AIBU in wondering WTF my car windows opened themselves last night?

[carmystery]

I have a 2012 reg CT200 Lexus hatchback which I bought second-hand from a dealer a couple of years ago.
Last night, I thought I heard the alarm go off in the middle of the night, but by the time I had woken up, jumped out of bed the alarm had stopped. I can't be 100% it was my car alarm, because I would have been able to see the lights flashing through my hall window which has no blinds.
Anyway, back to bed I went.
This morning I glance out at my car, all the windows are open.
They were not open yesterday when I went to bed, I walked my dog late and didn't get back until 10pm - I passed the car as its parked in front of my front door, and I would have noticed if the windows were open. (Plus the last time I drove, I didn't open the windows, I never open all 4 of them).
The car fob is kept near the front door, in a drawer - about 5 meters from the car.
In the past my unlocked car (not this one as I more careful now) has been opened in the night and thrives have taken coins etc from the glovebox (the whole neighbour was hit a few times like this).
I have a big bag of parking coins in the unlocked glovebox in this car - they weren't taken - so I assume it wasn't thieves.

I have googled this, and relies on other forums seem to think it is always the fault of the driver, pressing the key fob accidentally.

As I said, my key fob was downstairs in a drawer, I was upstairs in bed. My spare is kept in a box on a shelf in my bedroom - 100% hasn't been knocked accidentally etc.

Anyone else had this?
I drive up to Brixton once a week for work and park on the street. I often have valuables/my overnight things in my boot as often go on from London to visit relatives.
I'm a bit worried this can randomly happen again.
The Lexus garage is closed Sundays, or I would ask them, plus I think they will just ask me to ring the car in and charge me a fortune for them just to shrug and they its a mystery.

Anyone else had this?

Did you google before posting? This is a common and known fault on a few Lexus models of the last decade.

If something presses against the keyfob for longer than two seconds I believe it activates. I know it was in a drawer but could something have leant against it?

Only other option is that some opportunist trying to do radio relay theft of keyless cars, accidentally triggered the frequency for that feature? That's heavily reaching from me though.

Good luck with your Lexus dealer or garage that should be the best point of call of course.

It's possible for thieves to 'clone' fobs without gaining access to the genuine fob.

They can scan for and relay the signal to open the car, although why they opened the windows and not just drive away in the car is beyond me.

Here, in the West Midlands, where car is king, there are always plenty of alerts about car thieves and their methods.

The trouble is, now car owners are going to greater lengths to secure their cars and fobs, there are increasing reports of people bring beaten up in their drives (usually older men or women. Quelle surprise! 🙄) for their cars.

There are depressing numbers of dashcam, domestic CCTV and Ring doorbell videos on Facebook atm.

www.carlock.co/blog/en/2019/01/04/keyless-car-theft-how-thieves-are-using-hacking-to-steal-your-car/

www.driving.co.uk/news/features/six-ways-thieves-can-break-into-a-car-and-how-to-prevent-it/

west-midlands.police.uk/news/new-video-released-we-hunt-armed-carjacking-gang

You need a blocking device for your key fob and solid home security.

Electrical fault?

@Gingernaut

It's possible for thieves to 'clone' fobs without gaining access to the genuine fob.

They can scan for and relay the signal to open the car, although why they opened the windows and not just drive away in the car is beyond me.

Here, in the West Midlands, where car is king, there are always plenty of alerts about car thieves and their methods.

The trouble is, now car owners are going to greater lengths to secure their cars and fobs, there are increasing reports of people bring beaten up in their drives (usually older men or women. Quelle surprise! 🙄) for their cars.

There are depressing numbers of dashcam, domestic CCTV and Ring doorbell videos on Facebook atm.

www.carlock.co/blog/en/2019/01/04/keyless-car-theft-how-thieves-are-using-hacking-to-steal-your-car/

www.driving.co.uk/news/features/six-ways-thieves-can-break-into-a-car-and-how-to-prevent-it/

west-midlands.police.uk/news/new-video-released-we-hunt-armed-carjacking-gang

You need a blocking device for your key fob and solid home security.

With all respect to @carmystery I can't see anyone doing relay theft on an eight year old low value Lexus.

These scum tend to steal to order. BMW X5s, Range Rover/RRSport, Golf R, Audi S3, Mercedes AMG models, Audi SQ SUVs. All to then either be shipped in a container to Eastern Europe, Russia or Africa, never to be seen again. Or whisked off to a Midlands chop shop and stripped to parts within hours.

I do wonder however if in the process of attempting relay theft elsewhere, the signal hunting stuff used may have inadvertently triggered off the right radio signal.

seems more likely. and a quick look on motors.co.uk shows that they sell for 8-10k which is not 'low value' in my book or in many peoples.

keep the fob in a metal container as well as getting the fault looked at.

I've managed to get one of the last key entry cars at my last change. Next time it will be back to krookloks, keyless is a really stupid idea.

