Calling While In Motion

[benfb]

Why can't you make outbound calls while the care is in motion, using the Nav screen and the phone books? Supposedly this is a safety feature (just like they disabled entering addresses for the GPS while in motion), but I think it was a failure to add safety.

People make cell calls from the cars all the time (while driving), and unless we get a national law against this (unlikely), it's going to continue. The most dangerous part of people driving and calling isn't talking on the phone, it's looking at the phone to dial the call. The nav screen is bigger, easier to read, and closer to the windshield. So if you could use the nav screen for your dialing, that would reduce the danger.

So why did Lexus choose to disable outboud dialing while in motion? And, more to the point, is there a way around this?

[RolandB]

Why can't you make outbound calls while the care is in motion, using the Nav screen and the phone books?  Supposedly this is a safety feature (just like they disabled entering addresses for the GPS while in motion), but I think it was a failure to add safety.

People make cell calls from the cars all the time (while driving), and unless we get a national law against this (unlikely), it's going to continue.  The most dangerous part of people driving and calling isn't talking on the phone, it's looking at the phone to dial the call.  The nav screen is bigger, easier to read, and closer to the windshield.  So if you could use the nav screen for your dialing, that would reduce the danger.

So why did Lexus choose to disable outboud dialing while in motion?  And, more to the point, is there a way around this?

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You Can! But you're limited to the 17 numbers in the 'One-Touch' numbers (plus one is a floater.) Set these up as your frequent numbers and you're all set! Your passenger can sit there and dial numbers from the phone itself safely. This method though has a disadvantage of not 'connecting' to hands free until the party answers which can be confusing to the called party since it is not until they say hello that you're aware of the connection!

[williz]

Why can't you make outbound calls while the care is in motion, using the Nav screen and the phone books?  Supposedly this is a safety feature (just like they disabled entering addresses for the GPS while in motion), but I think it was a failure to add safety.

People make cell calls from the cars all the time (while driving), and unless we get a national law against this (unlikely), it's going to continue.  The most dangerous part of people driving and calling isn't talking on the phone, it's looking at the phone to dial the call.  The nav screen is bigger, easier to read, and closer to the windshield.  So if you could use the nav screen for your dialing, that would reduce the danger.

So why did Lexus choose to disable outboud dialing while in motion?  And, more to the point, is there a way around this?

←

You Can! But you're limited to the 17 numbers in the 'One-Touch' numbers (plus one is a floater.) Set these up as your frequent numbers and you're all set! Your passenger can sit there and dial numbers from the phone itself safely. This method though has a disadvantage of not 'connecting' to hands free until the party answers which can be confusing to the called party since it is not until they say hello that you're aware of the connection!

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hello! i am new to this forum, my RX400h should be delivered in few month.

reading this posting, i would like to aske if the bluetooth system is suporting voice dialing and is it using the voice comand from the handy or do i have to record all voice comands in the navi/bluetooth sytem?

williz

[jerryray]

I would not mind so much, but the speed dials numbers are blank. The only way to see a name (or be stopped) is to transfer from your phone. Verizon has disabled that feature in their phones.

BOOOO for Verizon.

Lexus should have included a way to enter text in the name field...

[benfb]

Why can't you make outbound calls while the care is in motion, using the Nav screen and the phone books?  Supposedly this is a safety feature (just like they disabled entering addresses for the GPS while in motion), but I think it was a failure to add safety.

People make cell calls from the cars all the time (while driving), and unless we get a national law against this (unlikely), it's going to continue.  The most dangerous part of people driving and calling isn't talking on the phone, it's looking at the phone to dial the call.  The nav screen is bigger, easier to read, and closer to the windshield.  So if you could use the nav screen for your dialing, that would reduce the danger.

So why did Lexus choose to disable outboud dialing while in motion?  And, more to he point, is there a way around this?

