jimisbell

The one I just bought is 2016 version 15.1 It has a lot of missing info. But it is better that the 2006 version that came with the car when I bought it.
I saw 2017 Version 16.1 on EBay but it is not compatible with the 2004 LS-430.
Will we be having to deal with a GPS that is no longer supported in the near future?

mcomer

http://www.lexusnavigation.com/what-to-order/ seems to confirm what you asked, end of support for that generation of Nav.

jimisbell

Well that sucks. Now there are two possible solutions.

1) figure out how to install an aftermarket unit under that plastic cover.

2) See if there is a way to modify the NEW files so they can be used by the older GPS unit. Possible but difficult. Probably not same format (vector or other) but could be converted with much programming labor)

2KHarrier

The GPS that these cars use, has to be the most user unfriendly system I've ever experienced. Not only are the icons difficult to see, due to the low resolution screen, but the interaction with the system is difficult, at best. I was all excited when I got my 2005 and it had the GPS screen. Now, I rarely use it. The phone is just so much easier to manipulate. However, a newer disc, will get you the most recent road maps available, as of 2015 anyway...

jayclapp

The LS navigation system was obviously designed for little interface while driving the car. It was intended that a person set their destination prior to driving and then letting the Nav give guidance orally. That would not distract the driver from driving. When the screen is used as a radio or for music, I find the touch screen as far superior to the joy stick/trackpad devices used today. They are very difficult to use while driving, much more distractive than the LS 430 system. When I get a new Lexus loaner while my car is being serviced, I find virtually impossible to drive away and safely figure out how to use the sound system.

We have reached the point where our advanced technology is often "a solution, looking for a problem". People now spend more time on their cell phones than they do interacting with the people they are with.

OsideTurbo

The nav system is horrible - you should consider this a blessing and try using google maps/driving on your phone. Google maps is better than any in-car system can ever be. Google has mapped the entire country and updates their system constantly. Not only is it always up-to-date on new roads and construction areas, it gives you real-time traffic updates and will even re-route you if an accident has caused a temporary delay.

Their database and real-time updates are amazingly accurate because we've all become unwitting traffic scouts for google. Every person who has a google app on their phone - which is just about everyone, considering that includes every Android phone, plus most people have a google search bar or youtube on their phone - even if they don't use maps. Everyone who fits that description is transmitting data to google whenever their phone is on, so if your phone was going 70mph and all of a sudden is going 20 mph while you are still on the highway, google knows and shares it with other drivers.

It's much easier to use,too. Give it a try if your disks are outdated.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

IMO the nav system isn't horrible... it's just over thirteen years old. Expecting crisp graphics, infotainment, connected features, etc. isn't reasonable - that stuff didn't exist back then. There was no iPhone and no apps. You could use a Tom Tom or Garmin stuck to your windshield.

My advice - get the latest map that exists and use the OEM nav as a backup when you don't have a cell signal on your smartphone like when you need a quick 'which way do I turn" leaving a parking deck, etc.

PS, this took me YEARS to figure out, but if you drop the door where the CD changer is located under the nav screen, it makes an ideal shelf to place your smartphone sideways running Waze, etc. if left open. I put a little rubberized strip on the backside of the door which helps keep the phone in place when cornering.

jimisbell

Actually, I dont agree with this at all. Leave out the interfaces, the software IS terrible. I started programming in 1960 and retired in 2000 and there was MUCH better, intuitive software, long before this stuff was written by people that did not know what they were doing. They violated almost every rule of programming. I would have fired the lot of them if they had been working for me.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

We can agree to disagree. I too have a long career 25+ years (still ongoing) in technology and technical methodologies and was programming in the 70s myself (although in middle school).

I find the Lexus nav software from this generation is perfectly usable compared to all the other stuff out there at the same time (and I looked at and used many of them in detail). My mom's old Acura of the same era (as one example) is unintelligible to use and I want to rip it out of the dash every time I use it.. The Porsche 911 version required you to pop out and replace the DVD when you crossed state lines which caused me at one point to take an extra long trip into Tennessee (that's a story for another thread).

