nice, does the extended range remote come with a window antenna box thing ??
I have been looking at the https://www.12volt.solutions/product...32092467331175 for my rx450 but undecided. this is the smart app option.
mine was built 11/17, considered a 17 due to the long run for the long rx, and gets cut off.. sigh, it is what it is.

I remember when onstar changed modules many many years ago, there was an exchange process, and a huge discount if a subscription was also purchased.
i do have the scanner to try an enable the remote start on the vehicle without subscription, not sure how that would work. many times i try to remote start the vehicle and it will not work, if it has been siting for a long time. has to be started with the push start, then the fob remote start works again.

 

I considered them but they had a shortage on the kit needed for my RX 350 and I stumbled upon MPC then. Glad I did, as they really seem to care about making sure their customers are happy. They also have the smartphone option which requires a subscription, hence why I'm not interested. Not sure I've ever needed to start my car from more than ~3000', though I see the boon of not needing to grab car keys.

 

Thanks for the Posts guys!!!
Is it possible to provide some Pro's and Cons to the MPC and the 12 Volt Solutions? Just bought another RX for the wife and could use the remote start feature.
Thanks much!!!

 

Thanks for the reply. Is there a way through tech stream to program it? If not I guess the 12volt solution may be the way to go.

 

For the next 3 days they are offering 15% off.. Ordering tonight.

 

Just wondering if there is another approach that we could employ to preserve the Enform safety and convenience features after the 3G support ends next year. Does anyone know if there is some kind of mini tower device that can connect to a 4G LTE or 5G tower and then beam a local 3G signal that our existing 3G-based telematics systems can connect? Such a band translating device, If it exists, could be installed in our vehicles and would solve the hardware part of the problem without having to replace or modify the existing telematics systems. I realize that Lexus would still need to permit our vehicles to be associated to Enform in this manner. Does anyone know if this is technically possible? Thanks.

 

I believe the issue will be with Lexus cutting us off at their service center. The way it works now is vehicle>service center>vehicle. If the cord is cut by Lexus there will be no communications back and forth to the vehicle. We will lose Remote Start, directions, crash reporting, etc. UNLESS, Lexus switches us from their 3G database to their 4G database if your recommended solution is workable. There are 3rd party solutions for Apple Car Play but that would not solve the issue with any services requiring Lexus involvement.

 

You would think they would turn on remote start with the fob before they cut you off.

 

Does anyone really think that Lexus did not know the exact date or at least an educated guess when the 3G services would end. Large corporations like cell signal providers obviously have to have long range detailed plans of the EOL of existing main stream tech once their replacement tech has been thoroughly vetted. We are not talking about months, it is years in advance. Is it a coincidence that the EOL of the Enform services in 2022 will be pretty much be after all effected 2017 models would be out of their basic warranty? Their new 2018 models were modified just enough to accept the different dimensions of the new LTE modems and radios? The Major design change for the RX was 2016. On a industry standard of 7 years for major design overhauls, this would have been considered a minor interior modification on the assembly line. It was either an oversight and poor planning in the 2016 design or simply a cost saving measure to use existing tech because they knew it would work for the basic warranty period.

I am a tech guy and did not even consider to ask what modem tech was incorporated in the vehicle, wrongly assuming that a reliable luxury brand would be the best and latest available. Lexus reputation built over many years of reliability and customer satisfaction gave me a false sense of security with our first Lexus purchase. We had owned all of the other luxury Japanese brands and were actually very satisfied with all of them, but my wife test drove this one and chose that over others. I had my own impression of Toyota/Lexus without having owned one was that the design and interior appointments never really gave me that “wow” feeling, pretty plain Jane, utilitarian type. I did notice however they stepped outside of their comfort zone with the radical exterior design changes in 2016. Interior were still not overwhelming, but what always got my attention was their reliability and customer satisfaction. They were always at or near the leading manufacturer along with Honda in this category. Since it was my wife’s car who was more a “turn the key and get where I am going gal” and do not bother me with a lot of down time due to maintenance, we made decision.

I do wonder, since we also purchased a Lexus 7 year 75,000 mile manufacturer extended warranty that of course covers all of the electronics. How will Lexus handle this when I bring it in for service to have my remote start fixed after the 3G third party service ends? My extended warranty language does not mention a disclaimer for this eventuality, only that any covered part by the basic warranty will repaired or replaced at Lexus’s discretion. If anyone has opinion on this, I would love to hear it.

