Yep, it's pointless to have a conversation about it. I think all these nav threads should be locked and just say "see previous threads".

I have a Garmin (which I now only use in my truck), and I deliberately chose the Nav option for my Lexus; I wouldn't change that choice for the world. In fact, I'll also make the same choice when I purchased the 2013 Lexus IS350.

 

Also, since i'm ranting, the Lexus ENFORM..has a nice pop up feature when you start the car up, quite annoying. Get pop ups on your PC and your car! One time I let it run and it was like 15 minutes of a lady talking about some hotel with a bed and breakfast....

 

Cliffs on thread: If poor, not worth it. Otherwise yes.

 

I wouldnt change the lexus navigation on this car for anything else on the market. I would like for the rattles to go away sometime tho

 

Nav was a must when i was looking for the new car. I have nav in my g35 and its beyond simple to use. the only things i dont like about it are that its not touch screen and the little direction button kinda sucks, and theres no way to disable the "while driving" setting. apparently thats the same with the lexus though. i think there should be a sensor in the passenger seat that when enough weight is present the nav will work while driving.

anyway...going from the infiniti system to the lexus system, while a definite must have and awesome for the touch screen, it is completely too complicated. it may be simple to those that are using it as their first system, but going from one to the next, i think its tough to get used to.

 

The only way I would ever consider built-in nav is if I actually relied on a GPS to get around unfamiliar areas on a daily basis.

This thread started a long time ago so it might warrant some recent updates...the route calculation speed of modern Garmin's is now a non issue as they use faster processors, lock on satellite almost instantly, and the non-Nav 2IS now have Bluetooth phone and music.

One great feature of a portable nav system is the fact that the car does not prevent me from changing things while the car is moving. Obviously I don't want to be doing something distracting at high speed, but I do want the freedom to make a change when I see fit instead of the car deciding for me.

Most importantly, I typically keep a car somewhere around 6-8 years and well over 100k miles. If my situation should change such that I want to keep it longer, I don't want to deal with a broken nav system / screen out of warranty, especially one that I am forced to replace whether I need nav or not because it also is my interface to other electronics (dual climate, etc). When its time to replace one of these out of warranty, bend over and grab your ankles, and leave several thousand bucks cash in your back pocket to serve the dealer.

As I said if I were really traveling on unfamiliar routes on a daily basis, I might reconsider, but for the rare occasions I am actually without a clue where I am relative to where I'm going, it's not at all inconvenient to pull the Garmin out of the glove box, mount to single suction cup mount, and carry on. Much easier and cheaper to update with current maps, which is nice as well.

 

Question : I just brought an 08 is250 with no nav/backup cam .. is there an way for me to head to the lexus dealer or such to have this option installed?

and If such can be done, what is the estimate ?

Thanks in advance !

 

You can turn this off in the settings menu.

While this is all true, don't forget about the benefit of XM Satellite Traffic with the ability to auto-reroute around traffic, as well as voice control for many of the vehicle's functions, not just navigation/Bluetooth.

Just my $.02, and I lease for many of the reasons you stated above.

 

I can understand why Nav was a must before you could get Bluetooth on its own and before smartphones took off, but IMO it's not worth the extra money now. I prefer the physical buttons, there's no yearly cost, and the buttons won't be obsolete in 5+ years whereas the Nav software might be.

I have GPS w/ turn by turn whenever I want on my Android phone, and the app is updated regularly (now it has traffic built in). I can also load up the route while I'm in my house or walking to my car and just drop the phone into the cigarette lighter cubby (it fits perfectly) so no need to fiddle with the nav before I can start driving.

 

It will cost you a lot. If you're thinking about installing navigation in your IS, you can get a Flyaudio navigation unit which has the OEM look. It costs around$1500.

 

If your GPS needs are fully met, then no need to spend money unnecessarily, but you might be surprised how much better it is to have a dedicated Garmin Nuvi or similar portable nav for this. I have an iPhone 4 but I like to keep it free for other things. On longer trips I keep my phone in the cig lighter area like you, but it runs the Escort Live app (paired with a smartcord gives crowdsourced radar / cop warnings). Plus its nice to be able to use the phone independently from navigating, for less cumbersome multitasking, battery life, etc. Occasionally I will just run the Garmin unplugged/unmounted, again just propped up near the cig lighter -- but its much louder and gets XM traffic (can route around it) when its plugged into the cable. Lifetime map update subscriptions are pretty cheap (quite a bit cheaper than a single update for a built-in car nav).

 

Which is a feature Garmins have been doing since like 2004.... and the Lexus NAV did NOT do prior to 2010 models.

even better though- most Garmins don't require a subscription for traffic since they get their traffic over FM, not XM. (plus the aforementioned vastly cheaper map updates)

The 2010+ Nav systems are a lot closer to what 5-year-old Garmins could do... (though still behind what current Garmins do)