Kijug

First, I know Lexus Enform [paid services] is going away for older vehicles. That's not this discussion. This is about the other remaining "free" phone connection services and apps; e.g., LiveXLive, etc. Now we know over time that iHeartRadio and Crackle, etc., have all disappeared. I get it, it's hard to support all that stuff. Anyway...on to my issue and information for others.

If you try to use the [now-out-of-date] "Lexus Enform App" on your iPhone (I presume also on Android) it'll say it is discontinued and you should use the "Lexus App". OK, sounds good. I only use the apps in the car on road trips, so not very often. Well, I'm heading out in a week so I thought I'd check if there are any updates, etc. So I downloaded the new Lexus App and attempted to login.

I could login successfully but it didn't seem to know my vehicle--strange. So then I entered my VIN and, after struggling with the "Lexus App", it would not recognized my VIN. I went to the dealer (an hour ago) and they thought it was an old account and confused by the new app and I should contact Lexus at 800-255-3987 for assistance (go figure). This seems the be their generic call center, but they answered in a minute or two. All good so far (I think).

After a few minutes of talking and verifying, she said the 2014 is not compatible with the Lexus App and that my car is no longer compatible with apps. BOOM!

So not only is Enform no longer supported (HW issue) neither is the "apps" on your car. In reality, I can run LiveXLive on my iPhone and just bluetooth audio that to the car. But...another Lexus fail for not supporting technology in long-lived cars. I'm not going to pay another $50,000 for an "app update" by getting a new car.

So, FYI.

bc6152

Hmmm. Makes me wonder when my 2019 will become obsolete in Lexus' eyes... Only took 7years for yours...

StevenTodd

I have a 2016 Lexus ES. I too got upgraded to the new Lexus Inform app. When I tried to use the new app to stream music using the Enform App Suite on my car, I soon discovered that feature is no longer available on the new app. Essentially the app is totally worthless since the only information it displays is Health & Alerts and Service appointments. Why Lexus took this feature away is baffling. Come October I will no longer have the navigation or safety connect features. And now the Inform app is worthless in so far as using the Inform App Suite.

I read that some car manufactures such as GM and others will upgrade their 3G cars to 4G for free. However, Lexus is not one of them. So, I guess if I want the navigation, safety connect, and Enform App suite features I have to buy a new Lexus. Lexus obviously does not want to do anything for us that have older models. So come October I will be looking to buy a new car. However, it will not be a Lexus.

bc6152

Since owning a Lexus for 10 years now I see that Lexus don't ever go back and update. This is for those of you who will lose safety connect and navigation features. And for others who wanted to add Android Auto to their cars in 2019 when it was available in other countries markets for free and at a modest cost. According to internet reports it takes an hour to be installed in Spain. Lexus dropped the ball but makes no apologies. Really like my car but company policies not so much...

tomscot2

I used the old app to enter Saved Destinations before I started my trip in my 2016 ES300h. It was much easier to enter an address in the app than on the crappy Nav interface on the car.
That feature is now gone. So frustrating.

703

If I have to pick up my phone to enter an address, I would use the phone to navigate as well.

tomscot2

I am not going to use the phone to navigate when I have a nice big Nav system. I used the old enform app to enter addresses before I left the house and then when entering a destination in the Nav I could choose saved destinations from enform.

703

My Nav is updated to the latest maps. However its rerouting is pretty poor. Tries to get you to u turn if you miss a road, on my phone it would quickly calculate the shortest path and gets on with it.