guy who breaks in with a screwdriver, jams it in the key cylinder and then drives off with the alarm ringing. At least the coded keys will deter this. I never really thought of it, but a professional would pull up in a ramp truck just cart the Lex right away.

Well, if they want it that bad, then they better break it up into lots of little pieces, I won't want it back.


Mabye a car size Kryptonite lock (like for my bike). Hell of a thing to carry in your back pocket, though.

sj

njes300

i think the 98 es and up have the chip in the key . My 97 does not . My car got broken into . The bodyshop said these cars are very easy to get into . Takes like 2 secs they pry the handle a bit and wham . The stock alarm is weak .

meZoom!

stock alarm IS weak. When my car got broken into, they smahsed the windows and apparently alarm didnt go off. or maybe it did go off, but no one heard(?) cuz it was in an underground garage in century city.

George Hsieh

I think the factory alarm only will go off if you are stealing a car and you open the door,, I think that is why.

steviej

iTrader: (1)

The stock alarm should go off if you open the door from the inside or unlock the door with the inside door lock mechanism after the alarm has been set (ie reaching through a broken window). There is a test sequence you can do to mimic a broken window to see if your alarm is actually working.

My guess is that today's soceity hears so many standard car alarms set off by wind, thunder, little bumps/taps in the parking lot, and that no one pays attention to them.

My car has lojack for recovery only. I was interested in this new feature, it will page you if someone tries to break in. I didn't want to pay the extra ducats.

sj

zexen

i hear lojack was really good. if they actually do get away with your car (not likely), there's a tracker on your car that they can trace and hunt down. it's really pretty cool. i'd pay for it if i got a new car. but i'm waiting to get a 2-way pager alarm added on to the stock alarm. it'd make me feel more secure knowing i have more security than the stock thing.

NoLexNoSex

it's actually really easy...(bet you didnt know!)...what you do is...

Scout a real fancy place where they do valet parking...
wear similar clothing...
saunter into booth...
look for Lex emblem keys...
find car....
open....
drive out...
get paint changed in a shady garage...
add old license plate from other totalled car...

ANY voila! A new lexus for you!

steviej

iTrader: (1)

some say lojack is more for the insurance companies, but I like the peace of mind. Its not available in all states but it is working its way. The receiver is in sleep mode. When the police activate their transmitter, the receiver responds with a signal that is then tracked. The car is usually found within and hour or two of transmitting the signal.

In MA the mode of theft is to steal the car and then leave it in a crowded parking lot or mall, or busy street for two to three days. When the thief returns to the car:
1. If it is gone, the car had lojack.
2. If it is still there, the car doesn't have lojack or the owner still doesn't know it is missing. They then proceed with the theft, chop shop, and sale of little pieces parts.

So if you do the valet thing and the car had lojack, be ready to do some explaining to the blue coats for the car, change in color and not to mention, the unregistered tags. I think that would be grand theft auto and 10-20.

Lojack is supposed to help recover the car before any major damage is done. I'm just a lojack owner, I'm not the club president.