Question for a US Lexus dealer:

Is it possible to activate the Traffic HD radio service for the Nav (which works on US models) by reprogramming a Canadian NX through the dealership programming system in a USA dealership? I go to Seattle on a regular basis and I would like the traffic to at least work when I am in the US... Thanks!

 

I just had a long chat with Lexus Canada regarding the unavailability of live HD traffic Nav info in Canada. Basically, they say that the service is provided thorugh HD radio by XM radio and XM radio does not provide a reliable service in Canada yet (not sure if this is true). They did a beta testing a few years ago on the RX and the service was too unreliable to work properly so they decided to not offer it in Canada to avoid complaints. Unfortunately, there is no software option to re-initiate it by reprogramming at the dealership and they tell me there is no firmware upgrade that would do it... They could not say if flashing the US firmware would fix the problem as they do not condone that type of mod, but it would affect the warranty of the radio/nav unit. They acknowledged that the user's manual was not clear as it did not show any "USA only" or "if available" notice. I asked if it could be activated to only work when the car is in the USA (easy to do with GPS geolocalizing) but they said the serial number of the radio does not allow it to work in the USA, XM would block it. I guess that means that one could replace the radio head unit with a US one, but that is an expensive solution and would void the warranty. So we are just out of luck in Canada! If anyone finds a way around this problem, please post it!!!

 

I’m disappointed that Lexus Canada still hasn’t enabled traffic through HD radio yet.