nhawk

Update - solved on my phone. See post #15.

Hi everyone,

I'm a new IS owner here (2016, no nav) and I love the car but am having trouble with the bluetooth staying connected. My issue is that, at random times, the bluetooth will disconnect and not reconnect. It does not matter what I do with my phone at that point (restart, turn bluetooth on/off, etc.) - the only thing that fixes it is restarting the car audio system (by holding the power/volume ****) or turning bluetooth on/off on the car from the system settings.

I have tried troubleshooting as much as I can, and I feel this is an issue with the car. The dealer thinks it's a general Lexus-Android problem and they say they hear about this all the time.

Does anybody here have any kind of issue like this? I am wondering (and hoping, actually) that my audio/bluetooth unit in my car is just faulty...

My phone is a Samsung S7 and I primarily use it for Spotify. Messaging and contact access is disabled.

Thank you for your help!

Myrix

Is it when the car is running or when you start the car it doesn't reconnect?

Admittedly I have an iPhone so apples to oranges but I had a similar issue where my Bluetooth kept breaking and required full re- pairing of the devices. Only happened when I started the car and typically had an audio app pre-started like Google maps (wouldn't switch over and just stayed broken).

In my case it turned out to be an OS issue - after an update I haven't had an issue since. Well at least until the previous update before this last one lol. I find the Lexus system somewhat sensitive to OS changes.

nhawk

Thank you! I have tried deleting/repairing (even setting to factory defaults) and that did not help, however, the idea of issue when apps are pre-started is interesting. I will look into that! These disconnects seem so random (but constant when it happens) that I feel it must be something specific that causes it...

Thanks!

jowaldo

Did you ever solve this issue or figure out what is causing this? I have the same exact issue. Can't figure what is causing it, but restarting the head unit by holding down the power button fixes it temporarily. I have a Nexus 6p, but tried a galaxy s5, and a Nexus 6. All have the same intermittent issue. Also when playing music (google play music) it skips randomly. Some days much worse than others.

What's odd too, is I have a 2015 Toyota Tundra, and it has what seems like the same audio system at least on the bluetooth end, but with slightly newer software. It shows cover art when connected to bluetooth and etc. But I have 0 issues on that system.

I've heard its possible to get the nav and bluetooth firmware updated on the car, but when I've called the dealer, they always just blame it on my phone. Turning off contact and message sharing makes no difference.

nvbirdman

I had a problem with mine (2014). Every time I shut the car off it would lose the Bluetooth connection and I had to re-connect it. The dealer finally had to order a new unit (Bluetooth only, or bt, radio, nav, etc.) I don't know, but with the new unit I have had no more problems.
If the dealer keeps giving you the runaround, call Lexus and tell them it doesn't seem to be fixable and you think it should be covered by the lemon laws.

nhawk

Have not been able to fix it, but I've minimized the issue as much as possible! Lexus has referred me to a bluetooth specialist who is going to look at it, so I will let you know if there is any update. But here's what I've found out since my last post:

• The disconnecting problem seems to happen only when your car starts with the radio on, and your phone is not "ready" to play the music. A solution thus far is: turn the car audio off each time before turning off the car, then, when you start your car, open Spotify or Google Play Music (so the phone is "ready") and THEN turn on your audio and put it to bluetooth audio. This seems to stop the disconnecting altogether. (This is also usually why holding the power button works - it restarts the system, default as "off", then when you turn it on again, your phone already has the app open)
• I went to the dealer and was able to reproduce the same issue, almost immediately, on other IS cars. So it is not a unit issue, it is widespread.
• There are no firmware updates available for the non-nav systems, all the way back to 2014. They just don't seem to update these units.... I'm not sure if this problem exists on a nav-unit. I have not tested that.

Obscene14

Sounds like an issue Lexus never bothered to resolve. When I was leasing a 2014 IS250 non nav I had the same problem with my HTC (M8) randomly disconnecting daily. The problem went away when the dealer let me break my lease and got me into a 2014 IS350 with nav. Obviously it's an issue with the non nav unit.

Dealer let me break my lease because I expressed my extreme dissatisfaction with the 250. Phone disconnecting constantly, cig lighter fuse constantly blowing and the total lack of power that made driving the 250 miserable for me. Kudos to JM Lexus for making me a happy customer.

nhawk

Wow, thank you! That's golden info! I will definitely check out my phone with the nav units to see if the problem is there.

The only reason (other than cost) that I opted for the non-navi version was because I HATE that joystick! But... I really hate my phone disconnecting every few minutes as well. It's pretty embarrassing when you have guests, as well.

EZZ

The other easy solve is to just get an iPhone

jowaldo

I borrowed a friends iPhone for a week and it did the same

jowaldo

When I go to check the software version of the nav, it doesn't show the bluetooth version. I remember there was a way to go into some special menu to see the bluetooth version, but I can't find it again. Does anyone know?

Does updating the nav software with the downloaded file to a usb drive also update the bluetooth firmware? Or is that something only the dealer can do?

EZZ

In the past 18 months i've had the IS350, it has never disconnected my bluetooth on my iphone. Not once. Something could be wrong with your unit.

Crossxup11

Same here. I have an HTC M8 which is starting to show signs of aging. Never disconnected once.
I also have a work issued (read restricted) iPhone 6 that never disconnects either.
IS350 2015.

I would have Lexus inspect your unit thoroughly. Being in IT consulting, I know that once a handshake is established between two devices only faulty software or hardware can cause disruptions.

Also, try wiping/updating your phone to latest OS version to rule that out.

jowaldo

Yeah I've tried enough phones (including iPhone) to rule out that its not a phone problem. I just need to hassle the dealer more to take a serious look at the hardware. I also have tried wiping my phone, custom rom's, clearing the cache etc and no luck.

nhawk

Alright everyone, I've been trying to find out what's been causing these problems for months and I've finally found a solution that has worked perfectly for me. The Lexus system is very unhappy with my Samsung Galaxy S7 (and perhaps all android devices) when the Media Audio (A2DP) is not working EXACTLY how it thinks it should. Even if you disable media in the bluetooth settings, the car will constantly completely disconnect since it cannot establish an audio connection.

My solution so far has been to use the app "Bluetooth Auto Connect" from the play store. Between this and the settings I have configured, I have had NO disconnects in the past week, even in situations that would have definitely caused the system to disconnect before. Here's all the info so that you can try to recreate the solution for your phone:

I use Spotify - I disabled Google Play Music within my debugging process and have not added it back yet, so at this time, I only have ONE music app.

Samsung Galaxy S7 / Android 6.0.1
Lexus IS350 (2016, no nav)
Settings within Bluetooh Auto Connect:

• Set Last Device - enabled
• Profiles: Media Audio (A2DP) and Call Audio (HSP) only
• Bluetooth On - enabled
• Run App - spotify

This has fixed EVERYTHING. I hope this helps you guys as well!