Clutchless

2009 is gen 2 and different from 2010-2015 which need dealer software to be updated

NYPhotog

I recently purchased a 2015 RX350. Is it worth it to upgrade the navigation software? $169 + $120 for dealer installation. Can I not install the upgrade myself? Anyone have any experience and is there release notes that detail the specific changes to the program?

rj4510

jrfiero

I took my 2013 RX450h in for Nav System map upgrade, after checking to make sure they had the appropriate key in stock, although it galls me to pay $300+ to update maps. Mine are 2011 maps, so I hope the 2019 maps (which they assured me were the ones on the key) have enough updates to make it worthwhile.
Although they had the key, they didn't have the current "software" to install it. I assume that means Techstream, and how could a Lexus dealer not have the current version of that software? They said I'd have to give them a couple days notice then they can get it!
I'm on Cape Cod where there are no Lexus dealers, so the nearest is about an hour away. The shuttle driver (over to the mall while waiting) said he comes to the Cape all the time to take cars back for service, so maybe that's what I'll do, since the bums couldn't do the upgrade after I went all the way there.
I usually take the car to my local Toyota dealer for service, but they said they couldn't do the nav update. Now that I have the key, maybe they can - I'll check.

Just kind of a little venting.

Jonas

Htony

For 300.00 a pop, I'd buy a GPS unit with lifetime update and use it . I have Nuvi which I update every year free.

lexusrus

Save yourself the $300 and just use WAZE on your smart phone!!! If cell phone signal coverage is a problem, then go buy a Garmin or TOM TOM GPS unit with LIFETIME updates.

Forget the Lexus NAVI update/upgrade......it's not worth the money IMHO.

vlad_a

I did exactly what Lexus intended with the obsolete Navigation system that costs and arm and a leg to upgrade to another obsolete version - bought another vehicle... just not from the same brand and slightly more advanced.
P.S.
If anyone is wondering, they are using firewire and external hard drives to do upgrades.

jrfiero

So, back to Lexus Nav System Upgrade, not GPS or phone apps ...
Salim posted a link sometime back to a 2013 TSB on how Lexus updates the systems. There is now a 2016 version (minor changes) http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/TSb/...dPdf?id=196181, and in the intro it has the following, FYI.

"Map data will be released annually through the direct shipment of 2 map data DVDs to each dealership service manager. The annual map data release MUST then be installed onto the Navigation Update Tool. Individual map updates are then loaded into vehicles with special map security keys. These keys are available through the normal parts ordering system. Keys are loaded onto the Navigation Update Tool through a PC or Techstream unit using software found on the Technical Information System (TIS)."

So the dealership needs the correct map data DVDs, the Navigation Update Tool, either a PC OR Techstream with "software found on the Technical Information System (TIS)," and a license key. Here at the beginning of December 2018 they should have the v18.1 maps which are 2018, the same as loaded into the 2019 models. If any thumbdrive is involved, I don't know how, my package, part #PT219-HDD07-17, does not have a thumbdrive, only what appears to be a folded piece of cardboard, which I assume has a multi-character license key. I also think it's outdated (2017) and am discussing that with the dealer.

Jonas

svidas

golftrek

Hello, I posted these Qs on the Electronics Forum but have not gotten any responses there so I thought I would try on the RX Forum. Last week I purchased a new to me 2015 RX CPO from the local Lexus dealer. As part of my negotiations I requested that the navigation map be updated and when I picked the car up I was told the map had been updated. I want to confirm that he map was actually updated. When I go to the Map Data screen it says:

Map Version 21-1817 (2018-06-1)
Map update ID 1102-1422-2118-5986
Last map update cancelled

I understand the latest map version is 18.1. How can I tell if I have it? Was my map update cancelled for some reason?

I also have a Q about the Map Coverage. When I click on Map Coverage on the Map Data Screen it shows the west coast ( the RX was originally sold in California). I am in North Carolina. Should I get the map coverage changed to N.C. or does it matter? If I need to change it is it something I can do myself?

