Mike246

The navigation display appears to have gone into a strange mode on my 2021 UK ES300,

The display shows a globe of the world instead of a street map. I can get it to display a split screen showing both, the map showing the current location. Switching the ignition off and back on has no effect.

Anyone have any idea to restore the display to the usual street map?

ESh

Try to reset the system buy holding the volume button down for 3 seconds.

kingofire

I think you might be zoomed out too much. Try zooming in and see if it fixes it.

july1988

I want to know how you did it haha I do want to see a globe on my nav. screen

You can always go to Menu and settings > Navigation and reset to default...of course you may loose other settings you have set...

Mike246

My thanks to you all for your responses but the real reason behind this beggars belief.

ESh's suggestion had no effect so I called the Lexus dealership who supplied the car. The guy I spoke with said that they have has several calls from customers with the same issue. Lexus had attempted to download an update to the navigation which clearly had a corruption and a number of customers are in the same situation. The dealers are in conversation with Lexus UK to get this resolved.

This poses many questions. How do Lexus communicate with the vehicle - I'm guessing from the satellite in which case it's a one-way dialogue. Does the car need to be in operation for this download to take effect? Is it a firmware download or a map update? Is the owner primed that an update is about to happen - apparently not. If the owner defaults on his/her payments will the power system be switched off? Does this affect other Lexus models and/or cars in other countries? Are updates limited to the navigation or open to other vehicle systems?

Clearly this is a screw-up which is the last thing one would associate with Lexus and no doubt it will be resolved. More on this to come.

In the meantime and in common with every Lexus I have owned - the ES is one fine car!

july1988

I believe the "communication" is done through 4G, you're probably right about the 1-way, basically there is a 4G SIM typed device in the ES that makes its computer online so Lexus and Toyota can connect to the ES and do all sorts of things...

About the user's consent prior to any update, yes it must be that way otherwise they will get sued big time. I suspect you have a setting where it allows auto update somewhere. Some exceptions though, in the event of a critical issue, they may get permissions from the authority (Department of safety blah blah...) and issue the update automatically whether you like it or not you can't avoid.

I saw it before, as soon as you turn on the car, you will be greeted with the update and you must do it in order to use the nav. screen otherwise it's always where. Most of them should be small firmware update, I can't imagine sending a massive map update that contains hundreds to thousands of MBs, will take forever to download and install, they will let dealership do this kind of update.

grp52

If I've got the correct UK version for the 2021 ES 300H Navigation Manual, navigation software/firmware can be downloaded either using the Data Communication Module (DCM) or a connection to a Wi-Fi access point. The means by which the DCM communicates with the "Toyota Smart Center" is not easy to find other than a vague uses a mobile network. (US models use a mobile/cellular network provider for DCM communications so the UK DCM communication means aren't different but specifics on network provider(s) used I couldn't find any information on.) The communication is two way since there's mention in the manual that the Toyota Smart Center keeps track of a vehicle's software upgrade status after an ES communicates an upgrade has been accomplished.

In the above referenced manual, there's a whole "Updating and checking the software information" section. As to your questions, in brief, it looks like the owner/driver must either explicitly check for and request the update software downloading and installation or make some sort of explicit action to enable it when the system displays a notification that a software update is available. That is separate from updating the on-board map data for those 12.3 inch display equipped ESs with built-in navigation having on-board map data which can be used in cases where it isn't possible to communicate with the Toyota Smart Center for current navigation data. There is a "Map database version and covered area*" section in the manual which includes info on checking for updates and updating the on-board map data. (The 8 inch displays using connected navigation doesn't have on-board map data needing updating.) You need a valid subscription for the (cloud based) connected navigation for Toyota Smart Center usage. (If the 12.3 inch display built-in navigation operates similar to the US version where the navigation software falls back to using the on-board map data when the subscription expires, the 12.3 inch display's built-in navigation will continue to function just using the possibly non-current on-board map data but the manual isn't really clear as to what really happens.)

Mike246

Again my thanks to those who have shared their knowledge. There are diverse views on whether the update is 1-way or 2-way but this is a side-issue.

My car is a 2021 ES300 Premium Edition (not to be confused with the Premium Pack) which features 12.3 inch screen, plastic seats and sun-roof but no head-up display nor seat memory. It's an intermediate offering and I don't know whether this was marketed in the US.

I'm leaving resolution in the hands of the dealership. Not because I'm their special customer but because they have other owners with the same issue, some of whom will be more dependent on the navigation than me.

One vaguely-linked point. Here in the UK Lexus provide a 3-year warranty from new which if the car is dealer-serviced will extend to 10-years. Most generous as a failed hybrid battery would cost a fortune. Is the deal the same in the US?