2022 RAV4 stolen

[Hadrian1]

12 minutes ago, forkingabout said:

 

Also see the protection plates for RAV4 now free of charge fitment mentioned more then once. 

Yes I had mine fitted shortly after I bought it.

[Rav Rob]

Mine (an early 2022 HEV and its still on my drive.. amazingly!) is going for a service this week, having the tracker fitted and the plates (for what they are worth) dealer wants to charge fitting labour (£70) but Toyota told me on the magazine comments that parts and labour are now free. Asked for email confirmation from Toyota to show the dealer. Don't Toyota communicate current policy to dealers?

[forkingabout]

2 minutes ago, Rav Rob said:

Don't Toyota communicate current policy to dealers?

They do - some dealerships will just plead ignorance then do there best to try & extract money from customers wherever possible. 

[Strangely Brown]

Popped into the dealer today to book a 5k/6mth oil and filter change and they told me that they have the trackers in stock. Had look at one and while it does have an internal Battery it is a wired unit. Not much detail beyond that but will try to get some more when I pop in again soon. Car is booked to have the work done but I can still change my mind if I go off the idea of them splicing into existing wiring.

Can anyone confirm exactly which model of tracker Toyota are providing and how much subscription come with it?

I would still prefer that they had done something to actually prevent the theft rather than simply mitigate the consequences.

Ho hum... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[philip42h]

2 minutes ago, Strangely Brown said:

I would still prefer that they had done something to actually prevent the theft rather than simply mitigate the consequences.

I would still prefer that they actually do something to prevent the theft ...

... but mine gets part ex'd tomorrow so it will become someone else's problem ... 😉

[Terry10]

34 minutes ago, Strangely Brown said:

Popped into the dealer today to book a 5k/6mth oil and filter change and they told me that they have the trackers in stock. Had look at one and while it does have an internal battery it is a wired unit. Not much detail beyond that but will try to get some more when I pop in again soon. Car is booked to have the work done but I can still change my mind if I go off the idea of them splicing into existing wiring.

Can anyone confirm exactly which model of tracker Toyota are providing and how much subscription come with it?

I would still prefer that they had done something to actually prevent the theft rather than simply mitigate the consequences.

Ho hum... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Had the tracker fitted last week and the info that comes with it gives you a website that in turn gives the impression that it is free for 3 years and then you pay for it. I only had a quick look so may have got it wrong but that's how it looked to me.

Terry

[flash22]

22 hours ago, forkingabout said:

Looks like Toyota have gone all Oprah with these trackers.

You get a free tracker, you get a free tracker, you get a free tracker 😅

Also see the protection plates for RAV4 now free of charge fitment mentioned more then once. 

OT, do you know the full story tho? the "winners" of the cars had to pay the taxes on the cars to the tune of $5-7000

 

the trackers are "free" but there is usually a yearly fee and they have to be replaced every 3-5 years

[chilaspt]

Toyota covers the fee for 3 years, recovery can be used once, 

[Strangely Brown]

On 10/23/2024 at 2:29 PM, Terry10 said:

Had the tracker fitted last week and the info that comes with it gives you a website that in turn gives the impression that it is free for 3 years and then you pay for it. I only had a quick look so may have got it wrong but that's how it looked to me.

Terry

Question: I am trying to find out whether it requires wiring. The Tracker website says that the Retrieve is Battery powered. Tracker customer support say that the Retrieve is completely independent and does not require wiring.

I got a look at the unit in stock at my dealer and it had wiring from it so I am confused as to which unit it actually is and how it is fitted.

If it is Battery powered and is just hidden in the car somewhere then great. If it requires tapping into the wiring then I am somewhat less keen.

Do you happen to know how and where they fitted yours? - Don't say where on here, but did they tell you?

[robo1]

If it’s wired in something else to drain the 12v Battery. 

[Terry10]

3 hours ago, Strangely Brown said:

Question: I am trying to find out whether it requires wiring. The Tracker website says that the Retrieve is battery powered. Tracker customer support say that the Retrieve is completely independent and does not require wiring.

I got a look at the unit in stock at my dealer and it had wiring from it so I am confused as to which unit it actually is and how it is fitted.

If it is battery powered and is just hidden in the car somewhere then great. If it requires tapping into the wiring then I am somewhat less keen.

Do you happen to know how and where they fitted yours? - Don't say where on here, but did they tell you?

Well if as you say it's got wires coming out of it then one assumes it's wired. The Battery is a backup I guess. One would hope that Toyota have done their homework on power drain of this unit so fingers crossed on that one. As for where in the car the tracker is? I haven't got a clue and quite honestly don't really see any need to know. The only slight concern that I have is that the dealers may have been told by Toyota where to install said tracker. So they will all have them in the same place!!! Not a good idea!!! Of course if they are installed in different parts of the car then hopefully my dealer will make a note of where mine is. 🙄🙄🙄 maybe I should ask them and make a note of it myself.

[Rav Rob]

Had my CAN plates fitted today, as Tesco say, every little helps. Also the tracker which according to the registration is a Tracker Retrieve, single use, Battery powered unit with a 3 year subscription. Not sure why someone has seen wires, perhaps they are antenna wires? as this tracker doesn't use the GSM mobile phone network like most, its VHF radio only on Trackers own private network, so some wired antennas laid out in a cavity would make sense.

The only concern is there is no way to verify its working until its activated in anger (and hope!), perhaps there is an infrequent ping between Tracker and the device to check it? - its Thatcham cat 7 / S7 approved, which may help insurance.

According to Tracker the subscription includes a recovery service so when the police locate it Tracker will arrange to recover it back to you.

