It does. One time the warning was followed by a pop up window that asked if I wanted to detour. The second time I had to specify that I wanted to detour.

The verbal warning is something like 'congested traffic on route'.

 

Were you under guidance?

 

I have both a Garmin and oem system, I can tell you the handheld gets confuse alot if you are in the city, with lots of high rise buildings. Also, if you pull into a gas station, it will start to reroute. I had miss turns on the handheld because it will tell you to turn after I pass the street. On the OEM system, I never had this issue.

 

Yes. Traffic alerts are tied to routing, so it needs a route to reference.

 

Very true. Especially when powering up. The smaller antenna just can't cope with big buildings.

 

If I'm remembering correctly, the Lexus NAV system is able to track where you are by speed and direction sensing between GPS updates. This is one way in which built-in NAV systems are much better than the portable ones.

 

This is true, and is why the NAV will track your position through, for example, a long tunnel, although any system will pick up its location as soon as sat contact is re-established. However, this ability has come in handy in the center of large cities where tall buildings make constant satellite contact difficult.

 

My experience is that NAV worked well in downtown Chicago until I missed a turn among the towers. Then I got a message something like -- You are so close, refer to the map for final destination. Terrific.

Extra incentive to stay on course.

 

Fogcutter
That message may have been referring to the 'footprint' map.

 

I agree with the previous posters. I had a Garmin with my non-Nav '07RX. It was great until I went into Boston. The tunnels and tall buildings made it almost useless. However, my '10RX with NAV has never lost a signal even when going through the long Ted Williams tunnel. It's a little quirky at times, but I've come to the conclusion that all Nav systems, integral or hand-held, have their quirks and you just have to learn to deal with them. I happen to think the "mouse" system is terrific--very easily used by driver or passenger. I do also have the Prestigious Society over-ride which is great!

 

Really good point. The BMW iDrive works but is a lot more effort. The Lexus interface is very close to being a computer mouse IMHO. Much more intuitive. Whoever added the tactile feedback feature is a genius. I can work the system while driving and not have to focus on it so much as to lose track of the road.

 

Is the traffic alert a free feature? You don't need to subscribe to something?

 

Traffic info, like lunch, is not free. The traffic info is a part of the Satellite Radio package, and requires a monthly or annual fee. But if you look at it right, a subscription to traffic and weather info gives you Howard Stern for free.

 

There is a charge, comes as part of the XM service. My wife has Sirius, when I have a chance I'm going to call and see if there is a family bundle of some kind.

The bad thing about the traffic service is that it only covers some areas, and there is no way to test it without a traffic jam while navigating through those areas. Could go weeks and never hear a peep from it. I was lucky it sounded twice during the trial period or I would have dropped it. So far it has worked very well.

The Weather service only shows alerts and warnings, not radar. I don't plan to continue it -- UNLESS THEY ADD RADAR. (Just in case someone at Lexus reads this board.)

 

Agreed, would like to see Radar as well. But still find it useful.