←

You Can! But you're limited to the 17 numbers in the 'One-Touch' numbers (plus one is a floater.) Set these up as your frequent numbers and you're all set! Your passenger can sit there and dial numbers from the phone itself safely. This method though has a disadvantage of not 'connecting' to hands free until the party answers which can be confusing to the called party since it is not until they say hello that you're aware of the connection!

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I find the one-touch buttons next-to-useless, because there's no way to tell where they go (whose numbers). Our cell phones' phone books successfully transferred to the car, so we'd like to be able to use those, but that doesn't work when the car is in motion. More to the point, people (including me) often dial numbers while driving. Doing this with the large, easy-to-read touchpad would be much easier than doing this with tiny cell phones.

I wonder if there is a way to hack the programming on this to disable this feature...

[rexmiami]

I find the one-touch buttons next-to-useless, because there's no way to tell where they go (whose numbers). Our cell phones' phone books successfully transferred to the car, so we'd like to be able to use those, but that doesn't work when the car is in motion. More to the point, people (including me) often dial numbers while driving. Doing this with the large, easy-to-read touchpad would be much easier than doing this with tiny cell phones.

I wonder if there is a way to hack the programming on this to disable this feature...

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I have a Nextel i605 and have programed ten one-touch numbers. The name of the individuals appear on the screen. When someone who is on my one-touch buttons calls, their name appears on the screen. I did not want to transfer my entire phone book to the navigation system so the number of one-touch buttons works for me.

When on the road many of the incoming calls appear on the screen and then a network termination message appears. I suspect this is because Nextel does not have enough towers. Because I can see who called me, it is easy to place a return call using the appropriate one-touch button.

I can see where some people would need more than 17 one-touch buttons. It would be nice if Lexus and the cell phone companies would allow for individual input voice dialing.

[400h4me]

Why can't you make outbound calls while the care is in motion, using the Nav screen and the phone books?  Supposedly this is a safety feature (just like they disabled entering addresses for the GPS while in motion), but I think it was a failure to add safety.

People make cell calls from the cars all the time (while driving), and unless we get a national law against this (unlikely), it's going to continue.  The most dangerous part of people driving and calling isn't talking on the phone, it's looking at the phone to dial the call.  The nav screen is bigger, easier to read, and closer to the windshield.  So if you could use the nav screen for your dialing, that would reduce the danger.

So why did Lexus choose to disable outboud dialing while in motion?  And, more to the point, is there a way around this?

←

I just received our RX 400h from the dealer this week. This is all too new for me, but I'm learning. I made a few phone calls from my driveway before I left home today. After going on the road at speed limit, I was able to place a call from using the one touch screen and it placed the call. Maybe Lexus did something to fix the the disabled feature? Mine seems to work ok! My car was manufactured on 8-2005 My phone is the new LG VX8100 and works great the the Lexus.

[benfb]

I just received our RX 400h from the dealer this week. This is all too new for me, but I'm learning. I made a few phone calls from my driveway before I left home today. After going on the road at speed limit, I was able to place a call from using the one touch screen and it placed the call. Maybe Lexus did something to fix the  the disabled feature? Mine seems to work ok! My car was manufactured on 8-2005 My phone is the new LG VX8100 and works great the the Lexus.

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One touch works while driving, but the phone book does not and dialing does not. These are silly restrictions, because they force you to dial from your phone, a much less safe way of making calls. Along the same lines, you can't enter a destination into the GPS while the car is in motion, even if it's the passenger doing the entry. I understand that the lawyers are just trying to be extra-cautious, but why not just provide a screen to turn on these features (dialing while driving, entering destinations while driving) and then have one of those screens where you touch "yes" to release Lexus from all liability?

By way the way, my wife and I both have Motorola V600 phones, and those work well with the car. It picks up the bluetooth easily and transferred the phone books. The only thing I wished it supported was voice dialing (which my phone does very well).

[williz]

The only thing I wished it supported was voice dialing (which my phone does very well).

