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Just saw this on the HP, and say what you will about car thieves, but at least the ones in Canada have good taste? Maybe they're polite too—who knows. But it was interesting to see the GX on a list full of burly Ford trucks. Guess all these jackers know about its prowess off road.
1 2015 LEXUS GX460 4DR AWD SUV
2 2007 FORD F350 SD 4WD PU
3 2006 FORD F350 SD 4WD PU
4 2005 FORD F350 SD 4WD PU
5 2001 FORD F350 SD 4WD PU
6 2003 FORD F350 SD 4WD PU
7 2004 FORD F350 SD 4WD PU
8 2016 TOYOTA 4RUNNER 4DR 4WD SUV
9 2002 FORD F350 SD 4WD PU
10 2006 FORD F250 SD 4WD PU
Any thought to ease of quickly shipping these outside of Canada to foreign 3rd world market? Surely these guys know the quick ways to contain any electronic beacons OEM or 3rd party for recovery. More than likely they are using some container sized faraday cages.
Owner alleges Lexus Canada won't take any responsibility for SUV's security system
By Tania Mehta, Sneha Kulkarni, CBC News Posted: Jun 17, 2016 7:12 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 18, 2016 2:56 PM ET
Suzanne Clapp's Lexus GX 460 was stolen and recovered twice, devaluing it by nearly 50%. (Sneha Kulkarni/CBC)18 sharesFacebookTwitterRedditGoogleShareEmailPassing through Suzanne Clapp's Rosedale neighbourhood, you see a Lexus parked in nearly every other driveway.
Although she says there have been other thefts in the area, Clapp has been especially unlucky. Her new Lexus GX 460 was stolen and recovered — not once — but twice.
'Your car's gone again'
"We were frankly in disbelief, my husband woke up and said 'Your car's gone again,'" she said.
The luxury SUV, which retails for roughly $60,000 was first stolen last November — just a month after Clapp bought it. Its owner says the car was locked, that she had the keys and there was no glass left on her driveway.
Toronto police recovered the vehicle soon afterwards, as part of an investigation into a major auto theft ring in the Greater Toronto Area targeting SUVs.
Investigators found Clapp's SUV in a shipping container, bound for international resale, and was returned to her on Christmas Eve.
By April, it had disappeared again.
"Once is one thing, you think, 'It happens to people. It's bad luck,'" she said. "A second time you got to start thinking it has something to do with the vehicle."
Clapp said she expected that she was paying for a high-end security system, given the vehicle's price point.
But after filing a complaint with her dealership she said she was told by Lexus Canada that the firm takes no responsibility for stolen vehicles.
Suzanne Clapp has had her luxury Lexus SUV stolen twice and isn't happy with the response from Lexus Canada (James Morrison/CBC)
CBC News reached out to Lexus Canada and the Insurance Bureau of Canada but has not heard back from either.
In addition to losing her sense of security, Clapp's Lexus has devalued by almost 50 per cent, given the cost of insurance deductibles.
A recent CBC Marketplace investigation found that the theft of keyless entry vehicles is on the rise. Clapp says she is looking to Lexus to address the security issue.
"We felt victimized and I want other people to know because this could be a problem for them."
Those Canadians have good taste! Just kidding.
This goes to show that it is important that you are not in the close (about 60ft./20m) of someone else if/when you operate your remote control. If someone is close enough to you when you operate your remote, they can read the digital code of the remote and duplicate it at a later time - when they want to take your vehicle for a drive.
Think about it, if you wanted to steal an Audi, you would sit in the parking lot of an Audi dealer (where you know that mostly Audi owners will be coming & going). When someone comes out to their Audi, you read their remote code. You follow them home, emulate their code, and take their car for a drive.
The sophistication of the security system in the vehicle doesn't matter at all because the security system is turned off with the remote code (just as it is when you enter your car).
Bottom line, look around before you operate your remote. If anyone is sitting in a car nearby, beware. Also, rather than opening your doors with the buttons on your remote, simply touch your door handle. (Touching the door handle causes a different signal (than pushing a button) to be sent.
