TechNut

Since you mentioned an iPhone 5s were you asking Virtual or me? I have tried two different iPhones in the ES and those same 2 plus two 5s in the RX. Similar experience with all the phones and both vehicles. The party at the far end can hear, but not great and they frequently ask me to repeat. When my wife calls from the car I have a difficult time understanding her and her voice is very high pitched and squeaky. Her voice must be at least an octave higher than normal. I do think the RX is worse than the ES but neither seems very good.

Lex222

I just turned off my sound leveler and I'm amazed at how much better the stereo sounds now. Thanks!

BBC

I have a new Lexus ES 350 2016 Luxury package without navigation. My Bluetooth has never worked correctly. The recipients of my outgoing phone calls get an echo. There is no echo for people that call in. Also, the radio does not cut off when I make a phone call. Sometimes the radio comes back on after a phone call if I was listening to the radio. Sometimes a random song from my iTunes starts playing. There is a glitch somewhere and the dealer can't find it and has indicated it's my problem.

I started out with a 5S phone. Got a new 6S, Have changed cords, changed phones. Problem still not resolved. I have synced my phone with other vehicles. No Problem whatsoever. The problem only exists in my new car. Did not have any problems with my previous Toyota Avalon XLS.

Suggestions?

virtual

sorry to hear that. Bad radio. This thing is a complicated combo. Bad design. The whole unit needs replacing. But don't worry - you are not alone. Many people have those bad radios. We all suffer because of it.

USALV

It's a bad radio. Can you get it replaced ?

yrasheed

I have the very same issue. Tried changing the phone, the dealer changed the mic in my car, but the problem persists. I had a 2013 ES 350 and it was perfect. This one (2015) is totally different.

I also have echo problems when I join a conference call. The others on the line start hearing echo immediately.

Any solutions?

Thanks

TechNut

I never found a resolution. I just learned to live with it. We traded our 2013 RX for a 2016 NX and still the same problem on 2016 Lexus models. On the RX I originally used a Blackberry and the sound quality was very good. I can't speak for Android devices, but when we switched to Apple phones the Bluetooth phone quality went way down and the integration really tanked. The Blackberry OS incorporated a broader spectrum of the MAP protocols so the car would even pop up and offer to read new emails as they came in. My point is that there are two players in this equation and having seen (or rather heard) the Blackberry, I can't help but think the Apple IOS operating system is the real culprit here, rather than the car.

bc6152

My '13 350 is now almost 4 years old. My opinion of the sound system is excellent. Bluetooth connectivity is also excellent and my Android phone connects within a minute. I have never had an issue with speech and it is crystal clear on both ends. I had no knowledge about the sound leveler until I read this thread and I've had no need to fine tune the sound ever. I do remember previous posts where the Apple phone was thought to be the guilty ingredient and I tend to agree with WARD on that note.

lesz

+1

My experience with my Android phones has been identical to Bob's. Without any adjusting or fine tuning, voice quality is crystal clear.

I would guess that the source of the issue is the iPhone, and it certainly does seem like the complaints on this board have come from those using iPhones.

jollick

My wife and I have the iPhone 5 and 6. We have had no issues with phones connecting or the voice quality on either end. We also get text messages pop up and the system reads them if I select to do so. We just cannot use the respond feature due to Apple not allowing it.

virtual

Well, Sir, with all due respect - I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU. I spent more time analyzing this issue in my car and simply there exist no ES350 with a correctly functioning Bluetooth transmit function. I tested other cars - not just mine and I paired Iphone 6 and it also had poor call quality. I tested Lexus approved phones and I have a Lexus tested phone and it doesn't work right. Now unless you have a navigation option - then you just can't have it working right. People are confused here and give examples of older cars and Nav cars - while the problem is narrowed to only non-navigation stereo head unit made on or after 2015. Thank you.

virtual

Yrasheed - stay tuned, because the matter is slowly moving forward. My dealer acknowledged that there is a difference between the models and also stated there is no fix to the problem as of now. However i was told there is "a ticket" and the "manufacturer is working on the issue". So yes - Lexus is aware of this problem, but so far they don't seem to be interested in fixing it. It is an engineering problem with those radios. It is like that on all of them.

Lex222

I have an iPhone 6s, a 2015 ES350 with Nav, and I sometimes have people complain that they echo back to themselves when speaking. If I hangup and call back, it usually does not re-occur. I have noticed that it tends to happen more often in areas where signal strength isn't wonderful.

I re-paired my phone last week after getting a few complaints and its been fine since but would not be surprised if its just been luck.

TechNut

We get texts as well, but with the Blackberry I also received emails. Plus I could respond. Someone in the RX forum suggested it was because Blackberry (RIM) implemented the full MAP protocol set and Apple only implemented a subset of those protocols. I assume Google/Android also probably only implemented a subset, but perhaps a different subset?

TechNut

We have Nav on our 2015 ES and the Bluetooth doesn't sound correct on it either, so I have a hard time buying your assessment that this issue only affects non-nav cars. I am referring to the sound quality at the far end, to the people we are speaking to. In the car, it sounds just fine. At the far end, it sounds like Minnie Mouse, way too high and squeaky. We have not heard an echo as some have described though so may be talking about different issues.

I did mention earlier that we have the same issue with our 2016 with both iPhone 6 and 6S devices, but I should say that it is better with the NX so either Apple or Lexus must be homing in on the problem.