If I understand correctly, you are saying that the compass' red pointer always points North regardless of 'heading up' or 'due North' setting. This certainly would explain the confusion, but I can't imagine WHY it would be set up this way. I expect the compass to point in the actual direction of travel when in the 'heading up' mode. It makes absolutely no sense to be displayed in the current manner. I realize this is not your fault - just venting at the pure absurdity! Thanks very much for your assistance.

 

How is this so hard for people to understand? When Compass is in the "heading up" mode and you are driving North it reads North, and vice versa when Driving South the Needle points to the South. South does not rotate to the top of the compass. However, when ever heading is a direction toward the East (i.e. NE) the needle on the compass points to the NW. When driving to the SE it points to the SW. If you drive in a Westerly direction the opposite happens. Lexus dealer ship has checked this out but does not have a solution. I called Service department today and they still have not received a reply from the Lexus area rep. A new LS on the floor had the same problem and the Salesman I purchased my car from showed me his and it's doing the same thing. Maybe during the time period these vehicles where manufactured there was an update to the system and it needs to be updated. However, Lexus has not stated this. My car is a 2012LS AWD and was manufactured in December 2011. My previous two Lexus vehicles worked fine. My one year old Toyota 4 Runner works just fine. As I stated before in other msgs the needle turns to the direction you are heading in all of my previous vehicles, not the direction rotating to the top of the compass as some people have stated. The present vehicle reads approximately 90 degrees off when heading in any direction except due North or due South. The calibration mode will not allow for any adjustment. Lexus Tech played with the calibration mode for quite some time.

 

I think the best way to look it is to understand that the compass symbol, in the upper left corner, tells you how the map is presented and the red triangle at the car's position shows the car's heading - this is true in both the North Up display mode and the Heading Up display mode.

In the Heading Up mode the red triangle that denotes the cars position and heading always points up and the map turns to keep the direction of the car's heading at the top.

In the North Up mode the orientation of the map is fixed with North at the top and the red triangle that shows the car's position and heading rotates with the car's headiing.

While the owner's manual doesn't explain it very well, it seems to me like it is a very well designed system with two different display options one of which should satisfy everyone.

I hope that after you have some time to think about this you will have a kinder opinion.

Here is a view of the North Up display mode to add some clarity.

 

This is something that I can't help you with. I will refrain from further comments and I apologize for my interference.

 

I was contacted by Lexus Area Representative today. States they are aware of the problem and at present they do not have a fix. Will contact me in the future when/if they come up with a fix. Thanks for members input, however, there is nothing we can do at this time.

 

We have a 2008 IS250, we are having a similar issue with the rear view mirrow compass. I've tried turning on and off and resetting zone. It seems to be off something less than 90 degrees. Strange...
Any ideas how to fix that?

 

Although not ideal, you can display a split screen on your map which shows a compass with actual heading. On my 2012 model, it's the button in the lower left corner just above the zoom in '+' button. Select 'Compass' as the map mode and you're all set.

 

Yes, I this discovered back before I questioned oline and to Lexus about the original issue.

 

I figured out how to fix the problem with the compass on the mirror. Althought the owner's manual does not show how to do it, you have to force the compass to recalibrate. To do this, simply hold the on/off button down for an extended period until you see CAL appear. This will appear after the zone numbers. Once CAL appears, go through the normal sequence to calibrate by going in circles until the direction appears. Mine is now 100% accurate.
The silly folks at Lexus have apparently never heard of how to do this. I figured it out by chance - simply holding the on/off down longer.
Good luck everyone :-)
Rick

 

The 2012LS with navi does not have the compass in the mirror. What we have been discussing is the GPS compass; the one in the upper left hand corner on the Navi screen. Other models and previous LS's had the one on the mirror. For some reason Lexus chose to do away with it and put the one on the Navi screen.

 

Hi Valley, our GPS (in a 2006 ES 330, and 2006 LS 430) works just as jmcraney described. I don't know why Lexus thinks there is a problem because the system also works just as you're describing:

1. "When Compass is in the "heading up" mode and you are driving North it reads North". -- This sounds like normal operation.

2. "when Driving South the Needle points to the South. South does not rotate to the top of the compass". -- This is also expected because when the car heads South (in Heading Up mode), then the compass should definitely point down (since North is in the complete opposite of the direction the car is moving).

3. "However, when ever heading is a direction toward the East (i.e. NE) the needle on the compass points to the NW. When driving to the SE it points to the SW. If you drive in a Westerly direction the opposite happens." -- Based on your description, Valley, this sounds like correct operation. I have included the below image comparing North Up versus Heading Up modes to illustrate. If you take the North Up view and rotate it so it becomes Heading Up view, if the car is heading NE, then yes, the red compass needle would expect to point "north westerly" because that is the DIRECTION of North. Hope this helps.

 

FatherTo1,

Thank you for your excellent explanation. Contrary to some of the posts in this thread, I am confident that there has never been a problem with any of the cars as to the compass like some that were discussed here. It was just a perception problem. It is surprising how something like this can get legs, especially with help from dealerships. It reinforces the value of discussions like ours.