Losiracer2

For those that have the Nav option on their LS400, would you have avoided purchase of the car having come equipped with this or would it not have mattered?

Would you see this as being troublesome and a hassle later on, affecting the reliability of controlling the HVAC? Does the touch screen LCD pose any problems in colder climates?

aptoslexus

It wouldn't have prevented me from buying the car, but it's crossed my mind what I'd do if the thing went belly up. I actually purchased a non-navigation HVAC control off ebay, just in case. The touch screen is generally pretty reliable, but can be glitchy. It freezes from time to time, then will unfreeze after several minutes. Mine has a very peculiar bug where it starts rebooting over and over. I've isolated that problem to a particular building I drive past daily--the First Alarm building. I don't know what kind of signal they are putting out, but it messes with the touch screen system, sending it into reboot mode. When I drive out of the area, the problem stops. As soon as I come back and pass that building, it returns immediately.

Losiracer2

Does that prevent all usage of the HVAC controls? I just don't want to be left with a car that won't have working heat when its 10 degrees out in Michigan because i can't command it to turn on the blower for instance.

aptoslexus

No, it just momentarily interrupts the system. It's most noticeable in the radio. The music stops for a second or two and you have to wait until it reboots to change a station, which really is only a few seconds delay. Then it's normal for a minute or so, then it reboots again. It's kind of annoying but I've grown accustomed to it.

400fanboy

I have Nav in my car.

I use my phone for everything, so the only thing the touchscreen is used for is HVAC. And the only thing that is used for is adjusting the fan speed.

Yes it is a worry point if the screen ever stops working. But I almost never change the speed so it's not a big issue.

Yamae

My 98 Celsior's navigation system has been working fine for the past 20 years except incandescent bulbs. I think I can fix the unit when failed as long as parts are available. To me the only big problem I had was the outdated map data. Since there was no way to update it, I decided to use an additional latest unit which is very thin as below. This looks to disturb the front view but the highest point is just as high as the top of the hood and it doesn't cause any problem to me.

As far as I know hearing from other Celsior owners, some of the units have a starting up problem or no response issues when it's extremely cold like -10 degrees C or so. I still do not have those problems yet but I think I can fix those simply analysing the power regulation and the power on resetting circuit inside. The highest possibility would be aged electrolytic capacitors since they tend to work poorly when cold after aged due to the reason that the capacitance is decreased and the impedance is increased.

valex

My 99LS w/255K miles has a navigation screen, never had a problem, have had the car since 36k miles. When its really cold, I may get horizontal running lines on the screen for a few seconds.

Stereorob

as cool as the navi cars are, ive always stayed away from them because of the horror stories ive heard about when they fail, and yeah, they are old enough to fail. thing is tho any screen can go on them at any time. for example, there was a 2010 IS250 that only had 26k miles on it that was garage kept and absolutely babied. -screen went. saw a 2008 GS, screen froze and never came back. screen has all kinds of problems on the 430 from washing or browning out, to getting lines across it, to getting stress cracks.

honestly never seen a 400 screen fail personally, but then again i really dont see very many of them to begin with. not a lot of people went for the navi, which was an expensive option.

spuds

This board advised me not to buy with the nav system,so yes,not only would matter and did not purchase said system.

AndrewRM

Af first I didn't even know there was a nav option for this car. When I was shopping for one I never saw one with the nav so my I assume there weren't that many optioned with one.

My inclination is to stay away from old cars with screens anyway. Especially when they have crucial functionality. I love the simple and timeless look of the non-nav center console. Plus a nav system that old would be useless anyway. I always use my phone and I can always update my head unit to something modern.

Stereorob

the 1st gen navi is cool in a retro way, and yeah like i said i dont see many of them.

-cant be updated. that stopped around 2002 seems like, and the entire landscape in some areas especially here in Orlando, has changed A LOT so yeah, worthless today

the graphics look like something made by Atari, and the map looks like a 3 year olds scribble picture.

yeah, they are still cool and its a pretty good size screen, but i like the non-navi look as well.

and if it goes out, you are SCREWED.

Losiracer2

Well I ended up getting it tonight! Its a beautiful car that'll replace my 97' for DD use, but its so immaculate I almost just want to drive it on good days and keep it garaged in the winter. Its everything that I've wanted in an LS400. A 99' with all the options (HIDs, Heated seats, NAV package). I can't believe how much tighter and more comfy a ~150k mile LS400 feels vs. my 297k mile LS400. Or maybe the UCF21 was built better than 95-97 UCF20? Either way, I'm stoked about it. Still haven't messed around with the NAV, but the touchscreen is surprisingly responsive for being almost 20 yrs old.

valex

Losiracer2

Yep! Happy to report that the Navigation works perfectly. Touchscreen shows no signs of posing any issues.

jaaa

That car looks gorgeous. Good find.