I just bought a 2021 RX 350- because of the shortage of vehicles had to pick from the dealer's inventory, and my new SUV has a Lexus wireless charger. It doesn't seem to work with my iphone 12- after the phone sits on the charger for a a minute or so the green power light on the charger turns orange and the phone seems not to charge. The phone does not have a case, so that's not the issue. Has anyone else had this issue? Or is this a known problem?

 

Maybe something is wrong with the charger. I tried my iphone 12 on another RX and remember it worked even with the case on mines.

Can you post a picture or video how are you placing the phone on the charger?

 

Thank you- I will borrow my son's phone when he comes over in the next couple of days and take a picture.

 

Why not just take it back to the dealer?

 

Mine works fine on 2021 RX450h for both iPhone 11 and 12.

When placing the phone, ensure it is pushed towards to right side.

 

Plug it in. Wireless chargers are pretty useless anyway.

 

Thank you and yes, the phone is placed all the way to the right. I tested it this morning and it IS working, but it is slow as crap. Its a lousy charger. I have used wireless at home for a couple of years and it works well if you use a decent charger. Since I didn't order this, but it was a $200 option that the dealer loaded the car with, I hoped it would work well, but that's not the case.

 

mikemu30 is on the right track, the amperage is extremely low through the Qi (pronounced Chee) charger.
Your description of switched on green light and changes to yellow when your phone is in place is correct...it's working.
At best it is a charge maintainer, not really a charger.

Your 2021 RX has AppleCarplay (finally) that uses the data cable, the charging rate through the cable is much better
than the wireless system and the bandwidth for your media playback is better than Bluetooth. Dedicate a cable to the
car and wire it up. Note: the USB ports up front and on the back of the console are for charging only, use the USB
ports in the center console for ACP or Android Auto functionality.

 

I did and the was told that most people don't use it- and the "technology specialist" was puzzled and said I had to install software to make it work. I explained that he needed to spend some time understanding wireless charging. Then he gave me a "Lexus Support" number that I could call. At that point I lost my patience and got the general manager involved. To cut to the chase, after a somewhat animated discussion I got a check for the cost of the option and promise that he would review this with his staff.

 

I used mine for the first time recently and it works on my 11 Pro, but yes it is definitely slower than my wireless charger at home. I actually laughed out loud when I read your comment that the Tech Specialist said you need some sort of software installed to use it. I realize they can't be familiar with every phone model but that is ridiculous. As to the reimbursement for the option, that was likely the dealer trying to earn your goodwill since it wasn't the dealer's fault that this option doesn't work well. I don't understand why Lexus even continues to offer them (in the current form/version) as the effectiveness of this option has been a longstanding discussion. It was the same charger in our 2016 NX. I was frankly surprised to even see it on our new RX.

One point I would emphasize (thanks to mcomer) is that the RX uses the ports in the center console for CarPlay and those ports will charge much faster than the wireless charger. It is nice to be able to leave the phone in the center console while it charges. In our ES, only the ports up on the front on top of the center console work with CarPlay, and the USB ports inside the console were removed completely on the current generation. So you have cables running from the top of the console near the dash to ... where? ... since there are no cubbies to hold the phone other than cupholders. I guess my point is that while this RX wireless charger isn't ideal, it can always be worse...

 

Also keep in mind, the wireless charger can also be used to charge other devices such as Apple Airpods. So if you don't find that it works well for your phone, perhaps you have other devices.

 

I have a 2021 Hybrid. I did a test with my phone, an iPhone 11 Pro.

The phone was at 57% battery. I placed phone in the vehicle charging tray and drove for 10 minutes. I checked the phone again and it was at 65% battery level. Not as fast as a wall charger but seems to work well enough.

 

That's pretty impressive. I wish I had that feature in my Lexus vehicles. Not sure why it isn't standard with the price.

 

I agree. I have the same 2021 hybrid and 11 Pro. It works well enough. I think where I get spoiled is with the fast charger at home, so it makes the car charger feel slow but it is perfectly adequate.

 

It's worth noting that the charger only works with phones that have the new back (glass I think), my iPhone 7 cannot charge.