I would rather the canbus just got fixed, maybe without hardware changes its impossible to do, but I am happy that Toyota have done something and provided this product for free on a 2 (nearer 3) year old car some brands would walk away from.

The final laugh, was they apparently tested my aircon and it reads too stinky, so they wanted to do an aircon cleanse......for £199! I nearly choked laughing!!!!!!

it had already had a new cabin filter as part the service, and a antibacterial fog can is about £6)

[forkingabout]

5 minutes ago, Rav Rob said:

I would rather the canbus just got fixed, maybe without hardware changes its impossible to do, 

The final laugh, was they apparently tested my aircon and it reads too stinky, so they wanted to do an aircon cleanse......for £199! I nearly choked laughing!!!!!!

At best Toyota could retrofit a secondary immobiliser - they do offer one for the European market but the device doesn't meet Thatcham requirements so it wouldn't be recognised by insurance companies. 

As for the aircon - classic dealer upsell tactic to try & extract money from the customer. 

[Rav Rob]

Just now, forkingabout said:

As for the aircon - classic dealer upsell tactic to try & extract money from the customer. 

Of course, it even surpasses the paint treatment ones.

[Strangely Brown]

49 minutes ago, Rav Rob said:

Had my CAN plates fitted today, as Tesco say, every little helps. Also the tracker which according to the registration is a Tracker Retrieve, single use, battery powered unit with a 3 year subscription. Not sure why someone has seen wires, perhaps they are antenna wires? as this tracker doesn't use the GSM mobile phone network like most, its VHF radio only on Trackers own private network, so some wired antennas laid out in a cavity would make sense.

It was me who saw the wires on the unit that I was shown by my dealer. It is possible that they are antennae, even the one that clearly had an earth tag on the end obviously intended to be earthed.

I am going to pop back into the dealer again next week and have another look and a chat about it.

[Terry10]

12 hours ago, Strangely Brown said:

It was me who saw the wires on the unit that I was shown by my dealer. It is possible that they are antennae, even the one that clearly had an earth tag on the end obviously intended to be earthed.

I am going to pop back into the dealer again next week and have another look and a chat about it.

Got to be a wired unit with an earth tag surely! Can't imagine anything lasting 3 years plus on a Battery without something being rechargeable. Be interested to hear what they say about it.

[PAISLEY1903]

Is the free tracker available everywhere or only in set Postcode areas? 

[forkingabout]

20 minutes ago, Terry10 said:

Got to be a wired unit with an earth tag surely! Can't imagine anything lasting 3 years plus on a battery without something being rechargeable. Be interested to hear what they say about it.

Its been confirmed several times on here & Lexus forum that its a Tracker Retrieve being fitted. 

Retrieve Battery Powered Vehicle Tracking | TRACKER

[fy08avensis]

My RAV4 is now over three years old and I have just been doing a little checking using Compare the Market, it appears that installing a tracker on my car makes essentially no difference to the cost of insurance - perhaps because as it gets older it's less attractive to a thief and as far as the insurer is concerned its lower value reduces the risk.

If it does get stolen then I probably wouldn't want it back so I don't really see any advantage in having a tracker fitted.

So it's a no from me.

[robo1]

If the word gets out that vulnerable RAVs are being filled with trackers it may put off the thieves and they go and look for another easy target. 

If the tracker does need to be hard wired they may all end up in the same location on the vehicle. Then it won’t be long before they are quickly removed after  the RAV is taken. 

[Strangely Brown]

1 hour ago, forkingabout said:

Its been confirmed several times on here & Lexus forum that its a Tracker Retrieve being fitted. 

Retrieve Battery Powered Vehicle Tracking | TRACKER

I had a chat with Tracker customer support. The person I spoke to was aware of the Toyota collaboration and confirmed that it was a Retrieve, single use unit. He also said that the Retrieve is a Battery powered standalone unit that does not require wiring into the vehicle as it is intended for use in vehicles where hard wiring is either inaccessible, unavailable (unpowered assets) or undesirable (RAV4?). The Battery will, allegedly, last for 5 years and there is a 3 year subscription included courtesy of Toyota.

If the vehicle is stolen and the Tracker is activated to recover it, that unit cannot be used again. It must be replaced.

By the time the subscription expires, or the Battery, my car will be seven years old so I think that is likely long enough for it to be unattractive to the scrotes. So, while it still does completely clear up the "wires" mystery I am happier. Hopefully I will get more info next week when I pop in for another look and a better chat.

[FROSTYBALLS]

12 minutes ago, Strangely Brown said:

my car will be seven years old so I think that is likely long enough for it to be unattractive to the scrotes.

My sister has had two Citroen C1s stolen from outside her house - both 2014 models. So a 7 year old Rav4 may still attract theives ...

[Nick72]

6 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

My sister has had two Citroen C1s stolen from outside her house - both 2014 models. So a 7 year old Rav4 may still attract theives ...

I had a nearly 20 year old Ford Cortina covered in kure rust or whatever it was called, stolen within 30 minutes of leaving outside the pub. Early 90s. They crashed it about 2 streets down. 2 teenagers. 

Third party only insurance since I only bought it for 150 or 200 quid, can't recall. And I'd not got round to fitting a new water pump so they wouldn't had got further than about 10 miles before the engine over heated.

Folks will steal anything.

[Rav Rob]

2 hours ago, Terry10 said:

Got to be a wired unit with an earth tag surely! Can't imagine anything lasting 3 years plus on a battery without something being rechargeable. Be interested to hear what they say about it.

They are VHF radio, a lot lower frequency therefore longer wavelength than mobile phones for example. One wire may be a long antenna, it would not be unusual to have a ground connection too, not for power purposes but radio reasons. 

[moggio53]

Wouldn't just an Apple air-tag hidden under the seat do the job just as well??