jakepdx

Just wanted to say that I just had the dealer make a few tweaks to my 2014 ES 300h and I'm very happy I did. The complete list of settings is here:
http://www.lexus.com/pdf/service/ES_LPS.pdf

But the big one for me was being able to lower the windows and sunroof by holding the unlock on the key fob. This is so handy on a hot day, and I had no idea it was possible with my new car.

The other tweaks I made were to disable the 3-blinker minimum when I use the lane changer, and to lower the volume of the lane change ticker.

bc6152

The windows and sunroof idea is a good one. Hot summers in PA. I didn't know that this was possible. I'll be checking to see if the setting can be changed on the 350.

ALIGN

I did that too. Also, I ask the longer #36 rear sun shade delay so it doesn't activate the sun shade motor everytime I pass the reverse when shifting from park to drive.

alpinefun

I am curious why did you disable it? I personally like this feature and thinking to customize it to 7 blinks. Am I missing something?

jakepdx

Just a personal preference thing - I prefer to have more control over when the blinker turns off.

MissyBissy

I think I need to get the thing with the windows rolling down. Sounds very nice for summer!

Eagleguy

You pay $42K+ for a car and only the dealer can change the blinker time from 3 to 7 blinks. Why can't the owner have FULL control over his/her car. Guess my degree in engineering has me disqualified...not to mention controlling the windows, moon/sun roof and a whole list of dealer only controlled options.

Arty101

It's not that your engineering degree disqualifies you, it just means you have deeper pockets to pay for additional changes from the first complimentary one .

lesz

Even though I would like to have more user changeable settings than Lexus currently allows, in the current models, the number of user changeable settings is much higher than it was just a few years ago. With my GX and with the older ES that I had, all customizable settings, even for things like auto headlight sensitivity and the sound level that accompanies locking and unlocking the doors with the key fob, had to be done by the dealer.

While I'm certain that Lexus dealers welcome the opportunity to have customers pay to have these settings changed, there is also the question of at what point does it become counterproductive to give vehicle owners direct access to more and more technology. We already have a manual that is almost 900 pages long and supplementary manuals totaling hundreds of additional pages. Even at this point, large numbers of vehicle owners are overwhelmed by the technology and by what they can do themselves. Just read some of the posts on this board, and you can see that there are people who can't figure out, for example, how to get the information display screen to show what their mpg is or how to re-set the trip odometer or how to get the automatic climate control system to work. The practical reality is that, for the typical vehicle owner, Lexus may already have given too much access to the technology.

For those who do, however, want to be able to change settings that otherwise can only be changed by the dealer, the opportunity is still available. You can purchase, on Amazon or EBAY, an on-board diagnositcs interface and the Toyota TechStream software for around $30, and, once you have used the OBD interface to connect the vehicle to a laptop, you can have access to the same setting changes that the dealer has. While a shop that uses the software daily needs to pay an expensive license fee to use the software, you can use the software for up to 25 times before have to register it and pay for the license, and that should be enough to get the typical vehicle owner through many years. I've used the TechStream software with my GX and with my previously owned ES a few times, and it is simple, intuitive, and gives access, not only to settings changes, but also to vehicle trouble codes. Since the cost of the interface and software is less than a dealer charges for changing settings, after a single use, it has paid for itself, and it is an inexpensive solution for those who are not happy with the fact that Lexus has decided to make it so that some settings otherwise can only be changed by the dealer.

atoyota

AMEN. This forum and many others is full of people asking questions on how to do the most basic stuff they are able to control that is covered in the manuals...which they never read...

LexBob2

If known in advance, would the need for dealer programmed settings be a deal breaker?

jonmanch

I am surprised that no one on this thread has stated or realized that if you hold the unlock button down on the key fob for about 3-5 seconds, the windows will begin to go down. That is the default setting for the Fob when the car is delivered. I for one had the dealer turn this function off as I found at least once a month, the Fob would press against something in my pocket that presses the unlock button and my windows go either partially or all the way down. Not a good thing to happen if it is raining out. I figure I can "suffer" a few minutes in summer heat and lower the windows on my own.

I am amazed at some of the questions asked by members of this forum that should have been explained by the dealership on delivery. Just MHO.

lesz

Unfortunately, even if the dealer's delivery specialist has done a thorough job of explaining the features in the vehicle, modern cars have so many features that much/most of the explanation will not be absorbed by the car buyer, and that is especially true because, when one buys a new car, he/she, more likely than not, has his/her brain occupied with thinking about the big check that was just written and anticipating driving that new car back home.

On the other hand, many/most of the questions could be answered by spending a couple of hours with the vehicle manual. I will admit to having not read every word in the manuals for my vehicles, but I do make sure that I take the time to scan every page and to read completely those sections that merit doing so. While I'm sure that, because a well-designed vehicle should be quite intuitive in that design, I could figure out most of what I should know without ever picking up the manual, I find that, by reading the manual, I discover "hidden" features and settings that I never would have known about without reading the manual.

It wasn't that many years ago when a typical car manual was several dozen pages long. With main and supplementary manuals now totaling well over 1000 pages, it is clear that a good number of car owners are inclined to ignore those manuals completely. That, in itself, tells me that, while car buyers want lots of features in their vehicles, they don't want to be bothered with having to learn about them or with having to set them up themselves, which is why I doubt that the majority of car buyers care whether the custom settings are accessible to the user or whether they can only be changed by the dealer.

To substantiate what I said above, I checked the first page of this board. As I type, there are at least 6 topics posted on the first page of this board with questions that could easily have been answered in less time than it took to post here if the person posting had taken from a few seconds to a couple of minutes to look in the manual. When I see those questions, I try to be polite, respectful, and helpful in providing answers. But I have to admit that, for an instant, I'm sometimes tempted just to type RTFM.

Mike728

That function was not enabled by default on mine. Might be a dealership thing.

jonmanch

There is a list of things that can be changed at the dealership, and that function is listed as "ON" by default. I guess they turned if off before delivery. Perhaps you need to hold the button down longer that 8 seconds. I turned my function off, so I could be wrong about the length of time to hold the unlock button down.