I could be wrong, but this sounds like a code (programming) error within the ECU/CPU of the vehicle. Obviously there is some trigger point that causes the error that is seemingly irreversible. My bet is there is some Lexus programmer in Japan that knows exactly what is happening. The real problem is you cannot truly access the "computer" that controls the Nav functions in the traditional sense. It's kind of like trying to remove a virus from your desktop with only 1/4 of the keys on your keyboard.

 

sorry, but i have to bump this thread
OP did you find a solution to reveal info button
or found another route to the car model section

i broken my unit now
actaully almost every thing working but all buttons messed up and i can't turn ac off !
i've changed a/c auto to on and wrote the settings then rebooted and now it's messed up
i got touch radio LOL and messed up temp controls


Thanks
Thanks

 

might have to bite the bullet and take it into dealer to get it fix

 

i've tried everything. including taking it to the dealer. I have been driving like this for almost a year now. If anyone has fixed it or knows how to, please feel free to contact me.

 

What did the dealer say?

Any problem can be fixed with the proper application of funds.

 

Gotta bump this topic. Still not resolved. Anyone have any luck with this? It's not getting any worse, thankfully, but still driving me crazy!

 

I haven't resolved this yet. Just remembered the new button mapping through trial and error. And for some of the buttons that are missing, I use voice command....

 

I don't know if you guys ever figured out a solution to this. But I did the same thing and fixed it in just a few minutes.

First i went through all the buttons on the dash board to figure out which one was now the "Info" button. On mine it ended up being the "Winshield Defroster" button. I then held down the "Windshield Defroster" button and did the headlight trick to get into the service menu.

Once I was there the touch screen was messed up in that it was inverted. If I wanted to press a button in the top left corner of the screen I would have to press the bottom right corner of the screen to access that button. Once I figured out that trick I was able to press the section of the screen that corresponded to the button I wanted to press.

So now that I knew how to get into the service menus and where to touch the screen I went in to change the model type back.

I accessed the first level of the service menu and then went to the second level. I changed the vehicle type until it said "900N4WD" (you will want to do "900N2WD" if you have the 2WD RX Hybrid) then I pressed set and exited the menu.

All the buttons went back to normal and I vowed to never go into that menu again.

 

Nice work!
Good for you.

 

Good lord, what a nightmare.

 

PDSM, If I may ask, where was the "black button" that you used to reset your navigation system when you took it apart? That's what I'm dealing with now, I purchased a used system from ebay but had ho idea what version disc they had used and didn't realize that my disc was probably older and when I tried to load it into the ECU, it will mess the unit up if the disc is older than the one they were using!!! So I am looking for a reset button or some kind of answer.....any help....please....

 

The black button is accessed by removing the Nav unit ECU from the vehicle, then removing the 8 screws from the bottom and taking off the bottom metal plate. You will see two circuit boards attached by a ribbon cable. Carefully lift the smaller board and you will see a small silver disk standing upright which is the battery. Just next to it is a small black plastic switch that is a pushbutton. Be careful, it's small and somewhat delicate.

Unfortunately this wasn't successful in resetting mine on my '05 RX330. My battery, the big one under the hood, died last week and I replaced it. When I started the car I got the Japanese screen of death ("Insert correct map disc" and Japanese writing below that) even though I had never removed my Nav DVD. Now I cannot get it to recognize or boot from my DVD version 11.1 which had been working perfectly for about a year. I've done the black reset button procedure but still I get the same message on my Nav screen.

I'm at a loss for what to do next other than possibly upgrading to 12.1....ughh what a waste of money. We don't even use the Lexus nav since it is pretty much useless with the screens locked out while driving so this is a double whammy to have it in nuisance mode.

Any suggestions or solutions would be appreciated.

 

It's not "useless" just because data entry is not allowed while the car is moving. All you need to do is enter the destination before you go. I do this all the time, and find it no problem. What is mysterious to me is when I get into a friend"s car and about 10 minutes later on the expressway he says "Does anyone know where this restaurant is? Get out your phones," and everybody has to scramble because he didn't think this through.
Of course, this tendency toward constant over-organization may be due to my CDO, which is like OCD, but the letters are in the correct alphabetical order, as they should be.

 

Correct, it is useless for plenty of other reasons too. LOL. Your OCD not withstanding, I should have said "of limited use" because it is worth at least SOMETHING when you know your destination in advance. However, when you frequently travel and don't know exactly where you'll stop for the day, for gas, for lunch, etc then it is truly USELESS. A Garmin or phone with nav is way more useful as well as way more user friendly in EVERY instance, including if you choose to enter your destination in advance. In other words, IMO, there is never a condition where the built in nav is better than handheld/portable/phone except for just seeing generally where you are at any given time for amusement and entertainment purposes. Throw the screen of death headaches and the exorbitant dealer map update cost on top of it and you'd be far ahead to skip the nav option when buying the vehicle and just buying a new Garmin every couple of years.

Honestly, it is probably good that they lock out the nav while driving because the data entry and search functions are so difficult to use and so hit or miss (relative to Garmin or Google nav) that it truly could be life threatening to use them while moving. Because of this I could care less about the lockout since I don't use my nav. But, it really sucks when you get the Japanese screen of death and it then becomes a nuisance to use any of the other touchscreen functions, backup camera, etc. I suppose this could be some kind of Lexus conspiracy to purposely cause the failures in order to force map upgrades to "fix" your nav system, all perpetrated as a result of customers not willingly buying map updates for their crippled nav systems and thereby negatively impacting Toyota's/Lexus' revenue generation machine.

I have owned 5 Lexus vehicles, only 2 with nav. I will continue to buy Lexus and Toyota but will continue to always try to buy non-nav as long as it's offered that way.

 

That is how all my problems started, my alternator went out. But from everything that I have read and researched, they will go bad literally in front of your eyes!! I believe that's what happened to my original unit, but the replacement one that I ordered was my mistake because I neglected to ask them what version they were running, so I am hoping this black button works. There are several threads in here that talks about replacing the laser motor. Maybe you can do some reading on those and see if they help you some. It's just not something that I can do.