chileboy

I recently took delivery of my 2013 ES350, and while I have some nits about it, the one thing that's bothering me the most is the navigation (or lack thereof).

I was driving a 2002 ES300 before this, and it came without nav. I had a third-party audio/phone/Bluetooth system that worked great with Google Maps via my Android phone. Some reviewer once wrote that "Google Maps alone was worth the price of admission for an Andoid", and I agree, so maybe I'm spoiled - but in the short time I've used it, the 2013 nav has:

• Brought me to spot in the middle of nowhere (nothing but forest) when I selected a business name in POI - I had to pull over and Google the place to get the correct street address and put that into the nav instead - it was about 5 miles away.
• At an intersection where there are separate ramps for either north or south on a highway, it had me take the "South" ramp, then directed me down a convoluted route - including through the back of a commuter parking lot - only to place me back in the (correct) northbound direction
• More than once, shown me on the right-hand side of the screen the perspective view of an upcoming ramp where the arrows indicated I should stay left at a fork, when really I needed to stay right (or vice-versa)

I drive into NYC a lot, and the most egregious one to me was this (this may not make total sense if you're not a local) - I had used the nav just to get from a restaurant in Queens to the BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) - after that, I knew where I going, but left the nav on for whatever reason. Well, I was about 3 exits (less than 5 minutes) from where I was going - my destination was 3 blocks from the exit - and the nav apparently wanted me to take the exit for the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan, then south on the FDR to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, back into Brooklyn, and then surface roads to where I was going. As this was about 9:00 on a Saturday night, I'm guessing that route could have taken me 45-60 minutes, maybe longer.

Really?

Does anyone think this will get any better with software updates?

- Mark

ikeb

lexus never updates the software - just the maps

what you have now is pretty much it for ever

Mike728

Make sure your not set to something like, shortest distance, or least amount of tolls (can't remember the exact wording). My wife does that all the time in her CR-V and seems to always end up on some strange route.

ElliotB

In fairness, other nav systems get it wrong too once in a while.

LexBob2

It does sound like it might be a setting. As mentioned, all nav systems get it wrong now and then, but with such regularity something isn't right.

Charlieday

From my experience, very few factory navigation systems can compete with a $200 Garmin unit. It is not just the Lexus system. We have a 2010 Acura with navigation and I always take my Garmin unit on trips for more accurate directions. I am currently waiting for the 2014 ES350 to show up and I want a well equipped vehicle but I am having a hard time convincing myself to order the factory navigation system. I wish the manufacturers would use companies like Garmin and Magellan to supply their navigation systems and offer free lifetime map updates like the portable units do.

chileboy

Thanks everyone for the input. I am going to check my settings and see if anything seems amiss, although I don't think I changed anything from factory defaults.

Like Charlieday, I've wondered why no one has partnered with Google (or whoever) for the vehicle navigation. As I said, I found the latest iterations of Google Maps to be nearly perfect.

Does Lexus check and update the maps (and other software) to the latest versions whenever the car is serviced, or do I need to ask them?

- Mark

boe

I agree the current Lexus NAV system is just not up to speed. I'm hoping the 2014 is significantly improved. I realize that NAV isn't that important to everyone but I go to a new location about once a week and so the NAV is probably at the top of my list for getting a new car even above better gas mileage. My S3 Android phone GPS works very well but it is not nearly as convenient as an onboard GPS and it kills the battery. Ideally the screen on a car would support touch and joystick and be pretty much all there is to it. A gps module (like a smartphone) would slide in and boom you have the always upgradeable state of the art GPS system in a car.

If not I may just wait for the new TLX next year although I hate buying the first year of any new car.

Mike728

Only problem with the smartphone solution, is you need data service for it to function. If you drive out of range, you're on your own.

LexBob2

I have a '13 Audi with MMI and navigation, and they have partnered with Google to provide Google map overlays, online destinations, Street View etc. It all works very well and the voice recognition is very good.

As with any of these systems, there are several features that I miss from my Lexus nav system.

djrobsd

I find the nav in pretty much any car clunky and painful compared to using the one on the Smart phone. Believe it or not, the e-destination part of the Lexus is amazing to me, being able to program my whole trip out from home online and upload it to the car.

I tend to rely on both the car nav and my smart phone, when I'm not sure I will often have them BOTH running at the same time to see if the directions match. Generally the google maps one is definitely the best but I've had a few times where the Lexus nav beat it.

It's always best to rely on your own internal GPS rather then depending on technology to help you find your way. If you feel that the GPS is taking you the wrong way, pull over and double check your maps and make sure you're going the right way.

I found the nav in the Ford/Lincoln sync to be better, i like how you can say "Go to Starbucks" and it will take you to the nearest one... but sometimes the nearest one in distance isn't always the most convenient one to get to. I know the Lexus nav can do that but you first have to say go to Point of interest, then coffee shop, then starbucks, unless I'm doing something wrong and there is a faster way.

As I've said in some other posts, factory nav is a must on a luxury car for resale value. When people buy a Lexus they are EXPECTING features like nav, and when you go to sell yours if it doesn't have nav they will pass it up for one that does.

chileboy

I checked all my settings, and I don't see anything that looks incorrect. I thought maybe as Mike728 said there was an "Avoid tolls" or something that was tripping it up, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I've used it a bit more in the last couple of weeks and have been double-checking it with Google Maps on my phone, and while it does usually chose a different route, it's been acceptable. I did find that if I "kind of" know where I'm going, looking at the alternate routes is helpful - by default it doesn't always choose the best way.

I DO like some of the bells-and-whistles though - it's really easy for instance to "Mark" and save destinations.

- Mark