lesz

I believe that, to be able to change customizable settings, you need to have the Toyota/Lexus Techstream software, but, as I said in an earlier post, you can buy the software and the cable to connect a laptop to the on-board diagnostics port of the vehicle on Amazon for about $30. Using the software legally long term requires registering the software and paying a high annual subscription fee, but you can use the software for up to 25 times without registering it. After 25 uses, the software will, I believe, be disabled if it is not registered, but 25 uses should go a long way for use with a privately owned vehicle. With the Techstream software, I have gotten access to all of the customizable settings in the document from Lexus showing dealer customizable settings, and there are a good number of other settings that can be changed even though they are not listed in the Lexus document.

I think that what you already have should allow you to pull and clear codes, but I doubt that it will give you access to customizable settings.

Carista

Yes, the only computer software that I know of that can do those things is Techstream, which is the dealer software from Toyota/Lexus. Or Carista on an Android phone or tablet. Note that Carista can change most customizations and can diagnose all Lexus ECUs and clear their faults, but it doesn't do live data or service procedures.
Btw, Carista supports the same functionality for VW & Audi vehicles as well, so I'd live it if you could try it on your A8s. We have a new beta version that needs some testing on an A8 right now. I'll PM you about that.
About your cable: it's specific to VCDS, so you can't use it with any other software.

And to add to this: any OBDII tool (or app) will allow you to read and clear codes from the OBDII ECUs in the car - which usually means just the engine and transmission. But when it comes to the rest of the ECUs in the car - like ABS, airbag, navigation, seats, lighting, etc., you need a manufacturer-specific tool (not an OBDII tool). There's a bit of confusion about this because the port in which you plug the manufacturer-specific tool is the same "OBDII" port, but the communication protocol used by such tools is not OBDII. So in summary, again, you need Techstream (laptop w/ cable) or Carista (Android, wirelessly via Bluetooth dongle) if you want to do anything that's Lexus-specific. Also note that to use Techstream, you have to install some hardware drivers that run only on 32-bit versions of Windows (or hack it somehow to run on newer versions). That means no Windows 8 and no 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Vista. Most people use XP.

lesz

I have the Techstream software installed on an 8 year old XP laptop that I retired about 5 years ago, but, in the Techstream thread on this forum's GX board, there are at least a couple of people who claim that they were able to successfully install it on computers with 64 bit Windows 7. Since I had the older laptop available, I didn't even attempt to install the software on anything newer. So, I can't know for sure whether the claims of successful installs on Windows 7 64 bit are accurate.

jhbhatia

Sorry for change in topic. Thanks to this site took my 2013 for its complimentary 10k service and got it all personalized. Blinkers flashing 7 times is a great safely feature for me. Thank you to Lexus of Clear Lake.

SLH

The last computer that I bought that came with "dead tree" documentation was more than two decades ago. Since then, almost all of that information is online. This car has more computers than most mainframe sites did back then.

Put all of the user-level documentation on a web site, and also in the on-board computer, with a search feature. Make it easy to find and easy to use. The "search" feature should help most people find answers to those basic questions.

The only paper documentation should be: How to access the electronic documents, and some basic "safety" stuff that the lawyers say must be on paper. If there are only 30-ish pages of paper, somebody might even read it.

hypervish

The manual is online at Lexus.com

Arty101

But on pdf for each section, and you can't easily search.

kennethbbe

I bought the Carista. Nice cell phone app. Easy to use. But only works on select items, most of which seem to be the NON-Dealer settings. I wanted to change the turn signal flashes from 3 to 5. Carista wouldn't do it. Sent the Carista back.

Mike728

Wow, old thread...

You must have been doing something incorrectly.

Lane-change turn signal auto-flasher count
Off / 3 flashes / 4 flashes / 5 flashes / 6 flashes / 7 flashes

https://caristaapp.com/vehicles/lexus/es/6th-gen

Tootsall

Did you maybe check the Carista out when you first received it and then waited a while before attempting to make the change? In which case the "free" period for the full features had expired and you'd have to purchase a 1 week subscription to get into the deeper menu options. I believe the free subscription starts the first time you access it...even if just to "take a peek". I was able to reprogram the lane change (on both my ES and my wife's RAV), the easy exit/entry feature, check the tpms system, etc. with no trouble...haven't paid for a subscription yet.

lesz

What you have said would be my guess. Without a paid subscription and outside of the initial "free" time, much of what Carista is capable of is disabled.

Tootsall

Ya, you can still run a look-see for code checks, read the TPMS, but not really much else that's useful without the subscription. I'll wait until I have need to "dive deeper" before paying anything (I was prepared to pay for a week if I had needed to change the ID codes on my aftermarket TPMS but turned out not necessary). Meantime it is handy to just take a peek to be sure nothing is coming up in the background.