2022 RAV4 stolen

[JDK-SL7]

Interesting article on Autocar yesterday on current car theft endemic which goes into good detail on our canbus issue which some here might find interesting: 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/consumer/keyless-car-thefts

 

 

 

 

 

[nlee]

I was talking to friends in Sheffield over the weekend and they were saying they were aware of a spate of thefts of Toyota CHRs in the city. Similar reports that keys were secure in Faraday boxes, etc. so sound like this may be Canbus attacks also. Also that some had been recovered the next day left in a side street or industrial unit.

I didn't think the magic box reportedly being used to steal RAV4s was coded for CHRs so possibly another variant in use by the gangs. They weren't aware of where the access to the Canbus was being made and whether it was the same place as the RAV4.

[FROSTYBALLS]

35 minutes ago, nlee said:

I was talking to friends in Sheffield over the weekend and they were saying they were aware of a spate of thefts of Toyota CHRs in the city. Similar reports that keys were secure in Faraday boxes, etc. so sound like this may be Canbus attacks also. Also that some had been recovered the next day left in a side street or industrial unit.

I didn't think the magic box reportedly being used to steal RAV4s was coded for CHRs so possibly another variant in use by the gangs. They weren't aware of where the access to the Canbus was being made and whether it was the same place as the RAV4.

See topic posted in April:

 

[ELD1970]

I had the Ghost 2 installed a week ago which gives me peace of mind. I’m finding it a bit hit or miss to disarm it when entering the button combination. It seems like I have to enter it quite quickly and even then it can take a couple of attempts to get the acknowledgment. Anyone else with the Ghost experiencing this or is just me?

[Renquist]

21 hours ago, ELD1970 said:

I had the Ghost 2 installed a week ago which gives me peace of mind. I’m finding it a bit hit or miss to disarm it when entering the button combination. It seems like I have to enter it quite quickly and even then it can take a couple of attempts to get the acknowledgment. Anyone else with the Ghost experiencing this or is just me?

Ohh Err warning

Mine likes it slow 😵
I have to take my time, I was told to not rush with the combination, it only fails if I go to fast (or forget to do it)

[ELD1970]

My newly installed Ghost is stopping the petrol engine kick in when the traction Battery is low…in heavy traffic! 
Guessing either a faulty Ghost unit or an installation issue. Can anyone with a Ghost on their RAV4 hybrid 2020 onwards confirm it all works ok on their car?

[tfc]

Mick, I had a problem on my Corolla with Scorpion and Ghost , with the Scorpion I had no throttle when he tested it so he swapped it for a Ghost and that didn't work, when stopped in traffic or just stationary it would not charge the hybrid Battery then all the warning lights would come on so had that removed and it's back to standard.

The dash warning was telling me to put it into Park which it was already. 

 

[Radoslaw]

Quote

My newly installed Ghost is stopping the petrol engine kick in when the traction battery is low…in heavy traffic! 
Guessing either a faulty Ghost unit or an installation issue. Can anyone with a Ghost on their RAV4 hybrid 2020 onwards confirm it all works ok on their car?

I had the same problem with ghost but the guy that was installing came back and reprogrammed it and its fine now. I can see you are from Essex. mine was done by auto communications

[Alan Pratt]

About 2 weeks ago a attempt was made to steal my RAV4 Hybrid from my driveway. The offside front trim panel had been pulled away in attempt to gain access to headlamp wiring. Car was due to go to dealership 3 days later to have security plates fitted to rear of headlights to prevent access to wiring (not sure how fitted). Still waiting to have modification fitted as they are still waiting for parts from Toyota. Have to pay for fitting £79 but not for parts.

[Rambler56]

CAMBUS protection plates fitted today along with the first service, just need put the stickers on the windows.  The work was fairly swift and I asked and got photographs of the installation for my records (not sure if my insurance company will give any discount, or will highlighting the reason for installation push the cost up, hmmm, answers on a postcard please).  They charged the flat fee of £70 for installation, but beware, I specifically told them the cost that Toyota had quoted for the work and I double checked the correct amount was on the invoice.

[ELD1970]

On 12/9/2023 at 7:05 AM, Radoslaw said:

I had the same problem with ghost but the guy that was installing came back and reprogrammed it and it’s fine now. I can see you are from Essex. mine was done by auto communications

The installer removed the Ghost today as it looks like the unit has an issue. He’s going to discuss it with the manufacturer.

[Rigsby]

10 hours ago, ELD1970 said:

The installer removed the Ghost today as it looks like the unit has an issue. He’s going to discuss it with the manufacturer.

One thing that that worries me a little with something that obviously needs quite a complex installation, is how / if it affects manufactures warranty.

