Hopefully, this document serves as the definitive guide to utilizing USB storage with your Lexus Navigation and Multimedia System (NMMS). As the owner of a 2021 LS500 (Base with Interior Upgrade and Mark L.), and with a background as a former CIO, technology has been a significant part of my expertise for many years.

1. Media: a. USB drives vary in quality across manufacturers, and it's crucial to consider reliability. While budget options may seem appealing, they may not meet the standards for reliable performance. In my experience, SanDisk stands out as the gold standard, although other reputable manufacturers also offer reliable options. b. Consider the size of USB drives carefully, as larger capacities may result in longer directory read times for the NMMS. The standard size for NMMS is 32GB, aligning with the FAT32 file system. Other Windows file systems like exFAT, FAT, and NTFS are incompatible with NMMS. However, third-party software can facilitate the creation of a FAT32 system on larger USB drives. Recommended third-party disk managers include DiskGenius and FAT32format GUI. c. Exercise caution when selecting the USB drive for formatting and implementing FAT32. d. With a third-party disk manager, it's possible to apply the FAT32 file system to any drive up to 64GB. Larger drives will format to 64GB, rendering the excess capacity unusable for NMMS. e. Organize your music files hierarchically to enhance navigation. For instance, categorize music genres into separate USB drives (e.g., Classical, Country, Rock), and within each drive, create folders for subcategories such as Artist or Type of Music (e.g., METAL or SOFT under Rock). Effective playlist organization is key. f. Music can be sourced from various platforms for download. Personal preferences may include platforms like YouTube and Amazon Music. g. Aim for the highest audio format quality available. h. Consider the various digital audio formats available, such as WAV, MP3, MP4, and FLAC. While WAV offers lower resolution quality, FLAC is considered the best for high-resolution audio. MP3 is widely used, and MP4 serves both audio and video purposes. File sizes vary based on formats, with FLAC being the largest and WAV being the smallest. Depending on USB drive size, consider utilizing a third-party audio converter to optimize playlist size.
   2. Getting Started in Your Car: To initiate the process, press the start button twice and then proceed by pressing the Media button on your LS500. Insert the USB drive into either of the two slots situated inside the center console. As the system reads the drive, exercise patience, especially with larger capacity drives, as they may take longer to load. Typically, expect a read time of approximately 30 seconds for a 64GB drive, particularly if it's nearly full. Once the drive is recognized, navigate by selecting the USB icon, and you're ready to begin. Thanks to the organization you've meticulously implemented beforehand, simply choose the desired folder containing your curated music selection, then select the specific song you wish to play.

 

Nice summary and USB playback is a great feature.

I have had excellent results using the Patriot Supersonic Rage Elite USB Flash Drive, 1TB. It needs to be reformatted as FAT32. Mine is currently around ľ full (so around 750Gb) and load/read times are extremely quick.

NMMS has a song limit of 9999, which is not sufficient in my case and so to get more music in there, for each album I combined the individual tracks into one larger song/album file (using the “Sox” command from the command prompt).

To listen, I select “songs” (but which in my case is actually albums) and use shuffle mode, so I’m listening to random albums while driving around. This works well as the Lexus remembers where it left off, so returning to the car after shopping or whatever the playback resumes mid song (i.e. mid album), a bit like a cassette player from the old days.

WAV is uncompressed, while FLAC is compressed. Both formats are lossless.