I truely wish that Lexus would be more relaxed about this as well.
however, i can absolutely and totally understand their decision.
Lexus could have install a passenger sensor or something. but why? honestly place yourself in their shoes. why would you spend more $$ and effort toward this when you don't have to. by going the extra mile, you are presenting more points of failure and potentially more litigations. it just isn't worth it.
disclaimer screen and telling the owners not to cut wires "may" be enough to cover their butts. but if they can show the court that they went as far as voiding the warranty in order to stop people from doing the mod would be gigantic plus for them in litigation. and it doesn't even cost them a penny to do it.
it's simple economics. it just make sense for them NOT to do this.
i do think it's shame that we can't do more about this. but i absolutely can't fault them at all. i would have done the same thing.
besides, in my opinion, Lexus' nav still is one of the better ones (factory or aftermarket) out there. i've had nav systems from bimmer, merc, porsche, garmin and lexus. i'd rate lex's system close to the top.
D.J.
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A kind reply to DJ: :)
I understand your point fully; do everything you can to avoid litigation!
The McDonald Corporation (golden arches) places a warning on all their coffee cups that the beverage is hot. This warning was placed there because of a multimillion dollar suit that was won by a person that ordered coffee, drove away and spilled the coffee in their lap; they did burned some very delicate areas!
To extend the lunacy of this suit, I wonder why car makers put cup holders in their cars, since they have lead me to believe that my hot coffee will be safe in their holder and will not fall in my lap...and why not put govenors on our cars so we cannot exceed speed limits or require a test on the owners manual before we can drive our cars. Better still put a lawyer in the back seat to protect their interests...All Rediculous!
I think that we expect too much from others to take care of us. There is something called personal responsibility that adults should understand. We should know there are hazzards out there and we should take care of ourselves. Not look to somebody else to do it, or the real catchall: the government.
Yes, I do object to that safety warning and I would like to make changes to MY automobile without the manufacturer penalizing me.
I apologize for this dissertation, I'm an old guy that been around for 77 years and have seen progress impeded by rediculous product liability litigation and frivioulous suits. :cries: