jimrd

Haven't dug into my manuals to find this out yet, hopefully someone knows the answer. I don't use SAT radio (XM service) much as I use my own player or stream music over my phone. So I'm considering changing my subscription to the lowest cost ("Mostly Music) or maybe even cancel all together. I noticed that the Mostly Music plan does not include Traffic and Weather service. So my question is this...how does the car's NAV system receive traffic data, say to use for rerouting around an accident? Is it through HD radio stations or thru the Enform subscription or thru XM or something else? Thanks in advance!

Shad034

The answer is "maybe". I dont know for sure, but my reading shows that 2014+ uses Total Traffic Network which is a sub signal on the FM band in most large cities. You can look up your coverage areas here: http://www.ttwnetwork.com/index.php/.../coverageareas

Prior to 2014, it seems it MIGHT be just via SAT, but I'm not entirely sure to be honest.

EDIT: Did more reading. It appears that you might be able to get it via Enform as well on the older cars. I have the full XM subscription on trial at the moment, so I'm waiting for it to expire to test some theories. Either way, I'll go back to Mostly Music, I like the traffic, but I am not going to pay for it.

sfuad

For 2007 to 2012 models, traffic and navigation are through XM. I pay only $46/ year to get Traffic and Weather only (No audio channels). For $4 / month this is cheapest way of getting traffic service. On your Nav screen, if you are subscribed for traffic you would see the traffic icon on the left top side. Without subscription that icon is not visible.

jimrd

I sent my question to the customer help email at Lexus Drivers and received an answer the same day. As the members above shared, it is dependent upon your specific model...

Dear Mr. Xxxxx:

Thank you for taking the time to provide your VIN.

Your 2015 LS 460, VIN JTHxxx uses HD radio to obtain traffic information. This component of your vehicle is not associated with Enform services.

We hope this information has been helpful. Your email has been documented at our National Headquarters. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Rockie Reno
Lexus Guest Experience Center

mcomer

To expand on that a bit, both AM and FM stations can be HD but not all are.
If you see a grey HD icon they are broadcasting in HD, when it goes gold you are receiving it.
You do not have to listen continuously but do tune in for a couple of minutes to update the data.

A terrific workaround that you ought to do anyway is to download and sign into Lexus Enform App Suite.
Unlike the various subscribed Enform features such as Safety Connect and the Remote Starter,
LEAS is free and will update the Navigation Traffic and Weather Channel through your phone.
The real value of LEAS is that you can now use your phones verbal recognition and map data
to create destinations rather than the Lexus system.

jimrd

Hey mcomer...I do use LEAS and it works for adding destinations (wish I could do it from my computer like the old system)...BUT the real problem I have is deleting saved destinations. Once they get synced to the car the destinations disappear from the app. In the car, the only choice is to delete ALL destinations, not pick them individually. Really disappointed the software programmers missed that one...

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

I'm bumping this thread because I was curious if my 2016 LS navigation traffic data would be going away once the 3G / Enform services are deprecated in 2022.

Answer based on the above posts is 'no, it won't go away'. I knew the traffic data didn't come from XM but wasn't sure of the source.

I usually use Waze so not a big deal if it did, but still would prefer the capability to be there if I needed it for any reason.

Suspect others might want to know this as well so giving it a lift.

mcomer

Your 2016 LS will still update Traffic and Weather from 1) HD stations and/or 2) Lexus Enform App Suite is running on a paired phone.