Want To Get Navigation And Mark Levi System Installed

[Brij]

I just bought a 2006 Lexus RX 400h AWD. It did not come with navigation system or Mark Levin audio.

Can you suggest how can I get one installed? Should I go to a dealer? Should I go OEM?

Are there better systems available for lower price than Lexus installed systems?

Thanks in advance.

-Brij

[dcfish]

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...c=54430&hl=

[thelazydogsback]

I know it's nice to have things integrated, and I was looking forward to having Nav built-in, but I would advise against it.

In retrospect (assuming I could get a 400h w/o Nav, which I couldn't anyway) I would not not pay even half the price for it -- the Lexus Nav is so bad I would recommend that you instead buy your favorite (Garmin Nuvi for me) Nav system and get a nice professional mounting/power install to make it look nice.

I don't want to spend too much time ragging on the system, in summary the biggest two problems are way-to-infrequent map updates and a poor address entry/verification system. In practice this means that a large percentage of the time the Nav will either not have a POI listed (or even an address) in the DB or it will have an address and either make it so hard to enter that you can't find it or you will be able to enter it and the system will insist that it doesn't exist.

That's only the problems -- there are of course plently of modern features, such as text-to-speech (to speak street names) as opposed to the few generic pre-recorded phrases in the Lexus Nav, etc.

YMMV, of course - just in my experience.

[RX400h]

I, on the other hand, think our built-in NAV compared very well against one of the best Garmin NAVs (a year ago). I like the OEM unit's large screen size, the extra window viewing area from not having a large external NAV unit on the dash or attached to the windshield, and the better guidance when it comes to staying on-course while driving on a highway with frequent intersecting routes.

Perhaps there are better Garmin and Tom Tom units out there, now, but I hear the 2010 Lexus RX450's NAV is very impressive as well.

[Jim Clark]

Not worth the cost. Go aftermarket.

[thelazydogsback]

Certainly I can't argue with the screen-size and convenience - although I usually try and use the speech prompts, and "turn right in 1/2 mile" doesn't work as well as "turn on Clinton St." when there are many streets coming up. (I also wish the "Turn in 350 feet" text-prompt was more "predictive" - by the time you see "turn in 50 feet" you've already passed the street. What really gets my goat is that on the bottom of the screen it tells you what road you're currently on -- gee, thanks, I know that already; on the Garmin, it always shows what the next intersection is coming up so even if you're following directions by hand without a desitination entered it's quite helpful.

But the main thing is the address entry - if you know the address is on "123rd", you're SOL unless you know exactly if it's "123rd st", "123rd st NE", "123rd st SE", "123 court", "123rd place", or any of the scores of variants - rather than listing all the variants in the database, and telling you the "Address doesn't exist" if you pick the wrong one, the Garmin will spriral out from the current location or partial desitination location and list only those that really do exist. (BTW, this is the Seattle area.)

There has been many-a-time when I've had to whip out my blackberry edge and use Telenav to get to an address or POI.

I, on the other hand, think our built-in NAV compared very well against one of the best Garmin NAVs (a year ago). I like the OEM unit's large screen size, the extra window viewing area from not having a large external NAV unit on the dash or attached to the windshield, and the better guidance when it comes to staying on-course while driving on a highway with frequent intersecting routes.

Perhaps there are better Garmin and Tom Tom units out there, now, but I hear the 2010 Lexus RX450's NAV is very impressive as well.

[Gryphon]

I think that this would be cost prohibitive unless you can land the parts from a recycler.

Tom

[RolandB]

I just bought a 2006 Lexus RX 400h AWD. It did not come with navigation system or Mark Levin audio.

Can you suggest how can I get one installed? Should I go to a dealer? Should I go OEM?

Are there better systems available for lower price than Lexus installed systems?

Thanks in advance.

-Brij

Wow, what timing... Several months ago I purchased a Magellan Maestro 5310 (good coupon took it to $250) as my birthday present and have been using it in my old '98 LS400 (bought new in 1998 without Navigation)! It is :P fantastic even as I compare it to the navigation in my RX400h. I am disappointed in the $300 charge for upgrading the DVD it has. Upgrading my Magellan won't come for a while but I love it and doubt I will need to spend anywhere near that... unless I want to buy another 5310 completely! I can take the Magellan with me as I travel via plane and rent a car! I can take it when travelling with friends! I can put data into it in my home/hotel in comfort! I therefore can say that the integrated Nav has the advantages of that being an integral part of the car and looks nice and clean along with the display's other uses but for navigating, I don't appreciate the exorbitant cost for maintaining currency of an inferior navigation system. Try a 5310! The smaller screen size of the Magellan isn't bad and last but not least, a 'passenger navigator' can certainly operate it very easily and comfortably!

[Brij]

Thanks for all the replies. I am new to this forum.

I did call a Lexus dealer locally and he told me an astronomic amount to get it installed. He said they have never done one before and suggested going OEM.

I am biased towards an in-dash navi system that can also support the rear-view camera. Any suggestions on brands and models that can do that?

Budget - 1000 to 1500.