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thus this mean that voice dialing is NOT supportet? every 100,-$ hands free bluetooth system from nokia or sony-ericsson is supporting voice dial!

i

[SKperformance]

There is a module you can get i saw from some prius owners which allow you to work the nav and the bluetooth while in motion, sorry i don't remember the name of it or where but it is about $100 and taps a few wires behind the radio.

It is locked out for basic legal reasons ,you can;t blame Lexus for that. You can only blame the thousands of idiots who loose concentration while driving because they are talking on a cell phone getting in an accident as the reason which affects all of us.

[hendjaz]

"It is locked out for basic legal reasons ,you can;t blame Lexus for that. "

Actually you can blame Lexus and Toyota if you wish. There is no law that requires them to take this approach. It is their corporate choice apparently to do it this way. We have a 400h and an 05 Acura RL and with Acura the driver makes the choice of when to use the technology rather than the manufacturer. If the driver uses bad judgment then it will be responsible.

Toyota has elected to make certain decisions for the driver and not allow the driver to make choices. Some will argue for the Toyota approach, I would argue instead for the Acura approach. I would rather make my own decisions and be responsible for them.

[SKperformance]

In the world of the sue happy i would lean toward the toyota side of the law equation.

I may hate some of there technology defeating but in the end it is the only way to prevent an accident being blamed on them in anyway.

If they made it alittle simpler to bypass it would be nice ,but that is why i am sure the bypass module is so cheap because it does not do much .

[benfb]

The only thing I wished it supported was voice dialing (which my phone does very well).

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thus this mean that voice dialing is NOT supportet? every 100,-$ hands free bluetooth system from nokia or sony-ericsson is supporting voice dial!

i

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Keep in mind your car is not a phone -- it is just converying signals (such as talking) between your phone and speakers/mic built into your car. So far as I can tell, the care will not transmit voice dialing command from the mic to your phone (and I'm not sure any bluetooth phone will receive voice commands via bluetooth). The car can, however, do basic voice commands for navigation, etc. One thing: it would be good if we could increase the voice command vocabulary. Has anyone heard of a way to do this?

[benfb]

There is a module you can get i saw from some prius owners which allow you to work the nav and the bluetooth while in motion, sorry i don't remember the name of it or where but it is about $100 and taps a few wires behind the radio.

It is locked out for basic legal reasons ,you can;t blame Lexus for that. You can only blame the thousands of idiots who loose concentration while driving because they are talking on a cell phone getting in an accident as the reason which affects all of us.

←

[benfb]

There is a module you can get i saw from some prius owners which allow you to work the nav and the bluetooth while in motion, sorry i don't remember the name of it or where but it is about $100 and taps a few wires behind the radio.

It is locked out for basic legal reasons ,you can;t blame Lexus for that. You can only blame the thousands of idiots who loose concentration while driving because they are talking on a cell phone getting in an accident as the reason which affects all of us.

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Sorry, but the web page messed up and I don't think my reply to this post was posted. Here it is: "Does anyone know where to find this bypass module?"

[SKperformance]

My bluetooth earpeice motorla hs 850 works great with voice commands and is 1 touch just for that reason.

Bluetooth does work with voice commands as well as it working on car.

[williz]

is there any way of involving lexus in that topic! i was driving mercedes for many years and mercedes is operating a customer assistance center were you could ask all sorts of questions and this guys are then directing your questions to the right person.

i mean we are guessing around how this stuff is working. lexus should be able to answere ouer questions verry easily!

williz

[dadcat]

"Sorry, but the web page messed up and I don't think my reply to this post was posted. Here it is: "Does anyone know where to find this bypass module?"

A company in FL (Coastal Electronics Technology) has developed Plug-N-Play hardware mods (including disclaimer screen and phone operation while in motion) for the Prius. They may be developing hardware for the Lexus Rh/Toyota Hh

[resmer]

There is a module you can get i saw from some prius owners which allow you to work the nav and the bluetooth while in motion, sorry i don't remember the name of it or where but it is about $100 and taps a few wires behind the radio.

It is locked out for basic legal reasons ,you can;t blame Lexus for that. You can only blame the thousands of idiots who loose concentration while driving because they are talking on a cell phone getting in an accident as the reason which affects all of us.

