Yesterday, in the words of USA Today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned pilots that “that GPS testing could leave the global-positioning signals ‘unreliable or unavailable’ across much of the West for six days in June.”
There certainly was a GPS problem, but why report it here? The issue we’re talking about in this post is not of the two-winged variety. Think four wheels.
Many of you shared the problems you were experiencing in your Lexus cars. mooondog said:
“Got the car back in Sept 2015. LS460 brand new. Today I turned on my car, when it got to the ‘warning screen’ it would then automatically re-boot itself every 5 seconds.”
sdotk had a similar experience:
“My nav keeps cycling thru the first three screens.”
Was the testing conducted at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, California that the FAA warned pilots about causing all of these headaches? Not according to the response from Lexus that Lexus61030 shared:
“Errant data broadcast by our traffic and weather data service provider was not handled as expected by the microcomputer in the vehicle navigation head unit (center display) of 2014-16 model year Lexus vehicles. In some situations, this issue can cause the head unit restart repeatedly, affecting operation of the navigation system (if equipped), audio and climate control features. The data suspected to be the source of the error was corrected last night.
The correction is a forced reset and clearing of the errant data from the system. Disconnecting the vehicle 12V battery for at least 5 minutes and then re-connecting the battery completes this reset.”
Today, many of you reported that the reset worked. It looks as if Lexus has this under control, but we’ll update this post with an official response from the company about this matter when we receive it.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
Where do you go for answers when you have a Lexus with a gorgeous leather interior but are not sure about how to maintain that luxurious look? The "Club Lexus" forums, of course.