If they didn't need the car, they may have needed something from inside it, or have scouted for parts.

Chop shops, where stolen cars are taken apart for hide to find spares are big business.

Have they popped the bonnet?

Do you still have a catalytic converter?

www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/watch-cars-ripped-apart-rogue-18595445

My Honda minivan had an electrical short causing the rear hatch to open spontaneously and the headlights to turn themselves on even with the engine off

@mencken

seems more likely. and a quick look on motors.co.uk shows that they sell for 8-10k which is not 'low value' in my book or in many peoples.

keep the fob in a metal container as well as getting the fault looked at.

I've managed to get one of the last key entry cars at my last change. Next time it will be back to krookloks, keyless is a really stupid idea.

It's not about the book value of the car. A nearly new Skoda Kodiaq or a Seat Ateca might be worth twice the OPs car, but there aren't gangs roaming around trying to relay those.

Relay theft gangs tend to steal high value, German and British prestige, to order. OP probably had an issue with keyfob storage.

But if it makes for a more exciting thread, then let's chat about masked people with laptops roaming the streets trying to steal an old Lexus

This happened with my Seat when we were away from home, and freaked me out, but a quick Google showed it was having the key fob pressed continuously for a couple of seconds, as another poster mentioned above. You can test it for yourself to put your mind at rest. Mine happened because a bag toppled onto my keys in the night.

My uncle had the catalytic converter nicked off his 10 year old Lexus SUV. Check yours is still there. It’s seemingly quite common

100% nothing pressed the key-fob.
I was in the house alone and there is nothing else in the drawer to accidentally press the fob.
I also don't think anyone would want to steal my car when there are (as pp pointed out) much more expensive or niche cars that can be stolen.
My dog was home with me and she normally goes nuts if someone is on my drive (she has bat-like hearing) and she didn't start barking.
I don't think I have a catalytic convertor as the car is an electric hybrid.
I am more worried that this is just going to happen randomly, at any time. I don't mind it happening at home or my office address as they are in fairly safe areas, I'm more worried if I am in a service station etc stopping to get a coffee and the window opens and my dog/laptop etc can be stolen (my dog is a cheap mongrel rescue - but she looks like a designer cross breed which are very sort after because of the lockdown)

I left my keys hidden in the rear valance of my mini at the airport when I flew off to Lisbon with the kids for a few days (didn't want to risk losing my only set). Hurricane Dennis hit and they got damp... I returned to drive home in the early hours to find windows and sunroof open. Ah well, it was only two hours to home in a motorised paddling pool

Used to happen to us with our old car. Windows would go up and down of there own accord. Not the first time we got up in the morning to soaking wet car seats after a night of heavy rain. Had to put a sticker on the windows so we could see what height the window was at at a glance from the house.
Drove us mad as one fob was in the key box the other in the kitchen. Turns out it was a faulty fuse after many visits to the garage and a diagnostic test

This happened in my Yaris a few months ago, been having a few other weird electrical type things things going on with it too like spitting CD's out at me randomly.

Did you use the keys to get back in house after walking the dog? Could you have pressed the car key fob accidentally? My car will open all windows about 10 inches with a special key fob move ( I have no idea what that is as only ever done it accidentally! )
Might be why your alarm went off - wind going through open windows sets mine off

This happened to me when my fob was in my pocket and obviously got pressed. No idea it could do that!

Lol, this thread is funny.
Oh your car isn't cool enough to be stolen
I'm sure the OP is glad that her car was in the driveway and not stolen.
She is wondering why all the windows were down.
Keep up!

@HooNoes

Lol, this thread is funny. Oh your car isn't cool enough to be stolen I'm sure the OP is glad that her car was in the driveway and not stolen. She is wondering why all the windows were down. Keep up!

@HooNoes

I have kept up, thank you. It was other posters that were fancifully suggesting that this was relay theft. I had the temerity to suggest that relay theft wouldn't occur on a model such as this.

I know OP was wondering why the windows were down.

I think the simplest explanations (remote malfunction) are often the best here, rather than the fanciful.

My BMW has this stupid key feature. It's usually ok but I think I occasionally press the key against myself when I've handfuls of stuff coming in from the car then find it the next morning - annoying!

We had this happen once had just parked in a hotel carpark all the windows went down
Dont know what caused it as it hasn't happened since
It was a reasonably new Jag and no amount if fob pressing would activate the windows

Electric hybrids do have catalytic converters, and they are more desirable to steal than normal engines as they are commonly used less

Our car did this, turned out to be a fault relating to the battery, sonething to do with the system that switches the engine of when stopped at lights etc.

Get a faraday bag for your keys, or keep them in a metal tin. That will prevent future issues with the remote signal.

www.carbuyer.co.uk/tips-and-advice/167016/best-signal-blocking-faraday-bags-for-car-keys-in-2020