jeffmust

I recently lost Sirius' traffic information even though regular music stations come in fine. So I contacted their support desk...

"Didn't you get our email on November 23rd?"
"Nope...what would that be?"
"Oh, well, we notified you that your Lexus RX450h audio system/GPS could no longer receive our traffic information...so you need to go to your dealership and have them fix it."
"Fix what? I'm not aware of any known problem between your traffic signal and a 2010 RX..."
"Well, we're sure your dealer service knows about it. It either needs a Lexus software upgrade or they might have to replace the whole GPS system."

So I searched this site and didn't find any such problem...am I missing something? Or is Sirius covering for their own problems? Everything has been working fine since I signed up last April.

Cruiter

If you're paying for it, then you got blown off (with the traffic). If not, your trial is up. Sometimes they don't get everything turned off right away so you may still be getting the music.

jeffmust

Talked to Lexus Service; they have no idea what Sirius is talking about.
As it turns out...neither does Sirius.

I called their tech support back and informed them it must be a Sirius problem so they are sending new activation signals to my two systems (450h and Mustang) to see if Traffic Info is now operating.

Jim - good guess but I'm way past the free trial period.

MEP7557

I believe the traffic is an additional feature on top of the music. Not sure if you opted for the traffic. Just a thought

jeffmust

I've had the RX450h since Dec'09 and the satelite music with traffic since then as well. So approximately two years of which I'm paid up on an annual subscription not due for renewal until April'12. So I have to believe that its a Sirius screw up. Thanks.

MEP7557

Nice play on words. Sounds like it's their fault not Lexus'. I don't see Lexus changing out those units because Sirius changed the way they operate. Let us know the outcome.

kartah

Jeff, do you actually find Navtraffic useful? In my opinion it's pretty useless as it does not provide an alternate route (like my Tomtom) when it does detect traffic. Instead, it simply tells me that there is traffic in "x" miles ahead. And sometimes it tells me, "stop and go traffic" while I'm in the traffic jam itself. Or, is there a smarter or better way to use this Navtraffic, because I'm not considering any subscription after the trial period. Thanks!

TampaOwner

navtraffic would be useful if it was more intelligent... its too distracting to look at the color codes to locate traffic issues ... it would be useful if the navigation used my route and then informed me of a traffic incident verbally

jeffmust

Traffic's usefulness (or not) depends on your location and your ability to use alternative routes once alerted. It's not perfect since it just takes reported ongoing traffic status from public agencies and spits it back.

As for the display and alerts...once your route is entered, do you not get verbalizations of problem areas ahead on that route? For example, we typically hear a warning such as "7.5 miles ahead on the route, slow traffic for 3 miles."

jtrue28

what's the additional cost of the Traffic/Stocks/Weather stuff that only worked during the 3 month trial?

rxsuperman

I thought the nav traffic has the capability to prompt the driver to pick an alternate route upon detecting traffic congestion on the current route. I selected this option in the Nav setup screen but I've never been prompted to select an alternate route eventhough I frequently get traffic congestion messages from the nav.

Cruiter

Yes it does provide an alternate route 'if' you have a destination programed. That's the only way it knows where you want the alternate route to take you. It's done it for me multiple times.

rxsuperman

By "....destination programed", do you mean using route guidance which is what I use, or is there a specific alt route setup per destination I have to configure?

DunWkg

Yes, there are user applied characteristics of the three different routes. Those routes being, Alternate, Quickest and Shortest. Each can have characteristics you may modify or leave at default. You don't have to modify them, if you choose not to.

kartah

Really? That is interesting and would love to see how I can get it to work on mine. I have always entered a destination which is also how the Nav knows that there is traffic on the "route" that I chose. When it detects traffic, it will only point out, "There is traffic x miles ahead, stop and go traffic for x miles" or what I hate the most, "stop and go traffic" while I'm already in it for a few minutes. Geeze, thanks for rubbing that in my face Smart Navigation system!

So the question is, how do you change the Navigation settings so that it will provide you with an alternate route before you hit the traffic? Given that you have also entered a destination. Like I pointed out earlier, my $99 Tomtom would do that. When it detects traffic up ahead on my route, it warns me of the traffic and asks if I would like to take the alternate route. Once I enter "yes" it will automatically reroute, regardless if I'm on local streets or highway. Thanks for the info!