Hi Guys,

Am I seeing things? I know the cars has foot well and door handle lights on the interior, however I noticed this light the other day near the glove box. I kept opening it slowly and it seems to turn on only when the glove box is closed all the way. Is this ambient lighting or is my glove box not closing right? I attached a pic so you can see. I am not crazy, you see this right?

 

That is a "feature" that Lexus describes in its sales brochure. When you start the car at night you will see the lighting slowly come up to its full brightness. Lexus calls it: "Transitional LED ambient lighting (under I/P wood trim)"

 

This is Lexus' weak attempt at ambient lighting. It first appeared in the 2013 LS and has continued unchanged into the 2017 car. I hope they have done a much better job of ambient lighting in the LS500, although their desire to look different from the Germans (and Genesis) suggests otherwise. None of the auto reviews have commented upon this.

 

Well, my ambient lighting is broken over the glove box and doesn't work. From what I can tell, the ambient lighting throughout the rest of the car is quite faint and dim. How come the ambient light strip above the glove compartment looks nice and bright in the video below (at the 30 sec mark) but then is dim, like the rest of my car, at the 55 sec mark of the video? Does the ambient lighting get really bright for a few seconds and then settles into a dim mode? According to my mechanic, there are two levels of the ambient lighting in the TechStream settings but I couldn't tell a difference between setting 1 vs 2.

 

For what it's worth, and not to turn this thread into a "I love my Genesis G90" troll, I do hope the new LS500 has a brighter and user-controllable ambient lighting scheme like my G90 has. I can chose from 7 different colors and two lighting levels, and the ambient lighting LED strip runs throughout the car (discretely). My wife's new Chevy Bolt electric car has a similar lighting strip under the dash that jazzes up the interior a bit also (although you can't change the colors or brightness). It won't be unique to luxury cars for long, but it does add a certain nice look to the interior, in my opinion.

 

Go ahead, Rick, rub it in, I asked for it ! I am turning green with envy... Ambient lighting is a minor but really nice feature to enjoy on long interstate drives at night. So, does the G90 have illuminated door sills? I wish the LS did, and not have to install aftermarket JDM parts. And how do you like the projected Genesis logo when you approach the car?


I just tested this. The light remains bright until I shift out of Park, then remains dim even after I return to Park. I did fiddle with the Illumination settings in Carista a while back, and I cannot remember whether it made a difference.

 

[QUOTE=comotiger;10017081]Go ahead, Rick, rub it in, I asked for it ! I am turning green with envy... Ambient lighting is a minor but really nice feature to enjoy on long interstate drives at night. So, does the G90 have illuminated door sills? I wish the LS did, and not have to install aftermarket JDM parts. And how do you like the projected Genesis logo when you approach the car?

Sorry Comotiger! Actually, the G90 joins the LS in skipping the illuminated door sills, sadly. I had them in my LS600 I think, and my SC430 has them, and I do like them. Like you said, it's a minor feature, but is a nice touch on a luxury car. I do enjoy the "bat-signal" projected logo on my G90 when I approach the car. I had added the Lexus projected logo to my LS600, but the Genesis factory version is quite a bit sharper and brighter, and I do like it. Wonder if the new LS will have these nice features?

 

I was joking! Are you sure your 600hL had illuminated door sills? I think they are only available as aftermarket JDM parts for 2007-2017 cars. I didn't see anything about extensive ambient lighting or welcome lights on the LS500, but it seems like Lexus is trying hard not to imitate every feature in a S-class or 7-series.

I have considered installing the Lexus logo projectors on the doors, but they don't have a crisp look IMO, so decided against it. Besides, the "bat" logo illuminates as you approach the car, whereas the Lexus logos are only visible when you open the door. Does the bat logo remain lit until you enter the car and shut the door?

 

Gonna finally get my ambient light strip fixed tomorrow. The days are getting darker sooner now and I want to see the ambient light while driving. After I get it fixed I will finally test out what the difference is between the Pattern 1 and Pattern 2 setting of Advanced Illumination System with Carista. No one has really touched on the topic of Pattern 1 vs Pattern 2.

 

Thanks, Fto1, for testing this out. I started a thread last year on this issue, but never reported back . I don't recall dramatic differences between the two patterns.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-question.html

 

Got my ambient light strip replaced today. Here are videos of the difference between Advanced Illumination settings.

Pattern 1:

Pattern 2:

The small section of trim above the side mirror controls lights up in a "Pattern 2" sort of way. Only the strip above the glove box allows for two different patterns.

I wish the brightness of the ambient light stayed the same level as when in Park. It tends to get too dim once you put the car in gear. Those in the RX and GS forums have the same complaint and no one has figured out how to hack the ambient light level to stay brighter. I wonder if something can be wired similar to the DVD bypass that makes the car think it is always in Park? For those that have done the DVD bypass, does your ambient light also stay bright all the time?

 

Hello Fto1, as you report, the difference between Patterns 1 and 2 is very minor. I had to watch the clips several times to notice the difference. As I reported in post #6, my glove box light also dims when shifting out of Park, and remains dim after returning to Park. And I have installed the Beatsonic DVD bypass kit.

How much did it cost to replace the ambient lighting strip?

 

Good post. Mine needs replacement as it only illuminates halfway through. Did you replace yourself or at dealership?

 

Thanks comotiger and satiger. My total cost was $230 from my mechanic. Lexus dealership quoted $312. I originally planned to do it myself 4-5 months ago and found the part for about $150 online. I never got around to ordering it and just scheduled the appt with my indie instead.

A shame it stays dim even after moving back into Park, comotiger.

 

Noticed this for the first time the other day.. interesting.