Whenever I've needed it, the NAV has come through - I haven't had any real issues with it. I think it's one of the better parts of the car.

I actually have the opposite problem, as in my area the NAV tends to avoid short freeway hops even when the freeway route would be a bit shorter time-wise.

 

i agree lexus GPS is weak. the GPS in my wife's '06 SC is much worse than a $100 magellan. the new GPS in my F is higher in resolution, but still has the same weak routing function. my previous 06 Acura TL was a little better, but can't compare to Garmin or Magellan in terms of ease of use or accuracy of routing. if i could, i would have deleted both anemic navigation and ML system to save money and get something that actually works and sounds better.

 

yeah i had to take it back to the dealer when my girl at the time did something to put it all in german! that was funny!

 

I disagree. I think that aside from the speed nannying Lexus makes one of the best nav systems. I use maybe 60% of the features regularly and did not need the manual to figure out.

Any interface that doesn't need secret key sequences (i.e. hold while pressing) can be learned with a little practice.

 

Anyone know how to turn off the ANNOYING double beep right before you're supposed to turn? (not the screen feedback beeps)

I.E., "turn right in 300 feet...BEEP BEEP"

SO ANNOYING!!!!

 

Man, the only real gripe I have w/ the navi unit is the lockup after 3-5mph, that REALLY ticks me off but other than that it works GREAT. I work for Mercedes-Benz and believe me..the nav units on our cars are HORRENDOUS. I even tell customers that complain about it that I drive a Lexus and that the navigation unit is far superior. I love pushing buttons on the screen rather than hanging onto a stupid **** and trying to maneuver it in only 8 possible directions WHILE driving. It's dangerous as hell if you ask me. BMW does this BS too w/ the little *****. I do agree the Acura one is quite easy to use and has a very very smart CPU. The only other negative thing I can think of is that there isn't a sexier voice for the volume..

 

I like the Lex navi and the touch screen. I also hate the lockout, but that's fixable. But I wish they'd stop nannying from the factory. Glad the next gen nav is HD based instead of DVD. There's noticeable lag from the DVD nav, my only other gripe.

 

It's sub par to the Nav system that was in my Nissan or my Garmin Nuvi for the following reasons:

1.) No birds eye view option
2.) No text to speech, i.e. doesn't annunciate street names
3.) No option for displaying more or less street detail except by zoom or POI.
4.) Not enough street detail on 700ft/.25mi/.5mi scales

The birds eye view on competitive NAVs allows you to "look ahead" more easily to see the lay of the map. If I'm not on the 150ft or 300ft scale, I'm not even seeing all the streets, they are not shown. If I do zoom to the 150ft or 300ft ranges, the streets are changing quickly and there's not enough field of view to look ahead much. That's where birds eye view helps. My Garmin Nuvi is a tiny screen but it packs much more useful information.

The Lexus nav works but is seriously lame. On the other hand, I still love it for the entertainment value of playing DVD-Videos which the others would not do. With the hack, it does this while in motion as well. Listening to a DVD-Video concert like Diana Krall while your passenger watches is a very luxurious experience and makes the travel time seem shorter.