 

It is a little complicated, cell phone carriers have limited spectrum to use. They are retiring 3G, so they can re-use that spectrum for other network services (mostly) and 5G. In fact, many electricity meters use 3G and thus, the reason your electricity meter is being upgraded. To compound this complexity, there are two more factors:

• Cars take about 7 years from design to manufacture. These designs require automotive qualified devices that have broader temperature ranges(-40C to +125C) and very low defect. Thus, they tend to use much older technology than the standard commercial devices with temperature range (0C to 85C).
• 5G spectrum needed an auction from FCC. This was up in the air for a while until 2018. There needed to be a big shuffle from TV stations releasing their spectrum leases, so they could be allocated to cellular networks. This required a lot of coordination and schedules were unknown. Every one knew this was coming and was making everything possible to delay it, so it was expected to take over 12 years.

So back up during the design of the car (around 2009) and 5G was very, very distant and unknown. FCC had not even agreed to hold the 2011 action for 700MHz band, the previous auction was in 2007.

Add to that the use of old automotive qualified semiconductors. This is the main reason car manufacturers are having a hard time finding components. The semiconductor industry moved to the more profitable newer devices for the extremely large pandemic demand. The newer devices are made in more advance processes that produce more devices per wafer. Thus. much more efficient and meet the large pandemic demand. In the meantime, auto manufacturers cancelled their orders and came back 18 months later requesting the semiconductor industry to rebuild the old devices on plants that were already converted to the new processes to meet the new demand.

This does not excuse the forethought to design these system so they are easily replaceable. Obviously, making a module easily replaceable adds expense (more connectors, routing, plastics, screws, etc.), additional failure points (connectors are a big failure point with car vibration and jostling), and weight. But maybe they though in 2009 that by 2021 people will be using other technologies and their Enform services will not be desirable. I wonder if Lexus will add third party remote starts to address this need, but they would probably push people to get a newer car since it is much more profitable for them.

 

Since you asked for "opinions," I will share mine. My opinion is they are going to tell you the warranty only covers equipment failures, not service disconnects beyond their control. I think the odds of getting any of the manufacturers facing this problem (including Lexus) to develop a solution are virtually non-existent.

I do share your disappointment with this development, but as a recovering former tech guy myself, I know that technology marches on - generally to our betterment or the betterment of society. As a tech guy, I presume you know that the average expected lifespan of a business PC according to industry think tanks such as ITIF is about 3.5 years. So should I expect Dell to "repair" my PC when it won't connect any longer? Or should I be upset that it cannot run Windows 11 as it doesn't have version 2.0 of the Trusted Platform Module or a UEFI style BIOS? I realize there is a huge cost difference between a PC and a motor vehicle which is obviously purchased for a much longer expected lifespan, but the point is the same. Technology marches on and it orphans older tech in its wake. This is a relatively new development as cars become more connected, but I saw it happen many times while working in the tech industry. We saw this sort of unpleasant twilighting of technology with Groupwise and Novell Netware for example, as well as many hardware technologies. Its just a new issue in automotive manufacturing since the connected car is still a relatively new development. Frankly, I think vehicle manufacturers should provide the connectivity through some sort of module like an embedded smartphone with a standardized size/connection, which could allow for a simple upgrade should this sort of thing occur again - but I doubt there is much incentive for manufacturers to do that because the obsoleting of technologies help sell new cars and give the car manufacturers someone to blame.

I'm not trying to minimize your disappointment and largely agree, but the blending of information technology and automotive engineering has created an entirely new kind of problem for the industry. The lifespan of information tech is just too short for automotive implementations so it needs to have some sort of upgrade mechanism built into the design. Furthermore, the idea that all manufacturers are seeing the same issue doesn't make it OK, it definitely shows automotive designers don't understand the aging process of information and communications technologies. In my opinion, this is an industry failure, not just a Lexus failure.

 

Very well stated, obviously ot what these thread reader wanted to see.

 

In terms of technology, the people looking for this are a minority in the Lexus market and Lexus wants mainly to pursue reliability over novelty, 75% of all the techno stuff is either redundant or puffery, something that one uses a few times when new and then never again. I for one look at how the car handles, brakes and functions and not how many USBs it has and it is mostly people in my age group that buy Lexus, and we're looking for technology in engine management, safety and collision prevention. Even though I live in a cold climate I don't need remote start, most people don't, even in the snow belt, it may be desirable, but not needed as one has heated seats and heated steering wheel. If I felt I needed I'd have a Lexus remote starter installed, perhaps this is something you may want to look into, here it is around CA$500 installed. I don't like to depend on 3rd parties as they are in control. I remember when it took skill to drive and cars were temperamental, now they are getting to be more and more like an appliance.No offense meant!

 

I am going to swap the Network ECU from the newer models into my 2017 RX and see how that fares. It should be a 1:1 swap as with most Lexus components.

In the GS that I disassembled, the Network ECU was located in an easily accessible spot (gray box, orange label):

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...sassembly.html

 

Keep us updated with your findings.