I Hate The Rx330 Navigation System

[LexNYC]

First, I have to say that it's surprising that no one else seems to have mentioned this. It's equally as frustrating that when I bring it up to my dealership that they act like they've never heard or it - or noticed it themselves.

I don't know if it's just because people don't have enough experience with navigation systems to know when it's not good or not... but I'm assuming that's what it is.

Anyway... the RX330 2004 navigation system really sucks. Besides giving me some really bizarre routings in areas I'm familiar with it has even more tangible glitches. I'll mention the tangible ones as stand-ins for the intangible (i.e. bad routings... matter of opinion).

First, in New York City, if you go to POI (points of interest), go to the area that has Airports as a category and click on Airports, it does not show New York's LaGuardia airport. If you type in the airport name itself, it thinks you're talking about LaGuardia Place in downtown Manhattan! LaGuardia Place is a street name, not an airport!

Furthermore, when you tell it to display airports on the map - it displays THREE AIRPORTS IN MANHATTAN!!! THERE ARE NO AIRPORTS IN MANHATTAN!

Second, if you go out to Long Island and want to find a commuter train station - you can't. The Lexus RX 330 2004 navigation system that I paid several thousand dollars extra for - thinks there are NO TRAIN STATIONS ON LONG ISLAND!

I'm sorry, but Long Island has one of the most used train systems in America. It's called the Long Island Rail Road. Even people who don't live in New York have heard of it! It's VERY well known. But Lexus GPS has never heard of it!

I was out there last summer and I wanted to find the closest LIRR station to South Hampton. I go into POI, I click into the area that lists train stations. They have several different types, like commuter rail, and some other choices I forget offhand. But I selected ALL choices having to do with trains. It was then supposed to display train stations on the map - but guess what? It did not display ANY train stations anywhere on Long Island!!! It's truly unbelievable!

And yes, I did have it zoomed in enough so it would display POI.

I'm really surprised that you Long Islanders haven't noticed this and complained about it. Or, am I the only one who ended up with this particular problem?

When I bring it up to the dealership, Lexus of Manhattan, they just look at me like I flew in from Mars. Like the GPS is not something they know anything about - because it's a computer... it's not a regular mechanical part of the car! They seriously just shrug their shoulders.

Richie the service manager asked me to bring it in so he could "teach" me how to use it. Instead, I ended up giving him a lesson in how "Points of Interest" works!

Anyway, I'm seriously upset about this. This GPS system cost more than a very high-end PC and it does far less... so it was outrageously overpriced in the first place! I really feel I should get something that works half way competently for the price I paid.

Oh, and let me mention a few other problems:

1. This problem annoys the h**** out of me. When I'm in Manhattan, a borough famous for its grid street system, I'll be going on a cross street, like say 34th Street. I'll be going across town and an avenue will be coming up ahead. The Avenue will show on the Lexus map, but the name of it won't. And this happens when there's more than plenty room on the map to show all the street names. If I touch the map with my finger and scroll maybe half a mile north, then eventually the name will show up. But it should show up whenever the street is in view and it's zoomed to a level that gives it enough room to show up. This is really a cockamamie way for a "moving map" to work. All other moving map systems that I've seen show the street names in the visible frame. They don't make you scroll around searching for the street name. Geesh, talk about a lawsuit waiting to happen! Wait till somebody sues because they had a wreck because this particular flaw forced them to pay more attention to the GPS than the road.

2. Crazy routing instructions. For those of you who know Manhattan, I sometimes leave town on the west side. I'm supposed to go all the way up, from W 30th St, the West Side Highway until I'm out of Manhattan. So I'll get up to about 40th St on the West Side Hwy, and it will tell me to get off and go over to 10th Ave. Then it will tell me to stay on 10th Ave until 57th St, where it then tells me to get back on the West Side Hwy! This is RIDICULOUS! (For those of you who don't know, 10th Ave runs perfectly parallel to the West Side Hwy, so it's like saying get off the road you're supposed to be on, go a few blocks east and get on another road -one with more stoplights- and go a few blocks, then turn west and get back on the road you were originally on!

