CTR…Yikes! The “non muting” has been there from day one. It’s not good…but I never thought of complaining about it. So many other issues. Cannot come to terms with how Lexus could release this vehicle?

 

I came from a Toyota 4Runner and the infotainment system was lacking. When I saw that the NX350 was a total redesign I was very interested. Come to find out it is nothing but lipstick on a pig from the 4Runner infotainment system.

 

Brand new car, released in the middle of a supply chain mess, factories and companies still struggling to recover from the pandemic means I've seen an increase in problems with almost every product or service I've gotten recently. Kitchenaid, a company that I've had many, many, solid products from, had to swap out a new fridge 4 times last year between issues with the factory and even with FedEx on what was really a few minor issues.

After investing a few hours in troubleshooting and working with my dealer's Lexpert, I currently only have 2 consistent issues, the seat slides forward to my wife's last known position when I get in an turn on the car (but it knows its me and loads my profile) which is what the older cars with memory seats used to do before profiles, and a relatively regular drop in phone to car connection when I'm using wireless Android Auto. Android Auto really isn't fully ready for primetime and I've been having enough problems with it, other Google products, and my Pixel 6, that I'm willing to be patient with Lexus a bit on it and believe part of the problem is Google. Some of the other issues were my unfamiliarity with how things had changed from prior Lexus cars and some incorrect assumptions. I currently have AA turned off on the profile, which I'm bummed about, but that wasn't the reason we bought the car and my wife (her car) doesn't really care as the car does everything she wants it to.

I think Lexus pushed the envelope more than usual and I had no expectations that the transition from Japan to US for the Infotainment would be flawless, particularly for the first few months, but I really appreciate a lot of the changes and prefer this to my Gen 10 (and the wife's previous Gen 9 system, and particularly to the 2015 RAV we were using temporarily) system. Yes the issues can be annoying, but I have more problems with my new Dell laptop (and all 3 prior ones), my cell phones, my cable service, and just about most things that have complex software from many different sources. Unfortunately, things are at a point where we demand complexity, novel features, and speed to market, and we've accepted beta testing in public for so many things (and replace things quickly) that this is become more of the norm than I like.

My neighbor's son in law and I were troubleshooting his eTron's charging problem the other day, that ultimately involved a dealer visit. A friend's new Volvo S60 plug in just got back from the dealer for 'bugs'. I'm not saying this is right and that it doesn't bug me, but this has become acceptable to society in general and we're on the bleeding edge as early accepters, so we will see more problems.

The car itself drives great, looks great (better and better every day), is safe, should be (given my experience with Lexus) reliable, and my dealer provides the best service I have ever gotten from any make. Plus they got me a car that's almost impossible to get these days with about $9250 in tax and other credits. Not to mention, real world mileage is so much better than my car and my wife's previous cars...and the plug in hybrid fits our needs perfectly. On the whole, I'm happy with my choice and would make it again. I have some hope Lexus will fix bugs over time and fully expect that to happen, but am not counting on them solving everything. My opinion may change over time if significant mechanical issues develop, but that would be true of any purchase. I've also had a Toyota 'lemon' in the past, and one or two will consistent issues, but on the whole/average, other than lacking performance vs. other makes, reliability has been much better. I've also had successive Lexus years of the same product and have definitely seen refinement and improvement on the same model over time.

One suggestion I have is that people should report their problems, perhaps talk to their local "Lexpert" instead of or in addition to the service department. Ours mentioned that Corporate hasn't gotten many official complaints on a few of the points I raised, so they aren't yet able to confirm they exist...they can't take reports posts on Clublexus, they have to go through the dealer network. Service may take your car away, but the Lexpert should just take the report and screenshots/movies all help.

Just my perspective.

 

Thats really just for you to decide. The rattles are something you should have addressed asap. The software is clearly overly complex and buggy. Too easy to be misconfigured. The ACC setting issue is ridiculous. The car itself seems really good. The PHEV aspect is fantastic ($7 gas in CA now), and it really drives nicely.

But if you aren't happy I'd recommend moving on. Maybe check the car out in 2-3 years time when they will probably have solved all these issues.

