browerjs

I have a 2011 RX350, and I have a problem with it playing some MP3s over the USB via a flash drive. The majority of the MP3s play without a problem, but there is some cases where some just won't work.

For example, I just downloaded the new Kenny Chesney album via Amazon mp3s, and it will not play on my RX, however some other songs that were downloaded from Amazon play fine. Any ideas what's going on here?

I originally assumed that it was the nitrate of the MP3s, but I tried re-encoding them to a lower nitrate and that didn't help either. The manual does state that variable bit rate should work anyways and that it will play up to 320.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, as this is driving me crazy.

browerjs

Anyone have any idea?

TomT127

Doubt if it's an MP3 problem. I have found the Lexus radio USB system to be picky about how it reads folders. I have had issues with the Lexus reading some of my songs yet they play fine in my other vehicle (Infinity). It cannot handle sub folders. Example: I recently downloaded the new Santana MP3 from Amazon. It created a folder for Santana then a folder inside for the album title then another folder inside for the tracks, The RX just could not read that third folder.When i moved the tracks to the first folder and eliminated the other two it read them fine.

The only other issue could be your MP3 stick. Make sure it's a quality stick from the likes of Kingston.

Also could be the country music.

browerjs

Yea I have all mp3s in an album folder within the root of a quality USB stick. The mp3s play fine on my PC/Mac/Xbox/etc., etc. The lexus is the only thing that won't play them. I think I'm going to try to re-encode to wma tonight to see if it helps at all.

TomT127

Sounds like you have covered all the bases Can't imagine what the problem is. Except for the folder issue I have not experienced any problems with playing MP3's.

BertL

Yes, I agree folders could be a problem, especially if nested too deep. My former BMW was very picky with file and folder naming conventions (blanks and special characters were problematic) as well. It sounds like you've looked through your manual for what is and is not supported on a 2011 -- if not, you probably should... They are also available on Lexus.com "My Lexus" if you want to just do a search on "MP3" like I did.

My 2013 manual is very specific on what bit and sampling rates are supported for MP3 and WMA -- what is supported seems pretty broad, but I know I could create versions not supported in my Lexus via my Mac (or PC) utilities. There seem to be more limitations for MP3s on CD or DVD than on USB, but even USB has other limitations of 8 folder levels, 999 total folders and 65025 total files per device, and no more than 255 files per folder. Good luck!

browerjs

Well I converted everything on my USB stick to WMA9 256kbps/44.1kHz using a free windows utility (via Parallels on my Mac) called "Free WMA MP3 converter" (http://www.koyotesoft.com/audio-soft...converter.html). I did a test run of a couple mp3s that I knew wouldn't play, and after conversion, they worked right away. The software was nice as well because I could just point it to my USB stick and it would place the WMA in the same folder as the MP3, and delete the MP3 right after it was done. It also seems like I can change songs/folders a little quicker, but I haven't tried it while driving yet, so that may not be the case.

My next mission was to get the RX to sort the folders the way I wanted. I thought this was done on folder modified date, but that's not the case, as I tried a utility to set the folder modified/created/accessed date to the order I wanted the RX to display them. So after a bit more searching I found a great utility that allows you to drag and drop folders (and/or files) in any order you want them and that's how the order they'll show up in. This is really big for me, because I like to keep majority of my music alphabetically, with a folder at the top with my favorites (that I can randomize), and then all the kids music at the bottom. The software I used for this is another free windows utility called: DriveSort (http://www.anerty.net/software/file/DriveSort/)

BertL

Glad to hear you got everything working! Thanks for reporting back -- really helps folks in the future be able to see how things were resolved.

EMSLEXUSRX

I'm having a different issue with my iPod playing in the RX. When I play podcasts in the RX, and then whenever I turn the car off, and get back in, turn it on, turn the iPod back on, it always goes to the beginning of the podcast. So that's become frustrating. I remember some folks were having issues with the iPod/USB on navigation model RX's, but I only recall issues with audiobooks and scrolling songs on the screen. I don't have the nav on my RX.

I'm curious if anyone else has had an issue playing podcasts.

BertL

I have a 2013 RX450h with Nav and Mark Levinson, using an iPod Classic connected via USB, and do not have the problem you describe. I turn my truck off and don't touch the iPod, letting it go to sleep by itself. When i turn the truck back on, what I was playing continues where I left off -- even if I've switched sources to XM or FM before it begins. Same thing occurs if I use the iPhone in my pocket... If I select it or just let my BT Audio continue after starting the truck, it picks up where I left off.

ML and my having a 2013 which introduced some amount of changes to Enform and other things that are not specifically called out in the manuals and marketing literature may be a difference... ???

EMSLEXUSRX

BertL, even though I don't have the navigation, I do have the Comfort Package, which means I have the 12-speaker stereo system, but it still goes right back to the beginning of the Podcast that I've been listening to after shutting the car off. I guess the next time I'm at the dealership, I'll have to look into it.

alk3997

Bery, You are one of the few with a 2013 RX with ML. Can you tell me if DVD-Audio still works with the 2013 ML? The brochures were contradictory and I didn't see the DVD-Video/DVD-Audio logo on the player anymore.

BertL

^^^ alk3997: I agree it's a bit strange not having the DVD logo on the player any more, but the functionality is there. You can play a DVD Video when the car is parked, and DVD audio is available at all times. p238 in the manual here talks about playing MP3/WMA, and elsewhere in that PDF are the various formats/bitrates supported.

dewkn

I used to have that problem before I uploaded everything onto my Ipod.