CaptSnap

I am a very happy past and present Lexus owner, and I have always been totally pleased with Lexus. I am wanting to get into a small SUV and have been looking at the 2010 RX350. I have test driven them twice (loaded models) and generally like what I see. I have a few questions that I want to see if anybody has answers for, however. The car has 3 XM bands (XM1, XM2, and XM3) but I could find no way to have station presets within any of the XM bands. The salesman said each XM band has only one preset which sounds ridiculous. Can anyone clear up this question about available XM presets in this vehicle? Is there indeed only one preset available for each XM band?

Next, the iPod interface is totally messed up due to the inability to speedily scroll through playlists and other screens without pausing on each new screen and waiting for your playing song to undesirably change. It is really bad, and I can not believe Lexus blew this one. This is strictly software so I am wondering if Lexus ever makes available software updates to resolve these kinds of issues? I have never run into anything like this so I wouldn't know.

On a related note the salesman did not think that the iPod would be charged when connected to the USB port in the car. This seems pretty unreal as well. Does anyone know if this is true?

Finally does anyone have anything comments on the HUD to know if it is something would be nice to have? Thanks for any feedback.

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tazdevl

You should do your own research... 9 out of 10 car salespeople are idiots and don't know a thing about the product they're selling.

6 presets for each Sat which means a total of 18. Hit Menu button, click Audio, click on the SAT tab, turn the **** to the station you want, move the mouse over the preset you want to lock and hold the enter button. It'll "donk" and turn purple. Preset set.

iPod... I've had Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, Acura with iPod setups... Lexus' iPod implementation is no worse than any of them. They didn't screw things up, it just sucks like everyone else and they didn't try set the bar any higher than other companies. Having some Microsoft Synch functions would go a long way.

iPod charging occurs via USB.

Have the HUD and really like it.

Stormforge

HUD is great if you have navi, it really helps you when to turn and keeps your eyes on the road. if you don't have navi, then HUD is not as useful. you could always look down at the speedo to see how fast you are going.

np0531

iPod scrolling...I found that if you disable the error and selection noise, and if you keep clicking rapidly you can keep scrolling without having it play the first song on each page/playlist. Kinda annoying but bearable, there is also enough time if you are fast enough to select a song/playlist before the first one gets played automatically.

HUD is great, I rarely ever look down at the panel. Im still testing to see if it affects my driving though. Seeing your exact speed might force you to consciously try and maintain your speed...even on an incline.

I've also noticed that with the HUD you can see the track number when switching songs on the iPod. Another downside of the iPod integration is while it does display the songs tags etc, when switching between songs it doesn't show the track number until it starts playing the songs. Can get annoying if you want to scroll through the tracks quickly. If you remember which song is which track you can just look at the numbers as you scroll through them on the HUD.

CaptSnap

Thanks for the quick reply tazdevl. I totally agree with your comments on salespeople. I do my own research, thus this post. I will go back to the dealer and personally verify this XM stuff. What you said makes sense and represents what you would expect to find. I am glad to get your feedback on the USB charging and the HUD as well.

I respectfully disagree with your assessment on the iPod interface. The way it is currently implemented makes it take a long time to scroll through multiple screens, and I have nearly 4000 song titles with many playlists, artists, and albums. Mercedes for one does it differently on the iPod interface, and it is a dream to operate.

Thanks again for the feedback.
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CaptSnap

np0531, this is good feedback on the iPod situation. I will check this out. It sounds like a pretty good work around. I would have preferred it to be done differently, but if I can get around the problem that is good too. With yours and others feedback on the HUD, I am sold on this feature. Thanks.
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tazdevl

NP... I haven't seen mercedes, can only base my opinion on what I've owned... waiting for them to get rid of the last vestiges of Chrysler and move up in JD Power before I buy. I have 10,000 mp3s so everything sucks other than the iPod itself.

Good luck.

Cruiter

I understand what you're going through. My prior '03 RX didn't have near the technical pnauch this car does so it's hard to complain, however as I get used to it, I see areas I'd like to see improved.

I did find a work around. Much as I like my ipod (and yes, it does charge when using the USB source VS blue tooth) memory sticks are getting cheaper and cheaper even as they hold more. I bought a retractable USB extension from WallMart that hangs out of the hole in the bucket. It's easy to change sticks that way if you just have them marked in your own way, such as classical, country, oldies, etc., then you can still select individual selections or folders on the NAV screen.

One other thing you shouldn't rule out. Test drive the 450h prior to making your decision. It's a bit more but comes with more features as well such as VDIM. You'll love the smooth transmission with the additional torque from the electric motors not to mention the fuel economy. You don't have to be a hypermiler in most driving conditions to average 30mpg.

PatsSoxfan

CaptSnap, the HUD feature is nothing less than awesome. When you combine this feature with radar cruise, it makes driving safer, less stressful (for long trips) and a lot of fun.

DigMyM35x

Hi captsnap.

Great questions. Things I didn't notice until I drove the car for a few days.

Since most questions were already answered I will echo some of your thoughts from an owner.

iPod is fine but not great - again, they certainly didn't raise any bars here. The 'play the first song while scrolling' is ridiculous and should be an easy software fix if we all remark to Lexus about it.

I also think that an easier implementation than scrolling - since faster scrolling may not be a great option in a moving vehicle is to add a set of letters next to the scroll bar. I believe the address book has the buttons with the letters of the alphabet on them. You click on 'PQR' and you jump to the letter P - much easier than scrolling that far. Again, I think a pretty easy implementation for a software upgrade but we'll see. c'mon everyone - let Lexus know if it matters to you!!

I am pretty bummed about the lack of audio presets on the dash. I personally don't prefer the mouse/joystick implementation as it puts too many things on one screen and Lexus hasn't figured out how to show the useful info at the same time. For example - if you want to go to a preset you have to hit 'menu' on the mouse, select 'audio' and then switch between the 'text' toggle at the bottom of the screen. Sheesh - that's a lot of steps to get to a preset - wait, weren't presets designed to give easy, quick access to your favorite stations? But at least you have 3 band of 6 for SAT.

Also, you don't get any audio information on the NAV screen if you are in map mode (i.e. getting directions to where you want to go) so you have to leave the map screen and any navigation directions and risk getting lost somewhere if you want to see what station you are on. This, again, is easily solveable with a software upgrade if they simply put a small bar at the top or bottom of the screen with basic audio info. Check out Infiniti's implementation of that part and you'll see it's pretty easy.

So, all in all, none of this made us not buy the car but when we're on longer trips I find myself a bit frustrated by these issues over and over again. Let's keep letting Lexus know and see if we can force a software update!

We would never see any hardware changes to the car by our feedback to Lexus - they won't show up until later model years. But software can be upgraded on a service visit and we can implement that change.

Again, no deal breakers but good observations from someone who hasn't spent a lot of time in the car. I think you hit on just about the only things I don't love about the car.

Jay

Argelius

I must beg to differ. I currently have an Audi A4 and, while not perfect, it's iPod integration is excellent. It gives you the ability to easily and quickly scroll through long lists to find the selection you are looking for.

My experience with the 2010 RX iPod integration is that with about 300 artists in my list, it would take me 5 minutes to get from A to Z, no matter how precisely you "time" the page down clicks. In the Audi, it would take maybe 20 seconds. And the Audi lets you continue to listen to the current song without it being continually interrupted like it is in the Lexus.

Lexus' iPod implementation (which, incidentally is identical to that in the 2010 Toyotas) is really a disappointment and an embarrassment for what is otherwise a cutting-edge manufacturer.