3. I understand that under POI - parking garages for instance - it can't be completely accurate. Parking garages, and other businesses come and go. But I'm in Manhattan, I'm sitting right next to a parking garage that has been there for 40 years - and guess what - Lexus GPS never heard of it! It's been there 40 years!

4. I was in Philadelphia. I was parked on the street (waiting for someone), directly outside of Independence Hall. I clicked into POI just out of curiosity and clicked on Tourist Attractions... guess what... Independence Hall didn't even show up on the map and I was right next to it! And it's not like Independence Hall is some obscure tourist site that most people never heard of, it's even part of the National Park Service!! Geesh! And Lexus never heard of it!

5. 6 years ago I owned a Mercury Mountaineer. It didn't come with a navigation system, but at my insistence the Ford dealership installed a little dinky one on the side of the dashboard. It operated off a CD (which I could change by hand if necessary), and it cost about $500. With the exception of a smaller screen, that system, from 1999 was far superior to the 2004 Lexus version. It gave me better routing instructions, the map was much better when it came to showing all street names. It had voice directions and all in all even though it looked dinky, it was actually quite superior to the 2004 Lexus version.

I really wish Lexus customers had more experience with different navigation systems so they could join me in complaining. I really feel like I'm the only one in the country who ever brings this up to Lexus!

[Rx330driver]

I dont live anywhere near the east coast, actually on the west coast. Everytime i use it, it has given me the right directions. To tell you the truth, i dont use the POI at all because i usually know where i wanna go. The Lexus Nav also uses a CD which is in the trunk under the carpet near the spare. If you want, u can get it updated but dont try using other DVDs that are not lexus or even from another model or else something can get seriously changed.

[dcfish]

I dont live anywhere near the east coast, actually on the west coast. Everytime i use it, it has given me the right directions. To tell you the truth, i dont use the POI at all because i usually know where i wanna go. The Lexus Nav also uses a CD which is in the trunk under the carpet near the spare. If you want, u can get it updated but dont try using other DVDs that are not lexus or even from another model or else something can get seriously changed.

Have you brought this up to the dealer that you bought the car from? Or are you just :cries: because you just don't know how to use the nav? Take a deep breath and read the manual at least twice,

OK, Read it again, Really take that deep breath, Now it should make sense, You are the only one on these forums that has really had a problem with this. Consider the source. DEEP BREATH, EXHALE, DEEP BREATH, EXHALE, OK, Now you got it. ;)

[4482]

First, I have to say that it's surprising that no one else seems to have mentioned this. It's equally as frustrating that when I bring it up to my dealership that they act like they've never heard or it - or noticed it themselves.

I don't know if it's just because people don't have enough experience with navigation systems to know when it's not good or not... but I'm assuming that's what it is.

Anyway... the RX330 2004 navigation system really sucks. Besides giving me some really bizarre routings in areas I'm familiar with it has even more tangible glitches. I'll mention the tangible ones as stand-ins for the intangible (i.e. bad routings... matter of opinion).

First, in New York City, if you go to POI (points of interest), go to the area that has Airports as a category and click on Airports, it does not show New York's LaGuardia airport. If you type in the airport name itself, it thinks you're talking about LaGuardia Place in downtown Manhattan! LaGuardia Place is a street name, not an airport!

Furthermore, when you tell it to display airports on the map - it displays THREE AIRPORTS IN MANHATTAN!!! THERE ARE NO AIRPORTS IN MANHATTAN!

Second, if you go out to Long Island and want to find a commuter train station - you can't. The Lexus RX 330 2004 navigation system that I paid several thousand dollars extra for - thinks there are NO TRAIN STATIONS ON LONG ISLAND!

I'm sorry, but Long Island has one of the most used train systems in America. It's called the Long Island Rail Road. Even people who don't live in New York have heard of it! It's VERY well known. But Lexus GPS has never heard of it!

I was out there last summer and I wanted to find the closest LIRR station to South Hampton. I go into POI, I click into the area that lists train stations. They have several different types, like commuter rail, and some other choices I forget offhand. But I selected ALL choices having to do with trains. It was then supposed to display train stations on the map - but guess what? It did not display ANY train stations anywhere on Long Island!!! It's truly unbelievable!

