cookiemon

Hello everyone. Was hoping I could pick your brains for a bit.

Gave the downpayment today for a 2010 RX 350 AWD. Carfax and autocheck reports turned up good. mileage is about 92K kms.

This car has the wider/bigger display screen and comes with NAV. However it does NOT have a backup camera. 2 questions:
1. I really need a backup camera because of a shoulder inury. Would you recommend getting Lexus to install it for me? or should try an after market on. I wanted to take advantage of the default display screen and not have one of those mini ones in the rearview mirror.
2. how does the map update for the gps work. Can I do it myself or should that be done via lexus dealer.

any other tips on the nav/backup camera system?

thanks in advance for your responses.

markrivers

If you were in the states, it will be a lot easier to answer your question.
RX sold in Canada comes in 3 flavors only, Base, premium and ultra premium. Right?
Unlike here where we get the features ala carte.
So asking Lexus to install you a back up camera may not be as easy as you think.

The simplest solution would be to do after market, BUT most of them will use the screen on your rearview mirror.

As for map updates, you can buy the DVD on ebay or anywhere online and do it on your own.
Ask the dealer to give it to you for FREE. ask for new set of tires as well

ES300_NJ

Regarding map updates.
I purchased my 2010 RX 350 recently and map updates are done via a USB port so there is no DVD any more ? At least for the USA version of RX. I had to bring it to the dealer and they had to do them. I even asked if I can do it on my own they said no.
Don't know about the back up camera.

corradoMR2

First congrats!

Something's not right... Are you certain it does NOT come with the backup camera? All packages in Canada that contain NAV have the backup camera for 2010 model year. Only the base model and Premium Package I do not have the camera. Premium Package II has it in the rearview mirror, and Touring, Ultra Premium I - II get NAV with the backup camera viewed in the 8" display in the dash. I suspect the car has it and possibly it's not listed because of a malfunction in which case this is decent news since the hardware is there to view it in the 8" display and work something out with the dealer to get it repaired.

To help, here are the 2010 packages so you know what you got:

The Premium Package 1: heated and ventilated perforated leather seats, a powered glass sunroof, auto-dimming exterior mirrors, a powered rear liftgate, and way more.

The Premium Package 2: adds back-up camera, auto-leveling bi-xenon headlamps featuring an automated high-beam feature, a wallet-size Smart Key Card, and yet again more.

The Touring Package: adds 19-inch alloy wheels, a voice-activated navigation system with Remote Touch interface, XM Real-Time Traffic, a 12-speaker premium audio system with a subwoofer, USB input, and the back-up camera moves from the rearview mirror to the infotainment screen.

A Sport Package: adds a sport-tuned suspension, Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management, head-up display, and more.

The Ultra Premium Package 1: adds a 15-speaker Mark Levinson surround sound system plus an in-dash 6-DVD changer, higher-grade leather upholstery, front seat power thigh support, a wide-view side monitor system, Intuitive Parking Assist and more.

The Ultra Premium Package 2: adds a dual-screen rear-seat DVD entertainment system and more.

cookiemon

thanks very much for your response guys. much appreciated.
CorradoMR2. your advise helped me big time. I went to the dealer today to look in much more detail. so it IS an onboard after market GPS that the previous owner had installed. the thing is when you powered on the car, there was a nice Lexus sign that showed on the gps so that deceived me. the previous owner did an awesome job in installing it though. It has an and slot for am micro SD card as well. the link below has the model #
http://cn.bipanda.com/item/20053447557

I checked the controls on the steering and honestly everything looks good and i can navigate the screen( and my screen i mean the radio station tabs, volume etc) as well.

just at a loss as to what to do now thought. really like the car but something about the aftermarket GPS is making me feel uneasy.
was hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

thanks again.

corradoMR2

You're welcome. Unfortunately, the link doesn't work for me above.

So unless you have cloth seats (very rare base model), you have the first package, "Premium Package I" . A 2010 CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) RX with about 92K km with this package should be listed in the high $20Ks.

http://preowned.lexus.ca/search#2T2BK1BA1AC031744

If it's being sold via a third party dealer, you shouldn't be paying more than about $25-26K + tax. An RX with the Touring Package (next cheapest package with the original NAV and Remote Touch), expect a $2-3K premium. Aftermarket add-ons typically don't add to the resale of the car so the one you're interested in should not be sold and priced as an RX with a higher NAV package. Nothing wrong with aftermarket NAV and if you like the car, price, and esthetically/mechanically everything checks out, go for it.

Sevn86

If you can find one that has the factory Nav I would recommend buying that. Aftermarket parts never increase value of a car and in most cases lower the value. I would certainly think about that, if you plan to sell it in the future, instead of driving it into the ground, like I plan too.

carlrazor5

Hey Man, congratulations for the ride. It's time to gear up and put your hands behind the wheel and hit on the gas
I agree with you, you definitely need a backup camera because you have a sghoulder injury so it must be difficult for you to mangae to look back. Yes ofcourse, Lexus is good, you can get it install from them if you are good with the price or you could also try to get it install from an after market source like - tadibrothers.com who provide cheap & quality cameras. You can update the gps yourself that is not some rocket science, dude

oohpapi44

iTrader: (1)

With regards to the GPS update:

First see what version the vehicle has. Then go to http://www.lexusnavigation.com/ and see what has been added since your version. If nothing for your area or areas you travel to have been updated significantly then no need for you to update. Does you no good to know that Tupelo, MS has tons of new roads added if you're in NYC.

cookiemon

Thanks for everyone's feedback guys. Just wanted to provide an update.

The GPS is definitely an after market one. I spent a couple of hours at dealers trying to find the model number but to no avail. the settings section just had serial numbers and a Google search didn't return anything of interest. There was a option called CMMB and that pointed to a Chinese broadcasting website thus confirming that it is indeed an after market one. The lexus model itself is the package 1 and the purchase price is $26 K with 90,000 kms on it.

the gps software itself is iGO8 and has an micro sd slot so I hope i can update it soon.

one of the menu options is that of a rear view camera and for whatever reason the previous owner didnt end up installing it. i called a few places and the best deal i got so far was $150 with installation. it even has the green/yellow/red grid lines. do you guys have any advice on read view cameras? anythign specific I should be looking for?

once again. a sincere thanks to everyone for helping me reach the decision in buying the car. coudnt have done it without your advice.

raylor4

Cookiemon,
Not much I can add here, except that we have the camera in the rear view mirror and the angle of the lens is so wide, that it doesn't provide much information except if something is directly behind the bumper, like a child or a tricycle. Not much good for seeing things over 10 feet away or traffic approaching from the side. JMHO.
Ray A.

yardie876

Interesting how integrated the aftermarket sounds to be. Can you take pics of your dash? If love to see how it looks.

cookiemon

hardie876..

please find pics attached. the second screenshot(gps2) show how the radio/theromostat etc controls show up in the foreground with the nav system in the backgroupd. just takes a while in getting used to but its all good

there is also a screenshot for the rear view cam option..havnt attached it as yet but hopefully will work. planning to get it installed next week... fingers crossed

cookiemon

sorry for the blurriness of the pics...camera phone.