2009 Gs450h - Retro Fit Gen 6 Nav Unit Possible?

[Howard Price]

Hey fellow hybriders

I bought a GS450h (2009) about 3 months ago. In general I love the car but I seriously dislike the below average iPod integration (try finding an artist from a list of 900+), the bare-bones iPhone support (no address book sync via BT) and the lack of XM Nav Traffic support (despite being told by the dealer it was supported).

I'm a complete geek. I need my tech to work well. I've been reading the specs for the new 2010 Enform enabled version of the Nav system (Gen 6). My question is - Is there any way to retro fit the new Gen 6 unit back into a 2009 GS450h or have I got to....

1) Trade my new car in for a 2010 model and just swallow the loss

2) Throw a hissy-fit until the dealer takes pity on me

3) Go buy a 7 series BMW

My pref is to retro fit so I'm hoping that one of you has some good news (or at least an educated guess or two) for me.

Many thanks in advance for your help and comments.

H

[cduluk]

You want a more user friendly nav so you'd go with a BMW 7???? :o The BMW nav units are the complete OPPOSITE from user friendly. <_<

[RX400h]

I think you'll find that there will always be a newer/better feature in newer models. Otherwise, why would anyone want to trade up?

I would ask the dealership service manager, first.

Also, I'm a bit surprised that you call yourself a techie and yet don't have a real keyboard in your phone! I have both real and virtual in my Wing and I have to admit that the real one feels so much better to use.

[Howard Price]

I think you'll find that there will always be a newer/better feature in newer models. Otherwise, why would anyone want to trade up?

I would ask the dealership service manager, first.

Also, I'm a bit surprised that you call yourself a techie and yet don't have a real keyboard in your phone! I have both real and virtual in my Wing and I have to admit that the real one feels so much better to use.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not so much looking for the next big thing as much as just wanting what I was sold to work correctly. Had the dealership told me "Of course the phone without a keyboard is supported (but you have to type in your 400+ contacts by hand then manually sync any changes) and the XM Traffic that you told us you needed because of your horrid commute is generally available, just not in this particular car" then I might well have made a different decision. However having driven it off the lot I'm now faced with tech that only half works and doesn't deliver the value that I paid for. I'm sure you can see the issue.

With the release of the 2010 Gen 6 consoles it sounds like Lexus has addressed all the problems I'm having. That's great news if I can get the thing to fit in my 2009 chassis. Any "enformed" advise on that would be very welcome indeed.

As for the phone itself it does feel a little like Dillinger typing on his desk at Encom and we all know how that ended! ;)

[cduluk]

There's a guy on the forum who seems to know a lot about the lexus nav units, you might wanna try asking him. His username is dcfish.

[Howard Price]

You want a more user friendly nav so you'd go with a BMW 7???? :o The BMW nav units are the complete OPPOSITE from user friendly. <_<

This is indeed very true. iDrive is a disaster. Just a sign of my desperation. ;)

[Howard Price]

There's a guy on the forum who seems to know a lot about the lexus nav units, you might wanna try asking him. His username is dcfish.

You rock! Thanks for much for the tip!! Much appreciated.

[dcfish]

Bingo !!! What is the issue ?

[Howard Price]

Bingo !!! What is the issue ?

I guess at this point it boils down to - "Is there any way to get a Gen 6 Nav console into a 2009 model year GS450h?"