And yes, I did have it zoomed in enough so it would display POI.

I'm really surprised that you Long Islanders haven't noticed this and complained about it. Or, am I the only one who ended up with this particular problem?

When I bring it up to the dealership, Lexus of Manhattan, they just look at me like I flew in from Mars. Like the GPS is not something they know anything about - because it's a computer... it's not a regular mechanical part of the car! They seriously just shrug their shoulders.

Richie the service manager asked me to bring it in so he could "teach" me how to use it. Instead, I ended up giving him a lesson in how "Points of Interest" works!

Anyway, I'm seriously upset about this. This GPS system cost more than a very high-end PC and it does far less... so it was outrageously overpriced in the first place! I really feel I should get something that works half way competently for the price I paid.

Oh, and let me mention a few other problems:

1. This problem annoys the h**** out of me. When I'm in Manhattan, a borough famous for its grid street system, I'll be going on a cross street, like say 34th Street. I'll be going across town and an avenue will be coming up ahead. The Avenue will show on the Lexus map, but the name of it won't. And this happens when there's more than plenty room on the map to show all the street names. If I touch the map with my finger and scroll maybe half a mile north, then eventually the name will show up. But it should show up whenever the street is in view and it's zoomed to a level that gives it enough room to show up. This is really a cockamamie way for a "moving map" to work. All other moving map systems that I've seen show the street names in the visible frame. They don't make you scroll around searching for the street name. Geesh, talk about a lawsuit waiting to happen! Wait till somebody sues because they had a wreck because this particular flaw forced them to pay more attention to the GPS than the road.

2. Crazy routing instructions. For those of you who know Manhattan, I sometimes leave town on the west side. I'm supposed to go all the way up, from W 30th St, the West Side Highway until I'm out of Manhattan. So I'll get up to about 40th St on the West Side Hwy, and it will tell me to get off and go over to 10th Ave. Then it will tell me to stay on 10th Ave until 57th St, where it then tells me to get back on the West Side Hwy! This is RIDICULOUS! (For those of you who don't know, 10th Ave runs perfectly parallel to the West Side Hwy, so it's like saying get off the road you're supposed to be on, go a few blocks east and get on another road -one with more stoplights- and go a few blocks, then turn west and get back on the road you were originally on!

3. I understand that under POI - parking garages for instance - it can't be completely accurate. Parking garages, and other businesses come and go. But I'm in Manhattan, I'm sitting right next to a parking garage that has been there for 40 years - and guess what - Lexus GPS never heard of it! It's been there 40 years!

4. I was in Philadelphia. I was parked on the street (waiting for someone), directly outside of Independence Hall. I clicked into POI just out of curiosity and clicked on Tourist Attractions... guess what... Independence Hall didn't even show up on the map and I was right next to it! And it's not like Independence Hall is some obscure tourist site that most people never heard of, it's even part of the National Park Service!! Geesh! And Lexus never heard of it!

5. 6 years ago I owned a Mercury Mountaineer. It didn't come with a navigation system, but at my insistence the Ford dealership installed a little dinky one on the side of the dashboard. It operated off a CD (which I could change by hand if necessary), and it cost about $500. With the exception of a smaller screen, that system, from 1999 was far superior to the 2004 Lexus version. It gave me better routing instructions, the map was much better when it came to showing all street names. It had voice directions and all in all even though it looked dinky, it was actually quite superior to the 2004 Lexus version.

I really wish Lexus customers had more experience with different navigation systems so they could join me in complaining. I really feel like I'm the only one in the country who ever brings this up to Lexus!

I have a 05 RX with NAV. I think the 05 has an updated DVD that corrected many of the problems the 04 model year had with the NAV. I wonder if you asked the dealer if you could try the 05 or 06 NAV DVD, if it might show all the items (POI's) you're missing? If it corrects the problem, maybe you could negotiate with the dealer to get the updated DVD. It's not something the dealer can adjust on your current NAV system. The problem fix is on the replaceable DVD.