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Sorry, but the web page messed up and I don't think my reply to this post was posted. Here it is: "Does anyone know where to find this bypass module?"

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The url for the Prius modification device is:

http://www.coastaletech.com/nav_kit.htm

Sounds like they have not started shipping it quite yet. No indication of whether it will work with the RX400h or not. If anybody buys one and gets it to work please post here and let us all know...

[400h4me]

There is a module you can get i saw from some prius owners which allow you to work the nav and the bluetooth while in motion, sorry i don't remember the name of it or where but it is about $100 and taps a few wires behind the radio.

It is locked out for basic legal reasons ,you can;t blame Lexus for that. You can only blame the thousands of idiots who loose concentration while driving because they are talking on a cell phone getting in an accident as the reason which affects all of us.

←

Sorry, but the web page messed up and I don't think my reply to this post was posted. Here it is: "Does anyone know where to find this bypass module?"

←

The url for the Prius modification device is:

http://www.coastaletech.com/nav_kit.htm

Sounds like they have not started shipping it quite yet. No indication of whether it will work with the RX400h or not. If anybody buys one and gets it to work please post here and let us all know...

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The website shows how this unit works with Toyota Prius and the Highlander, but they are both very different from the Rx 400h. I would wait awhile before ordering any new products. It would be pretty sad if the Lexus people told you that your warranty is now voited because of this modification! :cries:

[jashev]

There is a module you can get i saw from some prius owners which allow you to work the nav and the bluetooth while in motion, sorry i don't remember the name of it or where but it is about $100 and taps a few wires behind the radio.

It is locked out for basic legal reasons ,you can;t blame Lexus for that. You can only blame the thousands of idiots who loose concentration while driving because they are talking on a cell phone getting in an accident as the reason which affects all of us.

←

Sorry, but the web page messed up and I don't think my reply to this post was posted. Here it is: "Does anyone know where to find this bypass module?"

←

The url for the Prius modification device is:

http://www.coastaletech.com/nav_kit.htm

Sounds like they have not started shipping it quite yet. No indication of whether it will work with the RX400h or not. If anybody buys one and gets it to work please post here and let us all know...

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I gave these guys a call and after a number of minutes ringing the phone, they finally answered and acted quite annoyed that I would bother them with such a question as to whether this will work on an RX400h. The conversation went as follows:

"Did you check the website?"

"Well yes but with new products websites aren't always updated in a timely manner."

"If it's not on the website we don't make it."

"Are you working on one or planning to work on one?"

"Yes, we're working on it."

"Well could I give you my email address so you can notify me when it is ready to be sold?"

"No. It'll be on the website." click.....

There you go. Customer service at it's best.

[wnrussell]

In the world of the sue happy i would lean toward the toyota side of the law equation.

I may hate some of there technology defeating but in the end it is the only way to prevent an accident being blamed on them in anyway.

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Not really. Don't you think it is pretty dangerous to have to pull your car over to the shoulder on a speeding highway to make a call? Or to take your eyes off the road and tap the little buttons on your handset?

Wait till somebody gets into an accident that way.

[indiasfinest]

In the world of the sue happy i would lean toward the toyota side of the law equation.

I may hate some of there technology defeating but in the end it is the only way to prevent an accident being blamed on them in anyway.

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Not really. Don't you think it is pretty dangerous to have to pull your car over to the shoulder on a speeding highway to make a call? Or to take your eyes off the road and tap the little buttons on your handset?

Wait till somebody gets into an accident that way.

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wait? wait till somebody gets in an accident?? too late...its already happened....

[zube]

There is a way to bypass the bluetooth lock out with out purchasing any additional parts. next time I do one ill take pictures it hard to explain.

[larrytrk]

There is a way to bypass the bluetooth lock out with out purchasing any additional parts. next time I do one ill take pictures it hard to explain.

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I would like to see that info before I purchase a new bluetooth phone.

Larry T