Thanks. I am glad to be on this Forum. I am sure I will have many other Qs. I just sold my 2006 RX with 200,000 miles that I dearly loved (sold it myself on Next-door for $6,000, the dealer only wanted to give me $3,500 for it). My old Lexus did not have Nav so I am trying to figure the new Navigation system out.

Thanks!

golftrek

I posted my Map questions in post 145 above. My post got merged wit this thread. I have now read this entire thread and am very disappointed to find that most of the posters on this forum thing the Lexus Nav system is awful. I could use my phone but I want a bigger screen. I could buy a Garmin or Tom Tom but I don't want a second screen in to look at. Disappointed.

Anyway I would still like to know if my maps were actually updated by the dealer as that was part of the deal I negotiated. I got a call from my salesman today and was assured the map was updated. I guess the only other thing to do is find a brand new subdivision or street in my area and see if it shows up.

rj4510

ColAngus

We don't "think" it's awful, we know it is. Every single time I foolishly give it another chance, I am reminded how infuriatingly awful it is from start to finish. Fully a 3 minute procedure to enter a bloody address into it WHILE COMPLETELY STATIONARY, IN PARK because "ooohhhh nnnooooes! You can't handle this baffling ordeal while moving forward at 20 out of your cul-de-sac!!!" This compares to speaking "how do I get to 1496 72 Avenue from here?" into your phone WHILE DRIVING and it instantly getting you a route that considers current traffic conditions and even construction, rather than a map from potentially 5+ years ago... Plus, you can still accept calls, etc.
But I cross-dress, errr... DIGRESS!
Addressing your questions... You need to set your region up somewhere in the vast array of options, or it will constantly try to take you to the 72 Ave that's in California. This is something you can do. Mine somehow got defaulted to NYC at some point. Oddly, it made almost no difference to how completely useless the system is.
As for the map check - yes, you simply need to drive to a new subdivision. That's what I did after getting hosed on the "$1,000 hard drive failure". Suddenly, my 2011 was telling me I was in a farmer's field when I was in a subdivision that was completed in 2010. I went straight back to the dealer and said "update, meow" and they argued that I couldn't prove I had the most recent. I certainly didn't but I could prove that their system was so terrible, it didn't know about things that existed before the car and challenged them that they couldn't update it to some random older update because they didn't even have them, anymore. So, the begrudgingly installed the latest update for free and then told me I needed a wheel alignment (because they performed a service where they didn't make any money). Their "complementary wheel align check" indicated that it was WAY out and unsafe, blah blah... I took it to get adjusted elsewhere and their check showed it out of spec, but literally in the complete other direction than the excellent Lexus service team.
These cars are shiny Toyotas. Bulletproof and simple. If we wanted to visit the stealerships all the time, we'd have bought the German nonsense and be stuck paying for Audi timing chain tensioner "maintenance" at $4k a pop and BMW battery changes at $700 etc. etc. They are beautiful cars, but we chose Lexus to avoid this crap, not embrace it. Don't let them steal your money on these valueless items. It's not a Ferrari* where you are expected/obligated to blow $10k a year in order to "establish the pedigree of ownership".
*A timing belt on their 20 year-old V12's is a $7k job and they expect you to do it every five years, for example. The manual written by their ENGINEERS states 50,000km but their "Service Dept's" will tell you otherwise. Don't believe the hype.

golftrek

Wow. I have actually been using the Nav system in my new to me 2015 Lexus RX and I have found it pretty simple to use with voice commands while driving.

iolmaster

iTrader: (1)

I have no idea why some people have such hate for the navigation systems in these cars. I have both an 06 SC430 and the 15 RX. Are they state of the art? NO! However, they work fine. I have used both many times without issues. I have no idea why people have so much trouble using them. Get a grip guys.