DunWkg

I would like to understand more about the complaints against the Lexus original equipment navigation system and the advantages of Garmin/Tom-Tom/etc.

I'll start it off. Keeping in mind I know nothing about 3rd party GPS:

OEM Navigation
Pro:
Destination Assistance - call them, download, go there
eDestination - go to your computer/phone, upload, download, go there
Voice Command - speak it, enter it, go there
Destinations - maintains previous destinations in memory
Gives phone number of destinations
Voice Turn by Turn
Head Up Display - works in unison with Navigation
Large Display - with two map mode and compass mode
Gives time till arrive and arrival time of day
Works with remote control joystick
Updates tested by Lexus

Con:
Can't enter destinations when rolling
Destination Assistance - may not give private residence locations
Voice Command - poor implementation, poor listening skills, misunderstands
No "bird's eye view"
Expensive and only yearly updates


3rd Party Navigation
Pro:
Allows data entry while rolling
Audio plugs into AUX port
Audio works with bluetooth(?)
Inexpensive or free updates
Frequent Updates
Shows map view, satellite view, hybrid view
Shows "birds eye view"

Con:
Small screen
Requires 12 volt outlet
Doesn't work with Head Up Display
No eDestination (?)
No Destination Assistance
Difficult to hear, if no audio out

Thanks for your input.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

The Garmin is $150 and the OEM $2500.The OEM unit does have the lockout and a few other features that really aren't needed or are still with a non NAV model.
I find the Garmin to be more accurate with turns now and then.
That said,I still went with the NAV to get the comfort pkg.I do like the look of the dash with the NAV.

Evitzee

My wife can get turned around when she visits Houston/Austin/San Antonio and she may use Destination Assist two or three times a day when she goes there. Help comes on and they can talk on where she needs to go and they will sort out the problem and download the directions. Along with the heads up display it makes for a very efficient system. And when the wife is happy .......

I think the eDestination can download up to 200 destinations and if you spend a bit of time you can figure out many of the destinations where you are likely to go in the future and just pre input them while sitting at the computer in the evening. It works great and those selections are available while rolling. Personally, trying to enter a destination with the joystick while rolling would be too distracting, just too much time having to take your eyes off the road.

And this is a luxury vehicle, I don't want cords, wires and suction cups messing up the view. Yes, Nav is expensive relative to a Garmin or TomTom but a Lexus is more expensive than a Corolla. Sometimes you have to pay to play.

wa3cuj

I have the factory NAV in both my Audi and my 450h. I also have a Garmin unit. It costs a small fortune to keep both the Audi and Lexus units updated each year, while I get free updates for the Garmin maps every 3 months. Since the Audi is DVD based I have been able to sell the DVDs on eBay reducing the upgrade cost by 50%. That is not possible with the Lexus HDD system.

The Garmin is really nice since I can "play" with my routes on my laptop (using Mapsource) and then moving the route to the unit.

Having said all of that, I will probably continue getting the factory units (and then complaining about them) because of the integration of all the other things into the displays. The portable GPS units have become cheap enough to allow you to treat yourself to both.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I just carry my Garmin in either vehicle and use the OEM NAV for destination and the garmin for points of interest.No cords.4 hour battery life or maybe the Garmin corded in my wife's hand for the point of interest inputs short time.

sightdev

OEM has larger screen and integrated functions but portable GPSs now days have so much more features. My family is considers “heavy” users because of work and kids travel team. I recently replaced few year old Mio with TomTom 550XL TM and I really like the traffic camera feature, POI, and clearer “exit” direction with easy “arrow” and speech announcement. Also life time map and traffic update was primary reason for choosing this model. Its 5 inch screen and mounting bracket is really easy to use and I really do prefer the functions over current OEM 10RX and previous 05LS/05RX. Remote control on 10RX was “cool” for about few months but its more distracting than useful. It also takes unnecessary longer to navigate than touch screen. Like one member said, its Lexus and its not complete without OEM navi so I have it too. Another down side is $300+ to update the map so I will probably update the map every two years. I currently have 9.1 and from what was updated on 10.1 [info on Sewell website], it just wasn’t worth the $300 so I will probably wait for 11.1 in next December.

billy44bo

Never updated the one in my 2005 RX330 there were never enough chages to make it worth while and now with the Destination Assist and eDestination why would you have to upgrade? They all have problems but OEM is still the way to go with a Heads Up Display.

sleepysurf

I specifically went NO NAV with my RX 450h, and instead use a Garmin Nuvi, mounted adjacent to my mono LCD screen (see pic here...
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/5454836-post7.html)

Works great, and I get the free map (and POI's) updates every few months. When Garmin comes out with their latest and greatest new GPS model, I can buy it for less than the Lexus GPS map update would cost me!

BlueSurf

I would like to see a Class Action Lawsuit against Lexus for this piece of garbage that came in a $60,000.00 car. It can't find its way out of a paper bag. I decided to try it today to find a cup cake bakery that I had seen and couldn't remember where it was. The cheap-jap unit took me a block short and told me I arrived. ( It was a Target store)
More insult is the horrible voice command for making calls. In the dozen or so times I tried it, never was it correct one time. It will do everything you don't want. In short, Lexus has no clout in the electronics area.
This entire unit belongs in a $7,000. Chinese econobox.
Its laughable, however I find it sad. To be honest if I had a clue as how bad it was I would have gone for the Q7.

k9shelly1

The only complaint I have is that the voice commands are worthless as it does not understand a word. I hoping for a TSB or recall to get this fixed. As it is now it is unusable.

That said, the destination assist and edestination are great. The times I've had to use it it has been flawless. Very convenient and easy to use.

Evitzee

Should have bought a US made car then, why go with a 'Jap' POS like Lexus? There are plenty of Ford, GM and Chrysler SUV's that might suit your needs. And a Q7, please!

Never had any problems with the voice commands, perhaps they don't understand your dielect. Do you speak clearly?

This is correct. There are very few yearly updates to the system, so changing it every year is not needed. I went four years before changing the disc in my 2006 IS, and there were almost no changes to the areas I go to.

GoodRevs

The unit in the RX is very good IMO. Smooth, fast, reliable, stable and accurate. If you want to spend $50k on a car and then tack up a window mount unit then that's your choice obviously, but I honestly think that looks really ****ty. We've purchased our last two Lexus's with OEM nav, and I upgraded my two older car's to in-dash nav units; there is no comparison IMO between the window mount units and proper in-dash units. In-dash OEM is the winner here.

socalJD

Wow, this post is so not-PC and offensive on so many levels, I don't know where to start . . .

CliffV

I agree that the Lexus nav system is second rate. I loved my old Garmin.

Has anyone considered something like the after market Kenwood DNX9960? The GPS in it is made by Garmin. I don't suspect you'd save anything by the time you get it installed with all the options. But atleast you'd have a real GPS by the end of the day.

Thoughts?

zak21

I personally enjoy the oem nav aside from the lockout while moving. I also like and use the voice commands it understands me almost 100% of the time (which is a far cry from our previous IS350)

Also we had two garmin units and I found them to be unbearably slow at almost everything. Slow to get a gps fix, slow to find POI's, just really slow.