Earlier this year I took my 2024 ES350 F Sport to my dealer because it was developing some different electronic issues and when the Nav screen started acting up I’d had enough. The technician took about three hours trying to chase the problem down before he finally came to get me to sit in the car with him to describe everything I had experienced and how I got it working again. He mentioned the battery and I immediately asked him to check it. A dead cell showed up and after he replaced the battery everything seemed to work fine.

This past week my Nav screen started acting up again. It stays white, keeps the triangular icon that shows the location of the car, but loses everything else - streets, street names, etc… I used the voice control and asked it to navigate back to my house and everything came back on the screen. I hit the End icon on the bottom right of the screen to stop the navigation and then the streets actually started to fade away back to the white screen. That started at the top of the screen and went to the bottom of the screen leaving only the black icon that marks the car’s location.

My next step was CarPlay. I went into CarPlay, hit my Waze app icon, and the screen illuminated with everything it was set up in Waze to display. Apple Maps will display as well.

Has anyone ever experienced this? I’ve had cars with plenty of electronics in them for 20 years and this is a first for me.

 

You should record what's happening so that you have proof of it.
Then they can properly fix it under warranty.

 

Most likely a software glitch.
Any updates on Lexus web site?

 

No notifications in the app about available updates.

 

You have one big clue here in that replacing the battery solved problem for awhile. Before start in morning use a meter and check battery voltage as you could be having excessive parasitic drain. Another test is fully charge battery and see if doesn't happen for awhile. Dcm constantly transmits to Lexus every few seconds. Lexus will fully drain the battery if the car sits and they know this. Some microprocessors are sensitive to incorrect voltage at start up. A manufacturer of the module might use different micro for same part number module so one 2024 car might be susceptible and another 2024 not. Also get Lexus to check and make sure you have up to date software as they are constantly trying to minimize the drain.

 

My son-in-law used to be a mechanic and a service advisor for my Lexus dealer. My current service advisor and I are very good friends. I called her last week and told her what was going on and she scheduled me to see her "most technologically advanced" (her words) technician. They do not doubt what is happening and are thinking a onboard computer may need to be replaced.

 

Years ago for my 2001 LS430UL after startup sometimes it would not go in reverse. Lexus had no clue as trans checked out fine and even took to premium trans shop and they checked out and had no clue as it did not happen with them. My cousin had model after LS430 and same thing happened to his and they ended up trading him out. I figured out by trial and error what was causing the problem. Ignition turn on the mirrors would open and steering wheel goes to right position and starts fine. The initial startup without starting had lowered the voltage enough to ecm to cause trans problems. Replacing battery fixed the problem and has not happened again in over 20 years. At the time Lexus did not know this. It is widely known now. This is why I say do your own tests first and the clue was a new battery solved your problem for awhile.

 

The battery may be an issue but the computers shouldn’t put such a drain on it that I have to replace it twice a year. Right?

 

Correct and that is the problem. My parasitic drain on my 2020 dropped considerably once my subscriptions ran out and I declined the agreement. Measure with an ammeter and you will see. But yours may have excess drain so make sure software is up to date. Problem at the dealer if doesn't have the symptoms they will say everything is normal. What I would do is do the test I mentioned and if fixes temporally you can tell them that it doesn't happen with a fully charged battery.

 

UPDATE: I took my car in for its 15k mile service and the week prior the Nav screen had stopped working on and off again. My Service Advisor set me up with a loaner and sent me on my way so she could get her best “technical” tech to look at it.

The battery was fine. They kept the car for three days and could not replicate the problem. They sent me a message to come get it.

When I first took it in my Service Advisor asked me to tell my iPhone to forget the car, tell the car to forget the iPhone, then start the process of pairing them again. I tried that in the dealership driveway three times, it wouldn’t pair back up, so I went into the service department. They sent a tech out and he told me to shut Bluetooth off and back on again and then try to pair it. That worked so off I went.

I used voice command to tell the car to take me home using the Nav system because it’s very good at avoiding traffic. My dealer is in one of the more congested areas of metro Atlanta. I ended up on an interstate, knew that I was OK with the traffic, so using voice command I told it to end the trip. It did and then…..

THE NAV SCREEN WENT BLANK AGAIN!!! I hadn’t been driving more than ten minutes. 🤬

I was furious and on an interstate so I couldn’t take my iPhone out to take a picture. Right before I got to my exit, where I could take a picture, the Nav screen came back on again. I asked the Nav to take me home again then ended the trip to see if it would do it again. It stayed on this time.

I’m so frustrated with this car. I’ve driven many different cars with technology for over 20 years and I’ve never experienced this kind of unreliability.

 

Your last update shows it is not a battery problem. Intermittent problems like this are very difficult to pinpoint until it is a known part and then it is documented to replace that part for this problem. This may never be fixed until the dealer sees problem and starts replacing parts. What I would do is see if the diagnostic teck (not mechanic) in service dept is willing to personally drive this home several times to replicate. They are going to do nothing just by your word. When the NAV screen goes black can any display at all be put back on screen? Does it start working if you reboot the system by holding in the volume **** and restart? Ask this problem in the NX forum as they are the ones that first got this new system.

 

This is a bit concerning, the '24 has been dinged by CR for reliability of In-car electronics.
There also appears to be a recall for the rear camera. It must be VIN specific because mine does not show a recall.

In-Car Electronics
Infotainment system (audio, GPS, phone), rear entertainment system, backup or other camera/sensors, head-up display.

 

I wonder how people found a worse reliability on brakes?

 

I assume if they were not able to replicate the issue with the best “technical” tech, maybe is tied to the specific iPhone pair Bluetooth combo.

Have you try pairing a different iPhone/Android device to rule out any phone related glitches? Sometimes there are compatibility issues between certain phones and brands of infotainment systems, often tied to hardware specs, OS versions, or settings. Using another phone could help to rule out this.

If the issue persists after testing with another phone, consider performing a [Reset settings], then [Delete driver], or even a full [System reset] via the infotainment’s [Info & Security] menu.

If none of these previous troubleshooting steps work, then it’s likely tied to a infotainment hardware/software defect. In that case, I’d recommend following @Lexuspicious advice, and take a photo or video of the issue, and discuss the possibility of an infotainment system replacement with your advisor, referencing the previous steps you’ve taken.

For example, for the fist year I experienced persistent Android Auto disconnections from the head unit during trips. After extensive research, I traced the issue to a compatibility problem between the AA version and my specific Galaxy phone model. Once I upgraded my phone the issue basically disappeared.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

The dinged reliability is probably due to the recall itself. It's a Feb '24 recall due to the rear-view camera image not displaying within a couple of seconds after shifting into reverse; per safety requirements. The solution was to Reflash the parking assist ECU with a NEW software. I did mine during that same month maintenance schedule. IMHO I never noticed the 1-2 sec difference.