bobp

NavTraffic was working mid-day today (Monday 12/12) in Houston. But when I took several drives after 6PM today, didn't receive any NavTraffic data.

I called XM and they re-sent the activation signal to my radio - and that didn't help.

Did anyone else see XM NavTraffic problems Monday evening?

Or is there anyone in the Houston area that had NavTraffic working (so I know the problem is more likely with my car - and not with XM's system)?

rolloman

Bob, I'm in The Woodlands. Mine didn't work either during yesterday evening's commute home. Must be system wide.

CEOEngr

I am in Woodlands also, mine didn't work most of afternoon while roamining on the north side of downtown. But please note I was in another auto not an LS.!!!!!

bobp

Started working for me again this morning.

Not sure if it was an XM Radio problem - or if it was sending the activation code to my car's radio - but it's working now...

sgmorton

I did not notice that but I have noticed the traffic info to be very outdated and almost unusable. After a year of service I am dropping it. I have been trapped in traffic many times that was showing green on my map. I understand things can be delayed, but delayed by 30 minutes does me no good in Houston traffic.

I will say it did help avoid some construction on a trip to Kentucky that I am sure would have caused us hours of delay. Other than that I am sure I have made use of the traffic data less than 3 times in a year.

Sam

bobp

I do a lot of driving from the suburbs to downtown and around the Houston area - and the real-time traffic data has been very useful - to help warn me when there are traffic problems up ahead.

For example, they've recently been doing repairs on the SW Fwy between 610 and BW 8 - and when I see that going out of downtown, I can switch to the Westpark tollway and avoid the traffic.

Without the traffic data, I'd likely have to sit through the traffic slow downs every time.

HOWEVER, I agree that the real-time traffic data is not always very 'real-time'. It is often out-of-date - probably because it doesn't update as frequently.

And for something that we have to pay for - it doesn't provide near as much coverage as I can get for free from smartphone navigation systems.

If future car navigation systems can get Internet access - they should be able to get much better data than what we are getting through XM...

vraa

iTrader: (2)

I'm also in Houston, traffic and accidents suck so much

Ideally Toyota would fire the entire division responsible for NAV and just pay google

100k$ sedan? Only really useful after I hook up my 200$ Android

My smart phone has Pandora -> more music than the silly hard drive can even handle
My smart phone has Google Maps -> Real Time Traffic and MUCH better POI searching -- PLUS you can use it while in motion
Those two things are not what smart phones are used for, but what your in car system does, so why does the dedicated device (Lexus) suck at it?

bobp

Technology is advancing so quickly that it is impossible for the car manufacturers to keep up.

Plus, cars are kept much longer than other electronics.

I've had my LS since 2006. Since then, I've purchased several generations of smartphones, laptops, desktops, ... - and yet I'm still stuck with the navigation/audio system that was probably designed back in 2004 or 2005...

Getting internet access for the auto electronics will help - at least to provide access to more up-to-date information and media.

But unless the auto manufacturers start treating their audio/navigation systems as "computers" - which require periodic software updates over the lifetime of the vehicle, we may always be stuck with technology that will become out of date after 12 to 18 months.

I'll start looking for a replacement for my LS in about 12 months - and this will be one of the major factors in my decision on what I'll buy next.

I really don't want to be using a smartphone for navigation in my car...

rolloman

I agree that tech is advancing at light speed. Looking forward to major upgrades in NAV and all the other bells and whistles in the next gen of LS. How about some of those crazy cool running lights like Audi, Mercedes, even Ford and Chevy now.

Still, no other car touches the pure joy that I get from my LS. Solid!

sgmorton

back when I had my IS I used the Vaistech to put my iPhone directly on the screen. This was sooooo much better. I used it for maps and traffic all the time. I also used it to put up alternates to the navigation that Lexus provided. While I like the nav on my Lexus I think some of the iPhone options were better.

Now that I have the LS and an Android I am looking for new options for this integration.


I suspect soon. Android tablets and iPads will just dock in to the dash in place of the integrated screen. That is what I would be working on. Maybe I should write an app for that...

bobp

The new Tesla S looks like it could be a significant improvement over what Lexus has been offering. They have a larger touch screen display and internet connectivity.

If they take advantage of the internet connection to provide real-time data AND they provide software updates to keep their systems up-to-date with currently available data and functionality - that would prevent the frustrations many of us have with the Lexus systems. For those of us with the 2007 LS 460's - we're pretty much stuck with what Lexus had running back in 2005/2006... And spending $250 to update maps is really absurd, when you can get up-to-date maps for free with smartphones!

Let's hope Lexus is going to address their technology gap in the new LS...