Interesting thread. Only two people have posted that the system is fine and one of them started out by saying that the system was "beyond annoying." Every other poster says he does not like the sytem as is. Such a majority indicates that there is a problem.
Rontenfour has expressed dissatisfaction with his navigation system and the primary thrust of SW03ES is that he should adapt to the system. That has been the exact attitude of General Motors in the past and is one of the reasons I do not do business with them any more. IT IS NOT UP TO THE CUSTOMER TO ADAPT TO THE PRODUCT. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MANUFACTURER TO ENSURE THE PRODUCT MEETS THE NEEDS AND DESIRES OF THE CUSTOMER! The dustbin of history is replete with failed companies that thought otherwise.
Also Rontenfour's dissatisfaction is NOT incorrect and it cannot be. Indeed no one's dissatisfaction with anything can be wrong or disputed. It is entirely personal, so let it be. Rontenfour and nearly everyone else on this forum do not like the crippling of the nav system underway.
Add me to the list.
I have owned an ES350 for about two weeks and 2,200 miles now. I researched this car extensively before purchasing. I read the ENTIRE IS?50 OWNER"S AND NAVIGATION MANUALs online before buying (I did not find them for the ES350 and figured the nav system would be the same which turned out to be correct). NOT ONE WORD in the manual said anything about the system working any differently underway than at rest. My paper manuals which I have now read in their entirety are the same. If Lexus' intent is to be open and honest about this, why is this information missing? That is an important question.
Like Rontenfour, my salesman demonstrated the nav system for me... in the showroom. Our drive was to test the way the car drove and he did not offer to demonstrate the nav system further aside from letting it show us where we were. At no time whatsoever was any statement made PRIOR to purchase or in the explanation of the systems prior to drive away that the nav system would be different underway than at rest, much less that maybe 80% of its functions would unavailable. Why do you suppose he never mentioned any of this when his knowledge of everything else appeared encyclopedic? I suspect he too understood the unpopularity of Lexus' decision.
I personally was very happy with my Garmin that I moved from car to car. It asked me once if I agreed that it was dangerous to program it underway and shut the heck up and let me do what I wanted thereafter. I bought the Lexus nav system primarily because it was the only way to get the backup camera, without which I thought I eventually would back over or into something, maybe an elephant the rear of the car is so high. Had I known the navigation system would be SO seriously crippled I most definitely would not have bought it. $2,400 for a backup camera without a fully functional nav system is a bit steep considering good backup cameras are available in the aftermarket for far less. Lexus' total silence on an unpopular characteristic makes me suspicious that the omission is intentional.
Some have made reference to the availability of the voice system for changing the destination enroute. Yes, you can go to an address, but all the other eight or ten methods available when stopped are impossible. Also, I found it has not ONCE understood my pronunciation of the street name, even at rest. And according to the observations of countless people over my life, I speak unaccented English a la Walter Kronkite. And that's the way it is, April 17th, 2007.
Some of the crippling is difficult to justify. When driving down the Interstate perhaps you are willing to stay at the NEAREST hotel, but I certainly am not. I want to be able to choose the town around which to search (nicer hotels are in the bigger towns) and to see a list of the hotels there ahead of time and call them to check on availability and price. Picking from a list certainly seems safer to me than pushing icons to see the hotels one by one. Or maybe I prefer Hampton Inns and only want to see them. "Sorry, if we told you that we'd have to kill you." I also agree with Rontenfour that pulling over on the shoulder of a road is dangerous, even on an Interstate, and probably more dangerous than touching the dashboard. I remember the family of seven that was decimated not ten miles from my home a few years ago. The surviving children are now orphans. Indeed, some states appear to agree that pulling over if it is avoidable is dangerous and thus prohibiting hitchhiking.
With about 85% of the miles I've driven since purchase having been with two people in the car, I find the crippling of the nav system under all conditions underway particularly disturbing. With all the talk of the relentless pursuit of perfection, you know they considered the impact on drivers of crippling the nav system even when they had a copilot. Why then did they decide to do nothing about it, particularly when weight sensors in the passenger seat already existed? That is the real question. And other companies consider the acceptance of an on-screen agreement adequate lawsuit protection. So what the heck is up with Lexus? Not all Lexus buyers are so senile they cannot drive and touch the dashboard at the same time. I agree the nav system is crackerjack... when I'm parked.
And one more bit of support for Rontenfour; countless times I have left the house without deciding in what order I would do my errands.
Rather than just complain about all this I did something. I researched extensively on the Net and within a day of my purchase found a way to hack the DVD in the nav system to regain the override available before 6.1 (menu, volume, top left, bottom left, top left, bottom left, override, back). It works fine, but I have learned I lost some voice capability for Bluetooth [this may be incorrect as I delved deeper into the manual tonight]. I am still considering whether the gain was worth the loss. But considering the system understands me for dialing at 70 mph no better than my father without his hearing aids, it does not seem to be such a great loss.
If you want to hack yours, you'll find all the information you need at http://toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.p...3730&page=3. Start with Black88mx6's post near the bottom of the page, then read through to the end of the thread for a complete explanation for a beginner. I got a good DVD that worked on the first try. Some programmers are now working to enable full functionality enroute without substituting the old file. That would avoid losing any features. You're welcome in advance!
