Hadn't though of an Airtag, that's a great idea along with the old club Lock.
Many thanks!

 

Does anyone know if the IS500 shares the same windscreen as the IS 350/300. As my car is an import here in Australia, the windscreen shop doesn't have it listed but I'm assuming its the same screen.
While on this topic, what else does the 500 share with its little brothers? Obviously the bonnet/hood, wheels, power train are different, and maybe the front bar?
It'll be good to know in the unfortunate circumstance I need parts etc.

 

^^ Yes, I would be 99.9% sure the windscreen (windshield) is the exact same. As far as the similarities, the 350/300 wheels fit on the 500 as I am running these on mine. It would be quite lengthy to list the similarities or things that are different but as you stated, the engine/transmission and brakes are different. The bumper, hood, exhaust and rear diffuser are different. The doors, trunk and rear quarter panels are the same but not sure about the front quarter panels as these connect with the hood and bumper. Headlights are the same, tail lights are the same and pretty much everything inside also. The one thing that would differ from the 350 is if it doesn't have the adaptive suspension. I can assure you the CD player is teh same (LMAO)

 

In terms of the windshield, it's identical to any other IS 300/350. I have a sunshade for the IS 350 that fits my IS 500 perfectly.

And yeah the front of the car is totally different on the 500, as you noted. It's about two inches longer, so the front fenders, bumper cover, and hood are different.

 

Haha, i think the CD player brings some class as does the clock.

 

^^ I heard they are bringing the 8 tracks for the 2026 IS 350 models (lol)

 

Hello,

I’m experiencing my first issue with IS500 and that is I’m losing connection on my wife’s iPhone 11 when plugged into the centre console USB port. Now, I think it’s an iPhone issue because I think it works well with my android. Is this likely a common issue with these USB ports??

Thanks in advance

John

 

Are you using the top or bottom port? Bottom port is known to be defective but Lexus hasn't done anything about it.

 

We were using the top port but we swapped around to the bottom but originally the issue showed itself on the top.

 

Also, I was told you have to use a particular type of cable as some cables are for charging only??
The latest cable is a Cygnet brand.

 

I thought the top one was the issue, I use the bottom one.

Yeah it’s super picky about the type of cables, name brand or not. I tried several brands and types (metallic, cloth stretchy, etc.) before settling on one. Apple’s cables work perfectly, but I wanted longer ones.

 

Thanks, I’ll get a genuine Apple lead and test it out. Hopefully that fixes it. But still not sure if this is the cause as it had been working since late September when we got the vehicle. Failing this I’ll look into the actual USB ports for any suss connections etc. failing this the only thing I can think of would be the system update which will be difficult as this car is an import and the Australian Lexus dealers don’t won’t anything to do with it and I’ll have to find an audio guru to help..
thanks again for all your replies!

 

I got the genuine Apple lead and no luck. Also used it with multiple apple phones and my Android and the same thing happens.
it disconnected about 10 mins into a drive then you have to press the Menu button near the gearstick and select carplay again then its fine for the rest of the trip. Really weird.

 

There's a very detailed post about the difference b/t the top USB port and bottom one - I cant remember which thread it was from but I had to search for it within this forum as I was having Apple Carplay (wired) connection problem. It would randomly disconnect after abit. Initial thought was the cable moved while driving so it got disconnected. After few days I decided to go with Apple Wireless dongle/adaptor (more on this later)

Long story short: top USB port is mainly for data, and as Lexus tech is old, it cant handle the power request from newer devices, so it's stuck in this loop of connecting and disconnecting (the car want to protect itself from sudden surge of electricity). The bottom one is "better" as it got a shorter circuit (?) therefore isnt as sensitive with power demand/output as much.

For the (wired) disconnect problem, I heard if you press and hold the right volume **** (PWR), it'll restart the radio and clear out the cache and stop the disconnection.

Note: I actually tried this today while driving to work: the Wireless apple carplay didnt connect after 5min driving, I restarted the Radio and it connected instantly.

