sucks2bu

I just purchased my 3IS and right out of the gate it started having iPod Errors when anything was drawing a charge from the USB ports. After talking with the Technology Specialist at the dealer, it was discovered in the 2014 model the power output was upgraded to 1A from .5A to facilitate faster charging of devices. Since I only have issues when I have a device connected to the USB the dealer has recommended that I use a third party charger and stream via bluetooth for audio as a work around. This works and i've not had the issue since but the audio quality is not what I expected given the extra 1K I paid for the ML audio.

When I dropped the car off, the Service Advisor said this was the first time the shop had seen anything like this. The Shop Foreman was the technician that worked on the car and actually wrote on the work order that the system wasn't designed to be used to play music via the USB port (I showed him the owners manual and he backtracked from his written statement verbally). But I do have the work order just incase I need to use it in the future.

Since it seems many users here have been experiencing this issue I have the following questions:

Has anyone taken the time to check the output voltages and amps from the USB ports?
Does the alternator have sufficient power to power everything and charge via USB?
I know on a PC a bad USB port can cause all sorts of weird issue, can it be the same in the IS?

I am not mechanically inclined or I would at least attempt to do this measurement but i'd probably cause more issues that I would solve.

Just incase it's needed here are my specs:

2014 IS 350 with F-Sport, BSM, and ML Audio w/ NAV.

cutiger

I have a 2014 Lexus GX and have the exact same problem. Whenever I try to play anything through the USB it plays for a second then says ipod error and/or turns the radio off.

sunnyd91

I'm having the same problem when I pick up a phone call or play anything through my iPod it randomly gives me the iPod error and radio is shut off.. My car was manufactured 5/14 and I picked it up straight off the truck..

Reeladdict

same issue here, i notice if i just increase the volume it plays again, sometimes I have to do this like 5-10 times and eventually it plays for a much longer time.

still annoying as hell, if I didnt have the beatsonic in there I would be taking it in and complaining, but I know they will just blame that.

cchou11

This is a known issue and Lexus just can't (or just don't want to) fix it. This may somewhat relate to the iOS 7 compatibility. In my case, I have two iPhones, one is iOS6 and the other is iOS7. iOS 6 works perfectly when connecting with cable and iPod mode. While with iOS 7, I constantly get iPod error, audio system shuts down itself from time to time, the audio controls (volume, fwd...) on the steering wheel don't function anymore and so on and so forth. I've brought the car to dealer for asking firmware update many times and nothing changed so far!

The iPhone integration from Lexus really disappoints me very much. I don't know whether it is because their limited ability or they just don't want to fix it. Either way I probably will stay away from Lexus when buying the next time...

Please bring your car to the dealer and complain to bring their intention seriously if you can!! The iPhone should definitely work with iPod mode! Don't believe any bxxxsxxt from their technicians. They must fix it!!

sucks2bu

So I've had a bit of time to do some testing. I had an old iPhone with IOS 7.0.2 on it, when testing with it, there were no issues, except for the messaging issues others have pointed out. I upgraded the phone to iOS 7.1.2 and that's when the iPod errors started to occur again. This has narrowed the issue down to iOS 7.1 and above on my NAV system.

I have contacted both of my local dealerships in regards to the issue, neither of them has seen it before and asked if I would just use bluetooth streaming and a third party charger to power the phone. Not my preferred setup but it currently working with no issues although I am not happy with the sound quality with the compression required.

As an additional test, I tested with an iPod nano and it works flawlessly. Since there is no additional integration, just acting as a music player, it isn't really a fair test of the system but it does prove that the USB is working properly and can charge and play music at the same time.

sdotk

There's no need for a "3rd party charger"
I charge using the USB port while using the bluetooth for music playback.

sunnyd91

This seems like a problem with iOS7.1, lets hope since iOS 8 there will be better integration with our cars since it will have that special integration of carplay

Reeladdict

even this give me ipod errors from time to time, so annoying.

letsb4real

Not sure if this will solve everyone's issues but I noticed that I only get the error on my iPod when my Wifi is on and or connecting. When it is off, I never get the error. Just my two cents.

onthelimit

I've been having the same issue on my 2-month old IS350 as well. Went to the dealership this past week and the tech specialist installed an update. Haven't seen the ipod error pop up again (hope I don't jinx myself). He did say that if the software update doesn't stop the problem, the dealership will replace the USB drive.

dseag2

I was getting lots of drop outs from my standard iPod in my GS. It would just stop playing and display "Audio Off". I traded for an iPod Nano and it now works flawlessly. It also worked in an IS250 loaner I recently had for 2 days with no drop outs.

flytldr

ML system also displays 'iPod error', followed by 'Audio Off'

Using iPhone 5 w/7.1.2

Randomly while hardwired with an OEM lightening cable to the car, I get the dreaded 'iPod error'
displayed.
I had this issue investigated by Lexus Tech Dept, who did a great job FULLY investigating it.
They actually downloaded a bunch of data from my car, for analysis.
I got a reply approx 2 weeks later...iPhone issue.

Yep, a coding/programming problem on Apple's side.

They didn't say anything about patching our cars, so I'm assuming they're leaving this one to Apple to rectify.

Not the answer I was hoping for, but, at least it's an answer to the problem.
Guess I have to buy an old iPhone and run version 7.0 until iOS 8 comes out.

Not cool for a brand new car!

Jmahon526

I'm having the same issue with my 2014 ISF - and I just upgraded to a new iPhone 6 and I still have the same issue. The dealership said there would be a software update - I'm just waiting for it!

IS350SWFL

I'm not getting the IPod Error when playing music from my IPod classic thru the USB, but i realized that my Ipod doesn't charge while its plugged in. Is this normal? In my G37, my Ipod would charge while it was plugged in and automatically shut off when i shut the car off.