 

Thx CT and NXT…..Maybe you’re right, CT….we should try to be more understanding of these times. Maybe I’m expecting too much. It’s foreign to me….buying a new product and accepting issues which were not disclosed at the get go….especially now, as we transition from 1st world to 3d world. Very little is as it once was. Who could imagine hold times in excess of two hours when calling Verizon?

 

The ACC setting is apparently not the issue. I checked and ours is off but it still doesn't pair the phone sometimes. If it's a timeout issue, they certainly should be able to fix that with a software update to just increase the damn timeout period. The only other issue we've encountered, that others have reported, is that the system does not mute the audio in situations where it obviously should. Also something I would think a software update could fix. Other than that, we don't find the 20" runflats to be loud, we don't have shaky mirrors, and we love the car overall. Their best approach to fixing software issues is to put out updates that address 1, or a few, issues at a time instead of trying to boil the ocean and fix every possible thing at once. Throwing all that stuff together and not doing sufficient real-world testing is what led to the system having issues to begin with.

 

Nicely written. I work in IT and I understand the issues in this field. Google is a very good example of pushing products out that are half baked. This is what you can agile. Learn from customers feedback and make changes to it. Bugs are going to happen at least Lexus is not releasing self driving software and you are a QA tester. The car side of things it's very solid - all the new stuff needs time to figure out.

 

When I enter in the car and the Android Auto is not displayed, I do connect the USB-C but still nothing. Sometimes Aundroid Auto goes on and off wireless and when I connect it with the cable still the same thing.
If you get a GLE or any other kind of Mercedes or BMW make sure you are well covered by the warranty. I had CLS and 750IX, and I can tell you that If I had to pay for all the repairs, it would have been over 40K each. Before the NX 350 F I had 2017 RX 350 F-Sport 3 and for 4 years I have been in the dear only for some recalls. BTW the glitches the NX has are expected for a new model, but it is annoying

 

Thank you for the info. I did put it back to OFF. I am using Waze and Google maps on a daily basis and I need Android Auto. Even if I have it with the USB-C cable connect I have the same problem when I have the problem. It is either working floweslly or it does not conncet or it connects and disconnects, and connects and disconnects. All the problems are fixed when I turn off the engine, open the door close it back and start the car again. I am using door handle to unlock the door, not the FOB. I am sure Lexus will fix it in a couple of months, but it is annoying. Thank you again!

 

Sometimes I start in the guest mode sometimes not. If I get into the guest mode, I can usually get on my profile. But if the car starts and I don’t get connected to CarPlay, there is no way to do it unless I turn the car off and try again. Sometimes it does ask me for for code but sometimes it does not. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern and if happens at home, at work, in shopping centers. I checked the ACC setting and it was off. I also linked the card key too. I took it to the dealer yesterday and sent them lots of screenshots and they really don’t know why this is happening. They are definitely trying to figure it out and are communicating with Lexus. Thank you for your reply.

 

Sometimes I start in the guest mode sometimes not. If I get into the guest mode, I can usually get on my profile. But if the car starts and I don’t get connected to CarPlay, there is no way to do it unless I turn the car off and try again. Sometimes it does ask me for for code but sometimes it does not. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern and if happens at home, at work, in shopping centers. I checked the ACC setting and it was off. I also linked the card key too. I took it to the dealer yesterday and sent them lots of screenshots and they really don’t know why this is happening. They are definitely trying to figure it out and are communicating with Lexus. Thank you for your reply.

 

I think the communication between the car and the cloud is the problem. I get the impression that the profile is authorized by the cloud and after that all the settings of the profile are applied. Many times I get that there is no connection, or the network is busy even that I am trying to use Google Maps aor Waze. Just an opinion.

 

try pressing and holding radio volume button for five seconds. So far this has worked every time. Beats restarting car which only works sometimes for us…. Isn’t sad we have to deal with this s@&#. Feels like I bought a Yugo.

 

Thanks very much. I just learned about this yesterday at the dealer! I have been pulling over and restarting the car! This is much better clearly, but I agree sad to gave to do. Hopefully they will figure it out. Again, thank you very much for the suggestion.

 

Pressing the radio volume button is turning the radio off and on and may be it is like fast reboot of the system. Definitely is better than shutting the car off at a traffic light or pulling on the side. Thank you very much for the suggestion.