Potentially you could have a 10 year warranty on your Toyota, but if the immobiliser malfunctioned and caused damage to the vehicles electronics, who is ultimately responsible ?

[philip42h]

17 minutes ago, Rigsby said:

One thing that that worries me a little with something that obviously needs quite a complex installation, is how / if it affects manufactures warranty.

Potentially you could have a 10 year warranty on your Toyota, but if the immobiliser malfunctioned and caused damage to the vehicles electronics, who is ultimately responsible ?

The owner would be ... Toyota isn't going to warrant Ghost nor the car's components in the presence of Ghost (for example).

On the other hand, the original warranty would continue to apply to anything and everything not impacted by the fitment of Ghost. It may well be that if an owner had an electrical / electronic issue they would need to have the immobiliser removed / deactivated before a Toyota dealer could / would even investigate the problem yet alone resolve it under warranty.

But it is the owner's choice ...

[PAISLEY1903]

That's mine done. Dropped it at 8am, collected at 10.30am.

£58.33 plus £11.67 vat for £70.00 and car all washed for me in that time too. 

[pandor83]

booked my car in for a service and to get the protection plate installed last week. But was told on the day the plate was only available to be ordered in the south. Apparently I need to wait till it's available nationally or if the west midlands becomes a hot spot. 

[robo1]

5 minutes ago, pandor83 said:

But was told on the day the plate was only available to be ordered in the south.

Strange available in Yorkshire and Scotland. Perhaps your dealer is not keen on fitting as they can only charge £70. 

[Parts-King]

1 hour ago, pandor83 said:

booked my car in for a service and to get the protection plate installed last week. But was told on the day the plate was only available to be ordered in the south. Apparently I need to wait till it's available nationally or if the west midlands becomes a hot spot. 

It's available in deepest N Wales, I smell BS, I have ordered them recently 

[Rambler56]

1 hour ago, pandor83 said:

booked my car in for a service and to get the protection plate installed last week. But was told on the day the plate was only available to be ordered in the south. Apparently I need to wait till it's available nationally or if the west midlands becomes a hot spot. 

Did you not contact Toyota customer relations in the first place and ask them to liaise directly with your dealer to have the plates fitted when your car was going in for a service, or did you just ask the service dept to source them?  My reply from ToyotaCR confirmed they had spoken to the service manager and made all the arrangements (I gave details of the service department plus tel number in my initial CRelations request) and checked prior to the service that they were aware they were fitting the plates.  

[Yugguy1970]

1 hour ago, pandor83 said:

booked my car in for a service and to get the protection plate installed last week. But was told on the day the plate was only available to be ordered in the south. Apparently I need to wait till it's available nationally or if the west midlands becomes a hot spot. 

Several of us have had it done at Listers Coventry.

[Terry10]

3 hours ago, pandor83 said:

booked my car in for a service and to get the protection plate installed last week. But was told on the day the plate was only available to be ordered in the south. Apparently I need to wait till it's available nationally or if the west midlands becomes a hot spot. 

I smell BS as well, West Midlands is already a hot spot for this I thought. Send customer service an email, bet it works for you.By the way I live in Plymouth and yes I had to educate my dealer a bit but after that they were ordered and fitted within 2 weeks. Good luck

Terry

[PAISLEY1903]

2 hours ago, Terry10 said:

I smell BS as well, West Midlands is already a hot spot for this I thought. Send customer service an email, bet it works for you.By the way I live in Plymouth and yes I had to educate my dealer a bit but after that they were ordered and fitted within 2 weeks. Good luck

Terry

Yes its BS.  I'm in Scotland and had mine fitted today. 

I emailed Toyota CS. They emailed me back the standard email and at end it asks if I want them to contact dealer.  I replied yes and 2 hours later the dealer called me to book my car in. Was simple as that really.

[pandor83]

Initally I had gone in person to the dealership, the guy said something along the lines of they're not setup to install them and it's only available in the south.

I then sent an email to toyota customer relations and within a few hrs they've spoken to the dealership and I just have to book the car in. On the day (in for a service as well), they said they couldn't get the part, it's on back order, but as a gesture of goodwill when it's in I can pay for the part and the labour is free! 

So about 10 days later I call up toyota Solihull instead (although they're the same group) they gave me the similar line, it's on back order and don't know when it'll be in, but will be £70 to install.

Just called toyota Coventry, they're going to try sort it out (likely otherside of Xmas now). If they can install it, I'll be annoyed as I'll be driving past the other two toyota dealership to get to Coventry.

I'm off to send toyota customer relations another email to register my annoyance and frustration. 

[George22]

16 minutes ago, pandor83 said:

Initally I had gone in person to the dealership, the guy said something along the lines of they're not setup to install them and it's only available in the south.