Save the lawyer lockout nannies, I get around just fine using the OEM stuff when I have to. No apologist and certainly there are things that can be improved but certainly don't have any animosity towards Denso for their work. All the stuff from that era (including ours) looks pretty crappy compared to the modern user experience on a smartphone. All of them were equally slow (or worse) and awkward for entry and speed of access when calculating routes.

Mercedes s430


BMW 7 series

Acura


Ours

etc etc

jayclapp

If you can't stand the LS430, it is always your right to not own one. Find a car you like and can afford. Look to the future, not to the past.

LS430inDE.

I disagree with your opinion as well Dave. I think LS's nav really IS horrible, even for 13 year old technology. Everything about it! It's not that we're looking for infotainment or connected features, rather, simply for intuitiveness/ease of use, and logical routing! I came from a 2002 Acura RL w/nav. The graphics on it were better. The controls on it simple & logical. One could manipulate/input the destination while the vehicle was in motion. The routing was SUPERIOR. (Aren't they the 2 most important aspects of navigation anyway? Ease of use & logical routing?) Did I mention this was in a 2002? I was so disappointed in the NAV when I bought the LS, I placed my frustration into my CL signature. The LS is almost superior in every other aspect to the 2002 RL though.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Don't disagree on the in motion lockout which is stupid lawyer driven nonsense, but I have never had a problem with the routing.

Sorry I absolutely hate the Acura navigation from the controls to the graphics from this era. So we'll also agree to disagree . Maybe the RL got a better nav than the TL we had which well could be the case; never played with one in that model

OsideTurbo

I wasn't knocking the graphics - I was talking about functionality. I don't drive my LS430 because I want to experience 15 year-old computers. so I have no interest in giving credit for what existed back then.

And what's with this in [my] post #6?:
Do you usually interject your comments in other people's posts? Regardless, next time you decide to jump in one of my comments, please note that it is your comment, rather than mine. I starting using the door as a shelf the first week I started driving my 430.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Oside, If you read my post again, you'll see I agree with you on use of a smartphone. I just think that for it's time, the OEM LS nav isn't horrible and expecting it to have a modern user experience isn't realistic.


Of course not. Sorry, accidentally edited the wrong post, that certainly was meant to be placed into my own post that follows yours, not into your post. Fixed and put it in the right place.

Obviously you are smarter then me figuring that out so fast; just trying to share it with other folks that might not have thought of it who are like slow me

Jabberwock

I purchased the last available update disk (dated 2015) for the NAV system in our 2004 SC430 (it originally had NAV Gen 3 which I upgraded to a GEN4 unit just for fun). The used Gen4 NAV unit I purchased on ebay to do the upgrade came out of a 2005 LS430.
I personally feel that proprietary imbedded NAV systems in cars is a terrible design idea and will soon be replaced by generic displays that integrate automatically and seamlessly to multiple phone based SW applications. In my opinion the Lexus GEN3 and GEN4 displays/GUIs are seriously user hostile, slow, and laughably clunky compared to apps available from Garmin, Google Maps, and Waze. I upgraded the NAV to GEN4 in the SC430 because I wanted it functional using a single disk map to use as rare backup for either Garmin or phone navigation via WAZE (we usually run both on road trips).

I purposely avoided getting OEM NAV in our 2006 LS by only shopping for and purchasing a Premium version (no NAV). With the SC430 I had no choice on the NAV as all SC430s have the OEM NAV system. As an aside in the 2004 SC430 the NAV and Audio/stereo system are pretty tightly integrated and interdependent via the car's internal data network - making it difficult (not impossible but way harder than it should be) to upgrade and/or remove and replace NAV and audio system with more modern gear.

I suggest purchasing the lasted available update disk for the LS430 while they are still available (got mine on ebay) just to have the latest available maps and use it as a backup to other more current navigation aids.