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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/01/2013 in all areas

  1. I bought a new 2013 RX 350 two days ago and I'm having trouble with the Enform Apps not working. I'm very technically savvy, using an iPhone 4S, and have already tried Lexus Support (the tech person there unfortunately didn't have a clue what was wrong). I have the Enform App on my iPhone, as well as Pandora and iHeartRadio, and Bluetooth is on all the time. When I first tried using Enform Apps, everything worked except Pandora. When I tried to use Pandora from the car I got a tutorial of "The application is not configured. Please add a Pandora account." I pressed OK and it went back to the main Apps screen and nothing happened. At that point, if I went to Pandora on my iPhone and selected a station, it would start playing on the car. But I shouldn't have to do that…and shouldn't get that tutorial when first pressing the Pandora button in Apps. I called Lexus Support and the only thing he could offer was to shut down the Enform App and Pandora App on the iPhone, then turn off the phone, restart it, then restart Enform and Pandora. I did this, and now the situation is even worse. Now, when I am in the car with the iPhone, Bluetooth connected, Enform App running and press the Apps button on the car I get the following tutorial..."To use the services, an active application needs to be running on the phone. For further assistance please contact Lexus Customer Assistance….". Well, the Enform App is definitely running on my phone and the phone is paired with the car, Bluetooth is on and I'm at a loss as to what else to try. I traded in an inferior car (Ford) but I think the Ford SYNC system was light years ahead of the Lexus Enform and Navigation system. Thanks in advance for any help someone might have.
    1 point
  2. Hey guys :D As some of you may already know, I’ve done a few “personalized” projects on my Rx400h, one of which being the staining of the interior wood trim and steering wheel. Although the added “red” tint to the wood finish looks a lot better than the factory brown stain, I thought the steering wheel design still needed some more upgrading. I’ve never really liked the style of the Rx400h steering wheel and radio & phone controls, so I started thinking of some ways to upgrade. Here’s the factory Rx400h steering wheel, wood, and radio & phone controls: My problems: 1. The “brown” stained wood is bland 2. The radio and phone controls are boring 3. There’s nothing separating the style of the controls from the Rx330/350. But one steering wheel style I’ve really admired is found on the 06-07 Lexus GS models. The wheel “itself” is of the same shape as the Rx wheel, but the radio & phone controls and the airbag were changed slightly. A similar style is also found on the 05-06 ES330 model as well, but the buttons are painted a “silvery/gold” color. Immediately I imagined the GS wheel and controls in the Rx400h cockpit- and I knew I had to find a way to make it happen. But I had a few concerns, one of which being the possibility that the wheel radio & phone controls from the GS might not be a direct plug & play into the Rx400h clockspring, and the obvious concern being the safety of using the GS airbag in the Rx400h. But I thought I’d give it a try- buy the materials and see if it could be done. <_< So the project began. The first job was finding the right steering wheel, radio & phone controls, and airbag-, which immediately became an instant challenge. I looked at pictures of the interiors from both the GS and ES models. The steering wheel, controls and airbag from the GS looked to be a perfect combination, until I looked closely at the grain of the wheel’s leather. The leather grain on the GS wheel is plain, with no pattern at all. It doesn’t match the airbag or the rest of the dash in the GS or RX. Someone at Lexus screwed up here… But the wheel’s leather grain on the 05-06 ES looked to be a perfect match. :) So I would have to buy the steering wheel itself from an 05-06 ES330, the radio & phone controls from the 06-07 GS, and the airbag from the GS or ES (since they’re the same). After about a month and a half of searching on eBay, I finally came across an 06-07 GS steering wheel in decent enough condition to act as the radio & phone control donor. I took the controls off of the GS wheel, and painted the units’ covers and buttons with a special “soft-touch” paint. Ever feel one of those flash drives, phones or presentation boxes with that “soft” finish? I found this special paint online that gives any surface that same soft feel! It’s called “soft feel paint” by Alsacorp. It’s a three-part clear, can be applied using an airbrush, and dries with a matte finish, with EXCELLENT durability. I’ve painted my window switch buttons and cruise control stalk with the stuff too- it’s very addicting! ;) Then I found an 06 ES330 steering wheel with the gray wood (which has the perfect burl grain I was looking for) with the black leather. And I bought an airbag for the 06-07 GS, brand new, on eBay. I first started on the ES wood wheel. I masked off the leather and stripped the clear and gray stain so I could see the bare wood. I then stained the wood with the same red “stained glass” paint I used on the rest of the wood trim in my Rx400h, and followed this with 8 coats of a two-part, hard, gloss clearcoat. Wet-sanded & polished the finish, and re-finished the leather as well. Then the moment of truth; would this combination of steering wheel, controls, and airbag work in the Rx400h? I removed the negative battery terminal on the Rx400h (so the car’s computer wouldn’t give me an airbag warning code) and removed the factory airbag. I removed the factory radio & phone controls, and compared the RX and GS plugs (that hook into the clockspring). I immediately noticed that the plugs were the same size! But then I looked closely… The square plugs have several “pin holes”, maybe 10 or so which the wires connect into- but the plug from the GS controls had one additional wire than the controls from the RX! Damn!! I thought… I really didn’t want to, but I knew I could take the controls apart and re-wire it- but I had to figure out which button was mismatched. So I plugged it in anyways, connected the new airbag (which has the same plugs and components), and turned the car on. Surprisingly, everything worked!!! EVERYHTING, even the lights. I have no idea why there’s an extra wire in the GS plug (the button circuits and locations are the same, so theoretically there shouldn’t be…) but apparently it doesn’t make a single difference So I installed the ES wheel, GS radio & phone controls, and the GS airbag. Presto, it was done!! Took the car for a little drive, tested everything out one more time, and everything works :D No warning light for the airbag, no problems at all. And here it is 3 days later, and everything still works A-OK. In the back of my mind I knew the controls from the GS would be a direct plug & play on the Rx400h since the buttons are in the same general locations. It wouldn’t have been economical for the Lexus steering wheel engineers to make two different circuitry and plugs. <_< So I really think the upgraded controls fit the Rx VERY well, much more than the factory set does IMO. The chrome “sliver” between the buttons on the radio & phone controls matches the chrome sliver under the navigation screen and the ones I added on the side AC vents. The GS radio & phone buttons are “flat” (vs the raised Rx400h factory ones) which match the buttons on the nav unit- I mean, why didn’t Lexus use these controls on the Rx??? It’s a PERFECT plug & play, and it looks much better, much more luxurious IMO… It really differentiates my steering wheel from the Rx330/350, which is what I was after. :) It might not be such a plug & play on the Rx330 and Rx350 however since these wheel controls lack the “display” button (it’s just blank). I’m not sure if the plugs’ wires would match up, but you could give it a try. :) There are different controls (combinations of buttons) available on the 06-07 GS models based on whether or not they have nav and bluetooth- so it might be very possible. But I can say for a fact the controls for the 06-07 GS’s (with nav, voice recognition and bluetooth) are a direct plug & play into the 06-08 Rx400h clocksprings B)
    1 point
  3. I have instructions for the removal of a 97 ES300 Power steering pump which includes belt removal, Remove right front fender apron. Disconnect right tie rod end. Remove drive belt. Using power steering hose nut wrench [ 09631-00020}, Disconnect pressure line. Remove pump mounting bolt and nut. Remove pump. To install, reverse removal procedure. Bleed system. This is for a 97 ES300. Hope that this helps in some way. ;)
    1 point
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