Hello, ladies & gents. Quick question, if I may...

My mother just took delivery of a 2010 LS460 AWD, her third LS. The car did not seem to come with a USB/aux cable for her iPod. Does one come with the car or is this something she needs to order separately? Will such a cable allow her playlist/track information to be visible on the nav screen, similar to the way it works in my BMWs?

I appreciate any feedback you might have. Her salesperson was somewhat less than knowledgeable/helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

^I want to know about this in the 2007 as well because I read the features and it says it has a hook up for auxilary, I'll see the car again this weekend...but I don't know where it is...

 

good question, i *thought* the car would come with a usb cable to connect to the ipod. i believe it uses the usb connection and allow display of song information on the screen. however, unlike bmw, when the car is in motion, everything will be grayed out and song info won't be displayed / accessible. for lexus, in order to do that, you will need override unit

 

I have not used the 2010 LS system but I have used several ipods and iphones in a 2010 RX 350. I believe the systems are almost identical.

You use the standard USB ipod connector that comes with every ipod or iphone to connect to the usb port in the console of the car. These cable are widely available from Apple and third parties. You have access to song lists and playlists on the Nav screen and can use steering wheel controls to change songs etc.

Details of the song and artist are visible when driving. You will not need to use an override kit to get this info.

The aux input in the 2007-2009 LS only allows you to play the ipod content through the car sound system. Does not allow you to see info on the Nav screen or control anything via the audio controls of the car.

In another thread, I reported a bug that is known about the RX system where when scrolling lists such as playlists the system autoselects the top selection. Not sure if they fixed it in the LS so I would appreciate it if any of the new LS owners could post their experiences.

 

Thanks for the information, ikey. I will certainly pass it along to my mother.

In my BMW, you need to use a cable (provided by BMW) that uses both the USB and the Aux inputs, so I assumed the systems were the same. Apparently, they are not. Good to know.

 

I thought they added a USB port in the 2010 LS. That sucks man. It's quite essential to have the ability to integrate your iPod/iPhone with your car.
I've seen a Hyundai Elantra with a USB and Aux ports! What Lexus was thinking? I don't know, but could be they want to give you one more reason to upgrade to the 2013 LS!

Another thing I hate about my LS is that I can't copy MP3 files to the HDD. I only can rip audio CD's, and not every audio CD can be copied (there are some restrictions). My brother is able to copy whatever he wants to his Cadillac CTS' HDD through different means (a CD, memory stick, external HDD...etc).

 

Just to clarify, my mother's 2010 LS does have both an Aux input and a USB input. I just wasn't sure if you had to connect to both in order to have full iPod integration. I asked because in my BMWs, the special cable (provided by BMW) connects to the bottom of the iPod on one end and to both the Aux & USB on the car end.

 

yup, for bmw you use both aux and usb. i heard that the usb is only for controls, and the audio is still through the aux

sorry i didn't say it clear. song info will display, but you won't be able to go in and select folders and such while driving, at least that's my belief

 

Great information. Thanks, guys.

 

On the 2010 RX (and presumably the 2010 LS) you can actually browse the playlists and songs while the car is moving. The only problem in the RX is that it autoselects whatever is at the top of any list while you are browsing which I believe is a bug that needs to be corrected.

Another instance where Lexus seems to be allowing you to do more when the car is moving is the ability to select a different Bluetooth phone. Previous versions had not allowed that but you can now choose any of the phones that have been paired even when the car is moving.

In addition, the car will automatically pair with the phone that was last used. If it does not find that phone it will then automatically look for one of the other phones that have been paired with the vehicle and link to that one. Makes it much easier for different drivers with their own phones to share the car.

 

thanks for the info, that's very informative.

i still need to find time to check out the 2010, but if they finally allow more accessibility when driving, that's totally awesome!!!!

and it's great that it will scan through phones and connect them. i do get tired a bit when getting into the car and have to select the phone (whereas our bmw auto choose)

 

Her salesperson was somewhat less than knowledgeable/helpful.

Get out of town!

 

My 2010 works perfectly with my ipod using only the usb port. No worries.

My iphone also works perfectly.

 

Does the 2010 show album artwork as well as tracks etc. That would be nice.

 

and one more question, can 2010 play according to albums, artists, playlists, etc...? i think i read somewhere that it's capable, but want to make sure