As much as I hate to do it, I'm going to resurrect this thread.

I actually listened to the most recent Lexus Insider and it got me wondering...

How does this update? My car hasn't been to the shop so they didn't do it. Does it use my phone to get to the internet and download the informartion? Is there some internal mechanism that it uses to retrieve these messages?

I'm curious....

 

I believe it uses the same built-in and paid-for-by-Lexus cellular capability that runs Safety Connect (e.g SOS and Auto Collision Notification) and Destination Assist -- neither of those require a personal cell phone to operate.

 

I just listened to it yesterday and noticed some of the dates on the articles were from 2010. I know it didn't hit ignore that many times LOL.

 

Is that the case even if I don't subscribe to the SOS thing?

 

You got it right. My dealer told me if there was ever an update to the nav system they would do it automatically through that .Not the maps but the operating system.

 

I'm now speculating, but how else would this be done if its not with your own cell phone -- which it isn't. I could never believe Lexus would build in some other satellite or cell capability in their vehicles that is used sometimes once a year or less for marketing and/or customer sat reasons alone. If I were a designer, and someone levied this requirement on me, why not use the technology that is already installed on the vehicle regardless if my customer is paying for use of additional capabilities it can provide, and internally within Lexus, charge any expenses like cell cost to AT&T or whoever back to marketing that wanted to send out some communication. Makes perfect sense to me until someone confirms there is a better answer.

 

I am so biting my tongue on this one. Wanting to tell Jim to read the manual, but it's not in his manual!!!

 

I skip them all the time. Usually pointless.