:whistles:

[Rx330driver]

I dont live anywhere near the east coast, actually on the west coast. Everytime i use it, it has given me the right directions. To tell you the truth, i dont use the POI at all because i usually know where i wanna go. The Lexus Nav also uses a CD which is in the trunk under the carpet near the spare. If you want, u can get it updated but dont try using other DVDs that are not lexus or even from another model or else something can get seriously changed.

Have you brought this up to the dealer that you bought the car from? Or are you just :cries: because you just don't know how to use the nav? Take a deep breath and read the manual at least twice,

OK, Read it again, Really take that deep breath, Now it should make sense, You are the only one on these forums that has really had a problem with this. Consider the source. DEEP BREATH, EXHALE, DEEP BREATH, EXHALE, OK, Now you got it. ;)

Are you sure your referring it to me? im agreeing with you! lol

[noosense00]

LEXNYC.......good luck at Lexus of Manhattan. That is where I brought my car and that is where I go back every weekend because they are always messing something up. I am going to be honest and tell everyone that is the worst dealership. Service Manager Richie?.....he does not know the difference between his head and his toes.

They are not going to do anything for you. My best advice is to contact Lexus directly and try to tell them to send you a new version of the DVD instead.

LEXNYC...shoot me a quick email over at gmail. (noosense00@gmail.com). Lets talk about what other issues you have, so we can go to the dealership together.

Edited January 2, 2006 by noosense00

[SW03ES]

Have you done a search on the forum? If you had it would have shown you that Lexus has offered a free update to owners of 04 nav systems to address the very problems you've mentioned. Talk to your dealer about it.

As for more Lexus owners having experience with nav systems enough to complain, we do we're just satisfied with ours. Lexus has the #1 rated nav system in the industry, you just have a bad disc that they're willing to replace for free.

[noosense00]

SW03ES, I will have to contact Customer service tomorrow about this. My NAV has not been treating me well here around NYC.

Is there anything specific that I should mention to them when speaking to them? Thanks.

[SW03ES]

No they should just send you the update disc with no problem.

[COZ]

I did the search. Is there any hard documentation for this? I feel better having hard documentation, otherwise if thay say no you are SOL. Do I just call Lexus or go to the dealer?

[SW03ES]

Just go to the dealer.

[300gone330]

SW03ES, I will have to contact Customer service tomorrow about this. My NAV has not been treating me well here around NYC.

Crazy routing seems to be par for the course with the nav (took me all through the bad lands in Philly to get me to Hatboro, PA (which was not the most direct route). I guess I could have opted for an alternate route, but have no idea if the system can give a line itemed detail of each alternate route (street by street, like mapquest or randmcnally directions) as to better gauge the most effective route. Did notice some of the issues you mentioned when last in Manhattan and LI (being June 2005).

Have you done a search on the forum? If you had it would have shown you that Lexus has offered a free update to owners of 04 nav systems to address the very problems you've mentioned. Talk to your dealer about it.

As for more Lexus owners having experience with nav systems enough to complain, we do we're just satisfied with ours. Lexus has the #1 rated nav system in the industry, you just have a bad disc that they're willing to replace for free.

SW: Would this "update" be to correct quirks only or would it also bring the nav up-to-date (example, my development is now approaching 5 years old, yet it is not on my nav map at all.)

[doutlet]

Very stupid design. You can't touch it while drivig but guess what? they let you touch it to adjust your A/C and whatnot.

[cduluk]

Very stupid design. You can't touch it while drivig but guess what? they let you touch it to adjust your A/C and whatnot.

You can get read-outs, but the touch screen is totally disabled unless the "I agree" button is pressed.

[Canadian]

Have you done a search on the forum? If you had it would have shown you that Lexus has offered a free update to owners of 04 nav systems to address the very problems you've mentioned. Talk to your dealer about it.

Did several searches but couldn't up with any references to a free update. It's going in again tomorrow and I wanted to try to bring this up with them since we've nagged about it in the past to no avail, but this time hopefully with reference to a tsb. Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

JJ