unknown2

Hi all,

I have a 2006 IS350... My job require me to live in Europ for 2 years... One of the cool things is they are willing to ship one car (both ways) at no extra charge at me... I will be using my car temporally in Europ (2 years) then the car will be back to the USA.. I have couple questions:

1- Navigation: Can i update my ML Navigation to Europ maps?? Will i lose the US maps when i come back??


2- Radio: The radio spacing is diffrent between US and Europ.. For example, in the US, you can tune (AM) the following channels (540, 550, 560, 570, 580, 590, 600, 610...etc)... In Europ, they use (540, 549, 558, 567, 576..etc).. Similar this with FM.. US spacing is (90.1, 90.3, 90.5, 90.7, 90.9, 91.1...etc) while in europ (90.0, 90.1, 90.2, 90.3, 90.4, 90.5...etc).. My question is, is there any way to change the radio spacing?? I know in my freind's VW Touareg he was able to do that (with freindly dealer)... Is it possible with Lexus??

3- DVD region: US used region 1 for DVDs.. Can i change the region for DVDs (i guess Europ uses region 2 but i'm not sure)??

4- Cluster: is it easy to replace the cluster to KM instead of miles?? I know my cluster has tiny KM reading.. I'm just wondering.. Cuz the compnay might pay for that as well and pay again to put the original cluster back

5- Rear Fog lights: Any one know how to enable them??

kilo6_one

iTrader: (2)

if it was me i would try to get my hands on a car in europe that you cannot get here like a skyline or something, but thats me.

Evitzee

1. Don't know, and its not the kind of question Lexus USA will have at the tips of their fingers, but you'll probably have to start with them. I suspect there will be 'issues' in just slipping in a European disc.
2. Probably possible for dealer to adjust, but unless you speak the language in the country you are going to how much are you really going to listen to the radio? I've spent time in Europe but never listened to the radio much.
3. I would suspect that the DVD player is universal region (plays all regions) but I'm not sure about that.
4. I wouldn't attempt a swap, even if it was paid for. I never like opening up an instrument cluster as chance for damage (and fingerprints) is too great. And with the relatively hi-tech gauges on the IS I would not do it.
5. No idea.

In the end you will find paperwork (titling, inspection, license, insurance) that will have to be done. It's a hassle, even temporarily. My company shipped my car to Canada for two years and there was Customs clearance, changing title to Canada, vehicle inspection (and getting letter from car manufacturer confirming no outstanding vehicle recalls), and the hassle of getting Canadian insurance. And that is a country pretty well aligned with the US. And when I brought it back I had to go through the process again. Anything is possible, but even with the company helping it will be frustrating and time consuming. Personally, I'd find something there that you can't get here and enjoy that for a couple of years. Presumably your company has a forced car sale policy for their expats. I'd check it out.

Lastly, your car will have to have clear title for it to be shipped out of the country. Almost no lender will allow a car with a lien on it to be shipped outside of the US as the financial risk for them is just too great.

kensteele

I tried to play a DVD from another region, Japan. It would not play in my vehicle, error message says "region code error." maybe there's a way to modify the dvd player but for now, it's a fact that it won't play a dvd coded for asia without modification.