neilsix

This is probably beaten to death, but I can't find the thread.

Just got a 2002 SC430 that was ran to the ground. I'm going to have to restore it myself.

One of the top priorities for me is the navigation system. I have the infamous "No disk detected" error appearing on the screen. I've done some research and found discs anywhere from $79-$500 on ebay. The cheaper ones look like fake discs, but I don't really want to shell out $500 on a nav when I can buy a Garmin for much cheaper (though it won't look/sound as nice).

I rather have the updated disc, but I don't want to spend money on a test disc and find out later that I have to replace the nav with a refurb. Rather just get a whole new system (if there's ones that exist).

Anyone have any advice on my dilemma? I love this car, and would love to get it back to tip-top shape.

VVTiBob

Copies usually will not work properly. The newest version is 9.1 but Lexus new releases are due in Sept of each year. If I were you, I'd stop by a dealer and ask them to test it with a known good disk. Then, depending on the results, decided how to proceed. Here is a link to Nav Site info: https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lex...igationmaps.do

This second link provides even more info: http://www.lexusnavigation.com/index.php

neilsix

Thanks VVTiBob. This is a good start. May have to come back to the forums for potential after-market recommendations if the results don't come out in my favor.

VVTiBob

Unfortunately there isn't much that can be done aftermarket wise at a reasonable cost due to the integration with ML amp and the 2002 technology.

Harold57

Do a search on "No disc detected". There are a couple of threads about that 2 to 3 years ago.

First thing you need to do is go check in your trunk to determine what disc is in there, if there is one. If there is one and it appears to be a proper disc (not a cheap copy), then most likely the problem is in the DVD disc drive that is in the trunk (I forget what the proper name is, NAV CPU?). The typical failure is the disc drive motor or some of the gears. Finding a replacement motor has been problematic so far. It seems like someone recently found some, but I'm not sure. It seems like someone did find a shop that would repair them though.

You can occasionally find a replacement drive, but you need to be careful as they are different in the different NAV generations.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

neilsix

Thanks for the suggestion, Harold.

I believe the disc in the Nav is the original factory disc, so most likely it is the motor. Sounds like I'm going to have a fun time trying to track one of those down.

Habious

You might be able to find a fellow owner close to you who would be willing to let you stick their known-good disk in your system to see if that remedies the problem.

Where are you located?

cjs18

In case you have the original DATA 2000 ver. 1 disc you will want to be careful when testing with later versions. I upgraded to the 9.1 version and it came with a warning indicating that the upgrade disc made changes to the system firmware that made the original 2000 ver. 1 map data unusable in the system. Maybe another CL member can confirm if that's true of intermediate versions as well. The lowest risk test situation might involve a dealer. If something goes wrong on their watch they might work with you to 'pursue perfection.'

Habious

This is true but, his system doesn't work anyway.

If he puts in a new (new to his car and/or newer version) disk in his car and it doesn't work...he knows the nav unit is bad and can pursue other options.

If he puts in the new disk and it works...then he knows that he can confidently send Sewell some $$ for a new nav disk and know he's not wasting his money.

But, you are correct. If he's running a very old version and he upgrades with a newer disk (it was upgrade automatically when you insert the new disk), there's no (easy) going back. The old disk won't work anymore. But, in his case, it doesn't work now.

Heck, I just thought of something. NeilSix, I have an OEM disk of version 5.1 (ish). If you want it, it's yours to play with...just PM me.

I updated to 6.1 when I bought the car...and will be updating to the new version that's coming out this fall (I'm like 4 years behind now and the maps/data are seriously outdated for my area).

PHXSC

I doubt you're going to get a dealer to unpackage a disc and "try" it in your car, without buying it first. If you're going to ditch the factory Nav, you can ditch the factory stereo, too, since they intermingle.
There is tons of info on this. do an advanced search for "No disk detected", and 2 days later you'll be done reading.
Good luck!

tfischer

My recollection is that the version 2 disc updates the OS; after that, the ver 1 disc cannot be read by the system. Versions 3 and up contain the same upgrade, in case they are used on version 1 systems, but the newer OS will read all versions from 2 to 9. Since I have 2 cars with the same hardware, I often swap my discs so that the newer one is in the car I'm using for an out of town trip, and I have done this many times. I think my versions are 5 and 8.
This information is from memory and is not warranted.
Still, the odds of a disc going bad while in the drive is pretty low; if the system is not reading the disc, my bet is that it's the system that has a problem and not the disc.