2002 SC430 - GPS Issue

[LC6529]

2002 SC430 I have owned since 2006.  Recently the GPS began having issues and kept saying "Cannot read DVD", I would take it out and re-insert it and for a while that seemed to work until finally it just quit working entirely.   While it was being serviced at a Lexus dealership I mentioned the issue to the manager and when I came back he said they had managed to remove TWO dvd's which surprised me as I didn't think the unit had two DVD's in it but they showed them to me.   Since that time the system would not load the DVD's and calls to the dealership resulted in nothing but frustration as no-one there seems to know how to work on the SC430.

I then found a mechanic through a friend of mine who owns a luxury car lot and he said the original unit was bad and found a replacement unit for $80.  He installed it for free while servicing the AC but the unit would not load the DVD's.  I found an original 2002 SC430 GPS DVD but each time it loads the system says "Insert Map"

Does anyone have any advice because I am thoroughly stumped and would like to get the unit working again as everything else on the 90K mile car works just fine.   

Is there a special DVD it needs?  Is there a special load order? 

Any advice would be helpful.

[1990LS400]

I've never heard of a Toyota/Lexus navigation system using two map DVD's at the same time.  

The final map DVD's for the 2002-2004 SC430 were the ones that were made available in 2013.  

The part numbers for the ones from 2013 are:  

PT219-GN23W-13 (for West of the Mississippi River)

PT219-GN23E-13 (for East of the Mississippi River)

The -13 in the part number refers to the publication year (2013).

The 23 in the part number refers to the DVD being for navigation generations 2 and 3.

Maybe the trunk mounted map DVD reader isn't the problem.  The problem could be in the in-dash navigation head unit or in an electrical connection between the two units.

I've found that Lexus dealers have little interest in repairing older cars.  Their technicians seems to be familiar only with current models and no one wants to crack a manual to see how to repair the older ones.  It's almost seemed like a strategy to get customers to buy newer cars.

If you want to further investigate the problem yourself, you could subscribe to the Toyota technical information website which should have information on how to diagnose the problem:  https://techinfo.toyota.com/

[William M]

My screen on the GPS looks distorted. When I tap on the screen it does not respond. Any idea what it could be?