I then sent an email to toyota customer relations and within a few hrs they've spoken to the dealership and I just have to book the car in. On the day (in for a service as well), they said they couldn't get the part, it's on back order, but as a gesture of goodwill when it's in I can pay for the part and the labour is free! 

So about 10 days later I call up toyota Solihull instead (although they're the same group) they gave me the similar line, it's on back order and don't know when it'll be in, but will be £70 to install.

Just called toyota Coventry, they're going to try sort it out (likely otherside of Xmas now). If they can install it, I'll be annoyed as I'll be driving past the other two toyota dealership to get to Coventry.

I'm off to send toyota customer relations another email to register my annoyance and frustration. 

When the dealer gets the part they also get a step- by-step installation sheet telling them how to fit the plates on both the left and right sides of the car. You can also ask them to photo the install so you can have it for the insurance company if needed.

[The Lurker]

Hello Everyone, nice to meet you all, I'm new here!

I too have a RAV4 and am increasingly concerned about the ease of which it can be stolen by thieves using only their bare hands (no tools needed) and an electronic gismo plugged into the nearside headlight CANBUS port.

I have purchased Toyota and Lexus cars since the late 1990s. In that time I have owned a Corolla, a Yaris (my first ever brand new car), an IS220, a GS450, a RX350, a RX450 and now my second ever brand new car, my RAV4.

I also visit a number of Lexus Internet forums and see that a number of Lexus cars are also affected by this. The figures are alarming...

"LV [insurance company] has analysed its claims for theft of cars and says that from September 2021 to September 2023, Lexus has topped the charts with an astonishing 513 per cent rise in the numbers of claims for stolen vehicles. Toyota claims have risen 103 per cent in the same period, Hyundai claims 81 per cent and Kia 76 per cent." 

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/consumer-news/361684/uk-car-thefts-hit-all-time-high-keyless-car-tech-blame#:~:text=The Lexus RX and NX,to the LV claim analysis.

 

In their favour, according to owners on some of the Lexus forums, it appears that Lexus (who are part of Toyota - as I'm sure you are aware) are offering to fit the Vehicle Protection Plates (VPP) free of charge.

 

To my mind this makes it even more frustrating to be charged £70 by Toyota (the same company) for the privilege of helping to reduce the risk of my car being stolen.

 

For this reason I contacted Toyota CS and asked why, as it is the same company, Toyota drivers are getting discriminated against.

 

The response I received was...

 

"I understand your disappointment that there is a £70 labour charge for the Vehicle Protection Plate (VPP) to be fitted at a Toyota Centre. Both brands, Toyota and Lexus, have made separate commercial decisions and at this time, the VPP labour remains chargeable for Toyota vehicles.

The cost of the VPP part is being covered by Toyota GB but the labour charge is at the discretion of the centre and capped at £70. The VPP will be provided as a goodwill gesture, however, as there is still a charge for fitment, I do understand if you do not wish to proceed or accept this gesture."

 

I appreciate that Lexus is the premium brand and, as such, owners would expect better customer service. I also understand that Toyota is a business, and businesses are primarily focused on profit. However, it is my understanding that the Toyotas affected mainly by this are the CH-R and RAV4. Not the relatively cheaper models. For example, my car was over £40k once the extras had been added. These are not cheap vehicles with minimal profit margins.

Now I have purchased a Stop Lock Pro Elite, other, unbranded security devices and, it appears Toyota themselves are suggesting affected owners purchase an aftermarket immobiliser too!

https://mag.toyota.co.uk/car-security-advice-and-tips/comment-page-1/#comments (read through the comments section).

So Toyota are suggesting, my £40k car can only be secured if I spend another £600.

Stop Lock £60

Ghost Immobiliser £500

OBD Port Lock £40 

 

I accept that this is a game of “cat and mouse” with the thieves, and that Toyota/Lexus are not the only manufacturers facing similar issues, but would have hoped for a more customer-friendly response from Toyota. Rather than the apparent,

 “Your car has a vulnerability, we want more money to fix this issue as - after all - we have your £40k plus now, so it's not really our concern." 

 

Also, please bear in mind the on-going cost to owners. Even if my vehicle is not stolen I am expecting lower residue values when I come to sell or trade in. Who would want to buy an easy to steal car? And, of course, higher insurance premiums etc.

 

In the past, I would have made a bee-line for Toyota/Lexus and not considered other manufacturers as is evidenced from the list of my previous vehicles above.  Sadly, this is no longer the case. 

 

What is the point of a ten year warranty if the car is taken within 2 minutes...? 

 

To say I am disappointed with Toyota is an understatement.

 

 

 

[philip42h]

... then sell the car and move on to a brand that suits you better ... 😉