dimapb

I can't believe you are considering trading your LS because of the disabled phone system. One of my friends traded in his S500 after 1 year of ownership and got a new LS430 (1 year ago). He lost about $40K on the trade in, but he said it was worth it. S500 spent more time in the shop than on the road. Granted, I hear that new S550 is much better, but we'll see. I understand that disabled phone, Nav, and Disk search are annoying, but i would not trade it in just because of that. A few guys here on the forum are working very hard in trying to find/create an override. Just give it some time.
It will come. In the mean time, you can set up voice tags for the numbers you call most or add them to a speed dial. Works for me.

Dmitry

Technique

Keep calling lexus customer service and complaining... Keep emailing all the car magazines and complaining... Keep complaining in every lexus survey you get...

wb578

I totally agree with Technique.

Anyone who is unhappy about this Nav / Phone system lockout and lousy Voice Recognition system should complain loudly to their dealer and Lexus.

I have a 3 week old '07 RX400h and just made my first service appointment to have them fix the Voice Recognition system. So far, I haven't found anyone who 's been able to get the system to correctly recognize any voice commands.

I may not get anywhere with this, but I'm going to try to use Pennsylvania's Lemon Law to force the issue over the Voice Recognition and Nav / Bluetooth System lockout.

The Pennsylvania Lemon Law applies to new cars that suffer a nonconformity; a defect or condition, which substantially impairs the use, value or safety; that cannot be repaired after three attempts by an authorized manufacturer's dealership. This nonconformity must first occur within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.

At the very least, Lexus and my dealer are going to know that this is the last Lexus I buy if they don't open up and improve the Nav system.

jotafl

Gang, unless some genius comes up with a hack for the system, Lexus will not do anything about it. I am sure you can complaint all you want but they will not compromise your safety for happiness. C'mon, I do also want the override but as it stands I am very happy with this car. OM2C

hybrids14

I just installed Satellite TV on my LS460 (requires a aux module box on my car) but still haven't figure out how to override the dvd/nav. Well, hopefully someone can figure it out before me and share the information on which wires to jump/cross. Good luck to all the people trying to make this feature available.

Technique

Got my survey in the mail from Lexus... Tore them apart over all the ML/Nav features not working while the car is in motion... Told them they should disclose all those details in the brochure or have the dealers list out all the features of the $4000 ML/NAV option package that don't work when you are driving the car... It's dishonest of them to hide all that...

jotafl

The only thing I was able to do is to drive with the rear view camera on while driving forward, however when you do so you can't do anything with the radio, nav or anything else in the NAV display. I guess it is only for maintenance therefore nothing else works.

wb578

Has anyone snooped around the Diagnostic Screen(s) yet?

I was just on the Toyota - Lexus Tech Info Site (http://techinfo.toyota.com/) It costs $10 per day or $50 per month. I did the one day access and downloaded several hundred pdf files for my cars ('06 Prius and '07 RX400h) that only the dealer technicians get to see.

In addition to searching for info about my cars, I also did a search for info on pre-2006 nav system overrides. I went back as far as 2003 to try and find any kind of documentation that talks about or shows the Service screen containing the Override button. There weren't any. I'm now wondering if DENSO / AISIN has a site that can be accessed to view their documentation.

Here's how you get into the Nav System Diagnostic screen for the RX400h. It's from the LEXUS Repair Manual. The GS450h, Prius, Highlander, and Camry Hybrid all appear to function the same way.

START DIAGNOSTIC MODE
There are 2 methods to start diagnostic mode. Start
the mode by using one of them.
Method 1
(1) Start the engine.
(2) While pressing and holding the "INFO" switch,
operate the light control switch: OFF → Turn ON
→ Turn OFF → Turn ON → Turn OFF → Turn
ON → Turn OFF.
(3) The diagnostic mode starts and the "System
Check Mode" screen will be displayed. Service
inspection starts automatically and the result will
be displayed.

Method 2
(1) Start the engine.
(2) Switch to the "Display Check" screen.
(3) From the display quality adjustment screen,
touch the corners of the screen in the following
order: upper left → lower left → upper left →
lower left → upper left → lower left.
(4) The diagnostic mode starts and the "System
Check Mode" screen will be displayed. Service
inspection starts automatically and the result will
be displayed.