Regarding my own wireless Apple Carplay:

Not sure if I got a shitty Wireless dongle, or it's the USB problem from Lexus that's giving my car trouble connecting to Wireless dongle/adaptor. Sometimes it connects instantly (less than 5s after I turn on the car), sometimes 2-3 mins, and sometimes not at all (after 10min drive) - also same story, only bottom port works.
This is the one I got: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/l...le-for-carplay

How it works: it would connect to the dongle (to your phone) via Bluetooth first, then the dongle will have it own wifi, then your phone will switch to the wifi for "better" signal/transmission. All of this will happen automatically - you just need to plug the USB dongle in.
What I've done: turn off all connectivity from Lexus: wifi, bluetooth, hotspot, Glink etc... but the problem persists.

I also noticed:

-Sometimes the Navigation screen (from Lexus) will randomly popup and I have to switch back to Apple Carplay from the Main menu.
-After reversing (car switch to reverse cam, then back to whatever screen was showing (in this case would usually be carplay)), sometimes apple carplay will get disconnected.

What i'm planning to do:

-Try a different brand wireless dongle (probs Cynett) and see if this would resolve
-remove the SOS fuse (as it doesnt work in Australia - does nothing when you press the red SOS, just say unable to establish call etc...)

Question:
-does anyone know how to disable the Navigation from Lexus? I mucked around with the settings but couldnt find an option to turn it off. Every time I turn on the car it's the default screen, so I guess there's no way to turn the navigation feature off?

Note: Lexus Australia (VIC) wouldnt even look at my car, so I cant bring it to the dealership to hassle them, either I do it myself (cant do much, even when the car is connected to internet at home - I cant update, disable anything) or bring to a 3rd party mechanic (doubt they could do anything either). All dealerships within Melbourne said no to me, also 1 Toyota dealership. Gonna try and call other Toyota dealerships and see what they say.

Love the car but these little tech things kinda annoy me haha (it is an old platform). Everything else is perfect for me: engine, drives, look etc...(apart from the exhaust, do wish it's a bit louder, but im planning to put a mid pipe on it) and also the alcantara is a bit hard to clean for me - I do let my little chihuahua sit in the passenger seat. Probs will get a seat cover for him.

=========================================================
Update on the car:
Managed to go on 2 road trips (around 1,000 KMs in total) after a full PPF + ceramic coating, totally worth it:

- The bug splats, dirt, mud, rain spots...are so easy to come off.
- Drove a bad gravel road (by accident ) , the car just eat everything you throw at it.
- Did a 0-100 on a back road, manual: the transmission is very quick and would slap you AND your butt. Didnt have chance to time it but confident it would be mid 4s. Tires, engine and transmission are all warmed up after ~2hr drive and it was a sunny day.
- Felt confident cornering - even with stock tires: I was confident cornering the twisty roads under heavy rain (Great Ocean Road, near Apollo Bay). Maybe wasnt going fast enough
- Mark Levinson sounds very good: made me switch from Spotify to Apple Music for lossless audio. Contemplating to just use wired Apple Carplay if connecting problem persists, as I believe wired > wireless in terms of audio quality. (I havent been looking into later wireless connection tech for audio lately)
- Car is loud if you WOT and it sounds amazing.
-You will get noticed when you WOT, other times, not so much: Only the "if you know, you know" people will notice the car, general public sometimes would turn head to check it out as it is a handsome car and they don't see this car often. I don't see many 2021+ Lexus IS (here in Melbourne, seen them less than 5 times) let alone another IS 500. I did manage to see a few IS F (2-3), RC F (2), LC 500 (4) in the span of 3-4 years and very recently, a GS F (1). I mainly drive over the weekends and in/out of the CBD. BMWs (m340i and M2/M3 )and Benz (C43s,C45s,C65s) are everywhere though
-Speedometer is 4-5 km/h lower than actual speed (stock wheels + tires). Expecting a fine in the mail as I was giving it some and spotted a undercover cop in the bush during the road trip.

 

I use this Apple CarPlay dongle and it works well:


It starts up within 10 seconds and is very stable. Every now and then, like once every two months, at start up the screen may be blank although playing music. Those times I just unplug it from USB port and plug it back in and good to go.