I am so unhappy with the navigation system. I have a 2017 es350. I hope I did the right thing buying this car. Bought the car off lease, a big purchase for me. Bought from a local huge dealer, with quite the reputation, wasn't told the cost of upgrading the maps. Omg. People, tell me I did the right thing?

 

Download Lexus Enform App Suite (not 2.0) and set it up on your phone.
LEAS is free and not dependent on a subscription to the Lexus Safety Connect "SOS" button.

Two ways to use LEAS...when you are not in the car open it up and find up to ten (10) locations and Save them.
When you are in the car tap the center console Menu and then Lexus App Suite. Tap Saved locations and Yes to transfer!

Second way to use LEAS is when you are already in the car, paired up and App Suite running on your phone.
Instead of pressing the steering wheel Speech button with the Lexus native map on screen, tap open Destinations at the bottom
and select Destination Search. (disclaimer box reminds you that this will use cell phone data plan minutes...)
Select Destination Search and then press the steering wheel Speech button... Now you are using the voice recognition and
map data of your phone! free and up to date! Drop the found destination into the Lexus map, call ahead, Mark for future use.

I lease ES300h's for four years and never update the maps. If you buy a house in a neighborhood built in 2019 and your street is not
on the map then go ahead a spring the couple hundred bucks but otherwise why?

 

You may be asking this question in the wrong place. You are asking on a board populated mostly by enthusiasts that have purchased the same model of car if you did the right thing buying the same car they bought. I thoroughly enjoyed my 2015 ES and we absolutely love our new 2019. When we upgraded the maps on our 2015 it wasn't cheap but I understood as it wasn't our first nav map update. Our Toyota and Lexus vehicles have all had a fee to update their navigation maps, but clearly the Lexus updates are more expensive. I think you did the right thing, but if the cost of map updates is too high for your comfort level, then perhaps you should just skip them as many members do and use your smartphone or a portable nav unit such as a Garmin. I am not aware of any specific brand that includes free nav updates like the mobile products, but there may indeed be brands that provide that level of support.

There are MANY things to like about the Lexus ES so I wouldn't let the maintenance costs derail your enjoyment of this nice car. Enjoy the fact that you are driving one of the most reliable vehicles on the road. As one final note, I might add you are likely to find similar costs with any of the brands with this same level of luxury, such as Infinity or Acura, and even greater costs from European luxury brands.

 

Here’s a question...can a Toyota dealer update the ES map with a similar generation Avalon map? (USB)

 

I am sure you didn't buy this car just on the basis of the nav which by most accounts sucks. Get going with Google maps or Waze, you'll be a lot happier. They update constantly are free and work 10 times better.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but I have found no problem with the Lexus Nav so far and I don't have/use a data plan on my cell phone...if I really need something updated I use my Garmin hand-held and even that I don't bother updating but about once every 5-7 years.