My 2014 canadian is350 multimedia screen keeps showing the lexus splash, then warning screen and goes dark and tries again to start. Took it into Mecano Autoworks where Rish drove my car to northwest lexus and tried to apply the firmware update, can't even get the USB to power up as it cuts power to the ports when it restarts. It did randomly restart more than a few times before but usually a restart fixed it.

Looks like I need to replace the head unit, are there any aftermarket support for the 3is? Also what am I looking at pricing wise for a replacement head unit? He's looking for the best option for me now, but I'm curious.

 

Did you try disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes at least?
At this point, anything is worth a shot. Maybe if you can stop the reboot issue long enough to apply the update you might have a fighting chance of saving it.

 

Yupp, funny story kinda. So I work as a Chef so I get out very late. Last night I asked my dish guy to bring in a 10 mm wrench so I can do just that. It was so freaking cold at 10 PM I did it fast and unfortunately it did not work. I did not seem to have tighten it 100%...then I went to a parking lot and did some donuts in the snow cause...fresh powdered snow and me living in Milton I had plenty of empty lots. Snow got all over my wheels and froze inside the wheel overnight.

Fast forward to this morning, I woke up late for my appointment with Mecan Autoworks. As soon as I started driving I noticed vibrations....all that frozen snow had thrown the wheels off balance. Got there, tried to restart the car and it wouldn't even light up anything on the dash, I had shaken the negative terminal loose during my drive. Should have taken the extra minute to make sure it was tightened enough.

 

 

Warranty was up this past march, when I phoned lexus oakville they were going to charge me 1 hour of labour JUST to confirm that I'll need to spend thousands to replace the head unit.

 

 

Had the same issue recently. They ended up replacing my Radio head unit which cost close to $3000 USD. The blank screen and restarting issue was fixed but now my USB ports dont work. So back to the dealer she goes.

 

After I find out the cost, I think Im gonna try and ask lexus to pay for at least some of it. I like most people went the Lexus route because we thought it was going to be almost bulletproof, and this is a known issue for the earlier models. I mean I could have gotten a BMW for much less money. I've heard stories about crappy customer support from lexus so I guess I'll find out first hand.

My guy quoted me initially about 2K CDN for a referb unit from Pioneer, new units are about 10K.

 

Do you have Navigation? My 2014 has no nav but it froze on me once. None of the controls worked even after turning it off. Once I turned the car off, it worked fine.

That being said, thanks for sharing your experience. 2g for a refurbished unit is nuts. Have you looked at getting a used one out of a wrecked car? Otherwise, have you considered of those 10.25" aftermarket for about half the price?

 

Yeah my car has navigation and ML. My car did that too, then it became more frequent and eventually just endless restarts. As far as I know all those aftermarket systems require the OEM one as well in order to function...or am I wrong?

 

Has anyone looked into repairing what is wrong with these units? I sure would love to get my hands on one that is damaged and see what has gone wrong inside and needs to be repaired.