-Brij

[RX400h]

I'm not sure why yours doesn't appear to do this, but my RX's NAV shows the name of the upcoming street on the screen. Maybe yours is not set up this way? I think there is plenty of warning unless you are hurtling along at 70 MPH. Plus, the "ding ding" verifies that the street you see is the actual street that you need to take.

Regarding the street name, I can't get the US Mail to send a package to an incomplete street name, so I am used to obtaining the full name before I set out in the car. The Lexus NAV will list the possibilities, but 99% of the time, I have the full address and there is no problem at all in finding it. I guess everyone has their preferences when it comes to Navigation systems, but as I mentioned, I did use a high-end Garmin for 3 hours of driving and I was happy to go back to the Lexus version.

Certainly I can't argue with the screen-size and convenience - although I usually try and use the speech prompts, and "turn right in 1/2 mile" doesn't work as well as "turn on Clinton St." when there are many streets coming up. (I also wish the "Turn in 350 feet" text-prompt was more "predictive" - by the time you see "turn in 50 feet" you've already passed the street. What really gets my goat is that on the bottom of the screen it tells you what road you're currently on -- gee, thanks, I know that already; on the Garmin, it always shows what the next intersection is coming up so even if you're following directions by hand without a desitination entered it's quite helpful.

But the main thing is the address entry - if you know the address is on "123rd", you're SOL unless you know exactly if it's "123rd st", "123rd st NE", "123rd st SE", "123 court", "123rd place", or any of the scores of variants - rather than listing all the variants in the database, and telling you the "Address doesn't exist" if you pick the wrong one, the Garmin will spriral out from the current location or partial desitination location and list only those that really do exist. (BTW, this is the Seattle area.)

There has been many-a-time when I've had to whip out my blackberry edge and use Telenav to get to an address or POI.

I, on the other hand, think our built-in NAV compared very well against one of the best Garmin NAVs (a year ago). I like the OEM unit's large screen size, the extra window viewing area from not having a large external NAV unit on the dash or attached to the windshield, and the better guidance when it comes to staying on-course while driving on a highway with frequent intersecting routes.

Perhaps there are better Garmin and Tom Tom units out there, now, but I hear the 2010 Lexus RX450's NAV is very impressive as well.

[Better Luck]

OEM would require a partial new dashboard which I would think would be cost prohibitive certainly compared to a few hundred bucks to buy an aftermarket unit. One way to do it and beat the cost is looking for a "totaled" RX with nav from a salvage yard.

With regard to the limitations of the system, I have trouble sometimes getting the address right. My biggest complaint is not being able to input data on the fly. I know about the coastal tech stuff you can add but have not done so as of yet.

[dcfish]

I just bought a 2006 Lexus RX 400h AWD. It did not come with navigation system or Mark Levin audio.

Can you suggest how can I get one installed? Should I go to a dealer? Should I go OEM?

Are there better systems available for lower price than Lexus installed systems?

Thanks in advance.

-Brij

PM sent

[Silver0066]

I just bought a 2006 Lexus RX 400h AWD. It did not come with navigation system or Mark Levin audio.

Can you suggest how can I get one installed? Should I go to a dealer? Should I go OEM?

Are there better systems available for lower price than Lexus installed systems?

Thanks in advance.

-Brij

Get the Garmin or other portable. The Lexus NAV system is a piece of junk and a big rip off!!!

[katzjamr]

i am also in seattle, in sales and never had a problem with entering addresses and i use the nav system everyday. with all due respect lazy, why do u have so many incomplete addresses that you dont know if it is a street, ave, or where the n or s goes? my system is also set up that the upcoming street is displayed at the top of the screen. also with the nav you have a better climate control and energy consumption screen. the screen is large enough that i can split screen it and have a close and far view at the same time to my destination. the next gen navs in the loaner 400h i have driven are even more crisp in display.

i do agree tho that rerofitting is to expensive and not worth it. the base bose system is adequate for a stereo and your needs will be served with an aftermarket nav, that you can also use in more than one vehicle.

[skyfish400h]

Retro fit with factory hardware is not a viable option. Better to sell this one and find one that has the options already installed. The ML stereo is far better than the Bose and worth the upgrade if you enjoy the details in your music.

Aftermarket options always involve some compromise because they were not integrated into the vehicle systems from the beginning (Nav screen size is an important one). But it is possible to successfully patch in a number of systems such as entertainment package, satellite radio, iPod support and to a lesser extent a navigation package. An aftermarket radio would be the most difficult.

A note on the Lexus Nav system:

I like the factory system. I like the touch screen (I'm sorry to see that go in the redesign).

When entering an address, the best tip I've picked up (from this board, I believe) is to skip the address and street page and enter the city name first. Then back up and enter the street name before you enter the address. This helps the system narrow down the possibilities and can over come missing data like N, S or Ave vs St (a list of the narrowed down possibilities is always available under the List button).

Also, there is an option that can be set to show the upcoming cross street that is on your route. I think it may be part of the preview window that appears when you get near a turn.

But in addition to that feature, you can always get the name of a street by touching it on the screen. It will also give you the closest address to where you touched. You can use this to determine which side of the street has the even address numbers and which has the odd numbers. Very powerful and intuitive.

[rx400_1976]

Just bought a 2008 400h with non-ML system. Any details on getting ML system added would be appreciated.

TIA