JohnnyCake

My steering wheel controls for radio and nav (but not phone) stopped working. At the same time, the horn stopped working.

The weirdest thing is that every now and then, the horn will work again, and when it does, the steering wheel controls for radio and nav will also work. But mostly it doesn't work.

Took it into the dealer. They immediately suspected the "spiral cable" but now say it is a "switch," which they overnighted from California. They were agast at the LuxLink and the "million" wires it has. They indicated they had never seen a SC with a remote start. They assert that a "short" in the LuxLink box has cause the "switch" to fail.

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I asked how a single switch could be involved in such different systems (i.e. horn, radio change, nav command). The service writer said it is on a common system.

They are going to install the switch tomorrow and see if it fixes the problem. On the one hand, they are being very decent about this and volunteered that there would be no charge and they would get Lexus to cover it under warranty. OTOH, the systems which are messed up seem pretty unrelated to Luxlink.

Question #1: does what they are saying make sense?

Question #2: if there is some sort of short problem with the Luxlink, is it possible that it is only implicated in the remote start -- could that portion of the Luxlink be disconnected without affecting the ability to control the top through the Luxlink? I never use the remote start.

This will be coming to a head tomorrow, so quick opinions appreciated!

Habious

I got a similar reaction from my dealership to the LuxLink.

Had an issue with the system sometimes not immediately recognizing the key in the cylinder. When I asked them to take a look at it, they took one look at the LuxLink installation under the dash and told me "Sorry, we're not going to work on it."

JohnnyCake,

As for your specific problem, it's possible that Lexus has several common grounds tied to that switch...but that explanation sure does sound a bit flaky.

prex

Disconnecting/grounding out the steering wheel left hand side audio controls will cause the horn to stop functioning -- will hope for the best for your safety till everything is working again.

mrblister

There is no issue with luxlink. The amount of actual wires that interface into our cars really just run parallel to systems installed. The main harness interface is through the drivers side window and door switchs. I say the dealership only go by some dumb book . With out the book the wont know what to do. I just hate taking my car in. Seems that they allways blame anything that is aftermarket before really looking for problem. I can understand that if there is a wire in your car that is not in the book the blame is on the unknown wire.

Keep us informed I cant see how anything in Luxlink could cause the issue. Ask steve at Luxlink

JohnnyCake

Update from today: The claim is that there is a short in the LuxLink master box which is causing other systems (horn, steering radio controls) to behave wacky. Does that make sense?

To make matters worse, the tech seems to have messed things up worse. Not only does the stuff still not work, but now the top doesn't work at all (red light comes on, but that is it) and the inside trunk release button doesn't work.

I have a sinking feeling that this isn't going to end well.

The only good news is that the Lexus loaner is brand new (107 miles). Stuff still has the protective film on it.

mrblister

There claim sounds disingenuious. I would call steve and ask him how to trouble shoot the luxlink or just swap it out with him. I find the dealerships really dont like anything aftermarket.

Buddy

The luxlink has nothing to do with the horn or trunk release or steering controls or radio

tfischer

The service manager at my dealership, who seems to be a pretty savvy guy, recommended against putting a remote starter or other such aftermarket items into my SC or my RX because he has seen some of them cause strange and unpredictable electronic gremlins to creep into the system. He says these cars have a complex and pervasive electronic system, and the addition of new elements can sometimes cause other electronic or lighting systems to act strangely.
This sounds like the kind of problem described here.

mrblister

I have had mine installed for going on 3 years . Not a single glitch. I have a 2005 and Steve sold me the lastest generation [ In Fact It was the last generation ] The only quirk is and allways was in the rear window mod. When I do the tripple window swicth press . Once in a while the first time the windows dont move . You have to wait about 20 seconds then try again . It will then work. Steve told me he did not make the rear window module. He also said that it does sometimes not work on first try because either you did not allow the relay to click on each press. I am very happy with mine and can and do live with the ocaasional glitch.

It also occurs to me that perhaps if you have another unrelated issue having nothing to do with the luxlink . perhaps a certain combination of errors could trigger an event because the computer is confused by the luxlink prescence when combined with another event.


Steve has sold alot of these units and ,most problems can be traced to install issues .

Buddy

Solman

TWO YEARS with Luxlink with ZERO problems. Love it-the best mod for the SC 430. My dealer actually asked for a demo of what it does-it drew a crowd.

scrdstr

l have had remote starters on cars that cause all kinds of problems and then again I have had them on cars and had no problems. If Luxlink is in anyway connected to the cars electrical system it can cause problems. It's kind of a crap shoot hard to say it will cause problems but you can't say for sure it won't.

JohnnyCake

Here's the latest -- any opinions?

We disconnected the remote start and now everything but the navigation screen is operating correctly. When a failing computer is installed, it can cause several systems to operate incorrectly or not at all. The only repair we are able to do is remove the remote start. Once removed, we will trace the navigation circuit. It is possible there may be other damage from the aftermarket installation.

Paul Guzman
Shop Foreman

tfischer

I don't have an opinion, other than it seems to me that you are proceeding very logically and methodically.
This does reinforce what my Lexus service manager told me several years ago when I inquired about installing a remote start on my '04 RX (purchased in '07): he recommended strongly against it because he said such systems often (but not always) caused strange reactions in the car's own computer and electrical systems, sometimes well after the time of installation.
For this reason he said his Lexus dealership did not install them, and he said they were all hoping Lexus would introduce its own remote start (which they did for the 2010 model RX). Based on that advice, I stopped my inquiry, as reliability every day is far more important to me than the occasional warm seat.

VVTiBob

Only you can judge the veracity of your local dealer and the folks who service your car. While it may seem to be convenient to point to an aftermarket device like the luxlink, the real question is if removing it fixes the issues then it does seem to be a plausible explanation.

Electronic components do fail. The environment of automobiles itself can be the source of failure, (for example, a poorly soldered connection vibrated apart) If removing the Luxlink resolves the problems then this points to it as source.

If I was dealing with this, I'd restore the electronics to original specs, send the Luxlink back to Steve for testing. (seems he should have diagnostics to test the units before they're installed)

If there is a component failure within the luxlink that caused a cascade of other failures, then take the steps necessary to get the luxlink repaired, then reinstalled.

Thanks for keeping us informed on the progress of this issue, we all learn from each others experiences.

JohnnyCake

Thanks for the comments. I spoke with Steve today and he did not understand how the Luxlink system could interfer with other systems, especially since it is installed in parallel. If the dealer does rip it out, Steve offered to test it.

Of interest, Steve said that the LuxLink is no longer being produced and is out of stock. No more will be made. After making that decision, another company contacted him with some interest in buying the rights to LuxLink but that hasn't gone anywhere as of yet. So, if you have a LuxLink, hang on to it!!

mrblister

I was thinking about buying another luxlink as a spare. I plan on keeping the car for a long time. I dont believe that lexus is going to return to the sc430 as we know it. If they do it will be a new model altogether. So my sc430 will need spare parts. I should of bought a spare unit before steve stopped.

Buddy