*** If you use method #2, the touch areas aren't quite in the corners like the instructions indicate. Lexus provides a graphic that shows the areas are about an inch down / up from the top / bottom edges.


2. FINISH DIAGNOSTIC MODE
There are 2 methods to end diagnostic mode. Use
one of them.
(1) Turn the ignition switch off.
(2) Press and hold the "DISP" switch for 3 seconds.


The Tech Info site has a lot of information besides the repair manuals. They also have Service Bulletins, Wiring diagrams, Campaign Publications, digital versions of the Owners manual (by section, not complete), Technicians references, etc.

Even though I didn't find the specific Nav System Override information I was looking for, I downloaded enough other documentation about my cars that the $10 was worth it.

Barrynsh

I think it is a crime that the navigation system locks can't be overcome when a passenger is in the car. I think that the proper disclaimers by Lexus would not however remove liability from Lexus if it is in violation of the law of the various states. But I guess this is up for much argument, but I think that anybody that learned the method of allowing the screen to function and then published it on this forum would be subjecting themselves to great deal of exposure and risk of lawsuit from both Lexus and Denso for disclosure of proprietary information, but especially from accident victims that could claim that disclosure of this information not only indirectly caused the accident but also violated the law. It also might remove Lexus and Denso from any liability. No one can say how a lawsuit would come out.......it is not over until the judge speaks but who needs the trouble or the expense.
Of course bank robbers know that they can get caught and it doesn't seems to stop them.

By the way, the methods described to get into the Service menu also work on the 460L and have been discussed on this forum before. They also appear in the 460L service manual. However so far, after perusing the appropriate subjects in the repair manual, including discussions of the various screen, nothing seems to lead to unlocking the nav system.

wb578

Barrynsh : No liability can attach to someone who publishes or re-transmits information which is obtainable through public sources. Without listing all the types of public sources, that includes free internet sites and pay-to-view internet sites such as http:techinfo.toyota.com.

Barrynsh

I wouid like to think it were that simple....and I hope it is. However, the jury and the judge decide issues like this and so all the headaches, expenses and aggravation occur before that happens, even if the outcome is as you say. It is not always the destination, but the trip that hurts. Also, when it comes to injuries, someone is going to have to pay for the damages.......again up to the juries and/or the judge.

Also, not previously mentioned by me, but I would think that another issue in the same vein is the fact that ones own insurance company could try to deny an accident claim if one were to override the system, especially in the states where it is against the law. Again, it could end up being up to a judge or the jury in the end. At a minimum there could be a hint of shared responsibility.

I appreciate your comments and the opportunity to discuss this. Certainly there must a few lawyers that own a Lexus 460 and participate here.

dimapb

But what about BMW and Acura drivers? Their Nav screen doesn't get locked. So, who's responsible in that situation?

Evitzee

Different corporations ..... different markets ..... different tolerances to risk. Since Toyota is a larger brand with different demographics they may well feel this approach is best for THEIR interests. If that is the way they feel, and if they aren't going to lose many sales over it (which they probably won't, regardless of all the huff and puff on these forums), it is their call. You can always vote with your feet and go somewhere else. If enough do that Toyota may relook at it.

With satellite TV and Internet now coming to vehicles (only for the back seat, of course) this issue is only going to get higher visibility. Long term I don't think the Feds are going to allow unfettered TV, internet, DVD content to be streamed to the vehicle without some controls. Can you picture a driver trying to watch football on a Sunday afternoon while cruising on the freeway with all the other distractions going on? Scary.

Technique

If anyone is in the Northern Virginia area, and is interested in working on nav/mp3/bluetooth wire hacks similar to what we do on the IS series, I'd be willing to help... It's not too hard to figure out based on the tech specs... The first step would be for someone to contact me via PM and we can work on figuring out how to do it theoretically...

Barrynsh

In addition to the previous answer to this, maybe the problem is not Lexus but rather Denso. I don't know if Denso supplies the BMW and Acura systems. LDenso does provide the electronics that block out the NAV system and screen and maybe they feel the exposure is a risk. I do know that Cadillac systems are Denso and the lockout is exactly the same and the static on the Cadillac forum is questionably second to ours.

I wonder if there isn't a double standard among all of us that want the system block removed. I wonder how any of would feel about this if we had a 17 year old that we let use the car. I know I'd want to make sure that it was blocked in that case.