If you park vehicle outside you should put key inside house in something that will shield it. Some of the example I’ve seen occur outside in your driveway with an exchange between your keys inside, the compromise device and your vehicle.
These exploits don’t even require active use of FOB.
Any thought to ease of quickly shipping these outside of Canada to foreign 3rd world market? Surely these guys know the quick ways to contain any electronic beacons OEM or 3rd party for recovery. More than likely they are using some container sized faraday cages.
Wouldn't a shipping container work pretty well to insulate them from an electronic beacon?
My brother in law had his 17 Mercedes C350 stolen in Toronto also and it was found bound to be shipped overseas with all interior stripped now reading this looks like it's a major problem.
If you park vehicle outside you should put key inside house in something that will shield it. Some of the example I’ve seen occur outside in your driveway with an exchange between your keys inside, the compromise device and your vehicle.
These exploits don’t even require active use of FOB.
Here's an example where a Mercedes is stolen using a repeater or signal booster. They place a device against the house which attempts to pick up the signal of your keyfob. That device then amplifies the signal and the car thinks the key is in close proximity.
Ottawa police say the rate of luxury car thefts in the city has jumped fivefold versus last year, going from a total 12 in 2017; to 34 vehicles this year so far.
The thieves seem to be targeting Lexuses and high-end Toyota models, specifically the Toyota 4Runner and Highlander and Lexus RX and GX Series, police told CTV News Ottawa.
“According to police, it’s a ring of thieves, international thieves,” CTV quoted Marnie Bennett, who had her Lexus stolen two months ago. “And they take them over to Montreal and then ship them over to Africa and the Middle East.”
The thieves nabbed her car on Father’s Day weekend, along with neighbour Gail Downey’s 2017 Lexus. Fifty days later, Downey’s 2018 replacement Lexus, as well as her husband’s 2016 Lexus, were together swiped from her driveway, too.
Her 2017 was recovered in Laval, Quebec a few weeks after it was stolen.
Downey says encasing the cars’ key fobs in protective guards didn’t seem to help, suggesting the thieves may be using a “relay box” and a laptop to digitally trick the keys into starting the vehicle remotely.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, last year the most stolen vehicle in the country was the 2015 Lexus GX 460.
Security experts are warning owners of Toyota and Lexus vehicles not to rely on their automobile's anti-theft system following a rash of brazen thefts across the Ottawa region.
Since April, criminals have made off with more than 100 of the Japanese-brand vehicles from Petawawa to Casselman, Ont., many of them apparently destined for resale in Africa and the Middle East.
Toyota 4Runners, Highlanders, Tacoma pickup trucks and Lexus SUVs worth around $60,000 each are driven right out of their owners' driveways under cover of darkness, and the thieves never touch the keys. All are made by Toyota.Julie Rollwagen was recently awakened by the distinct roar of her 2015 Lexus GX460's engine coming to life in her driveway in Barrhaven, south of Ottawa. Her bedside clock showed 4:24 a.m. ET.The sound was a selling feature at the Lexus dealership, Rollwagen said. "They'll say, 'Oh, one of the cool features is that it roars when you start it.'"
But by the time she'd rolled out of bed, made her way to the garage and opened the door, her vehicle had roared off into the night with a thief at the wheel.
another option is to install a remote relay to the fuel or ign. can also add a secondary rfid system. these options are inexpensive, and require some workarounds if using remote start.
12-08-17 | 05:43 PM
GX is one of Canada's most stolen cars for 2017
Suzanne Clapp's Lexus GX 460 was stolen and recovered twice, devaluing it by nearly 50%. (Sneha Kulkarni/CBC)18 shares
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EmailPassing through Suzanne Clapp's Rosedale neighbourhood, you see a Lexus parked in nearly every other driveway.
Suzanne Clapp has had her luxury Lexus SUV stolen twice and isn't happy with the response from Lexus Canada (James Morrison/CBC)
