chickenslut

Hi everyone. I have a nick in my windshield (lower drivers side) under the size of a dime. I have had it repaired by Safelite once, tomorrow will be #2 for the same nick. My additional claims coverage (windshield repair) states they will keep repairing it as long as they can but when it comes time to replace it, that one's on me. I will keep having it repaired if possible since it's money I have already paid. Has anyone replaced their windshield on an 07-09 vehicle? How much did it cost you? If so, who did yours? I'm not suggesting replacing the whole thing right away, rather I just want to mentally prepare myself when the time comes. Thanks in advance.

Yes, it does!. Have you tried? I did it, but what alarms me now is that the Passenger Airbag is showing as disabled on the dash. Does anyone else have that issue as well? If it's a matter of a stupid chime or airbag, I'm taking the airbag any day of the week. Anyone else have this issue?

Can anyone confirm this on a 2007-2009 RX?

I'm not 100% but it should. It's the same exact disc your local dealer would sell you. Mine removed my 'I Agree' screen.

You have a Generation 4 system according to this thread: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45858. There is nothing they need to do to re-calibrate. They are jerking you around and you should report them to Lexus corporate. The one from Sewell at $200 will take care of all the "calibrating" automatically. Just make sure prior to adding it to your cart that you choose Generation 4 as your "Size". Then install and it will update for you. Enjoy your extra $300.

So rather than rip apart my dash so that I can use my iPod Touch in the car (still not happy about that whole cassette tape thing, but I digress) I was at a discount store yesterday (Marshalls) and stumbled across something I was willing to give a shot to: the iLuv i707. I got mine for $39.99. Now a couple things to know: the sound quality had to be good, it had to charge my iPod and had to be compatible with most models or it was going to be returned. This unit accomplished all of them, but I did some leg work as well. It comes with the "holder" with a small LCD screen reading your preferred broadcast station. It has 4 buttons: 2 for quick access preset broadcast stations and 2 for Up-Down of broadcast stations. As a bonus it comes with an extender arm for the cigarette adapter should you require it and some foam pads that you can add to the back of the holder to cushion your iPod. There is also an adapter too for you Nano users out there as well. Now onto the work I did, I travel back and forth to rural Michigan a lot from Chicago and needed a clean channel to work with, that's where Radio Locator came into play. I punched in my city(s) and it gave me a list of the best "free frequencies" to broadcast on. I can successfully say that while driving around downtown Chicago and even some of the Burroughs there was no interference whatsoever, not even by police or fire stations or hospitals. It was that good. So the right channel is key. I now have a list of the best channels to broadcast on from here to Kalamazoo. I keep the list in a note on my Touch for quick access. The unit is small and fits nicely in the cigarette outlet next to the shifter. One thing is that when moving the shifter knob you need to swivel the unit (yes the transmitter has a swivel) to the right so as to not hit your iPod, but once in Drive it's perfectly situated so that I can keep my hand on the shifter knob and change tracks on my Touch. The audio volume is good, it is a few ticks lower than the normal radio but it is still a quality sound for $40. Once we reach our destination I just unplug the transmitter, fold up the cigarette lighter arm and plunk it in my center console. No muss, no fuss. Full control of my music without issue. It still will mute the music when on a call via Bluetooth, since it is the radio and is being piped over the stereo, so I just remember to hit Pause on the iPod and then un-pause once the call is completed. For anyone on the fence about having a cassette adapter or FM transmitter I suggest you give it a try, it's been well worth the sheckles I paid for it and hope you enjoy it too.

They won't change any of that stuff. I asked them to disable the passenger seatbelt chime since I commute and keep a heavy work bag on the seat next to me, to which I was told it can't be done. Everything can be done, they don't want to do it. Also, I find too that if it has rained or there is heavy precipitation the seals get stuck together and make it hard to open. And when I hit the button it will beep but never open. So I have to revert to manual. No biggie, but random things make for interesting situations especially when you have both hands full of heavy bags. Oh well.

I have a 2007 RX and have similar issues. It's a mixed back to be honest. Sometimes it will go and other times it won't. Have found a definitive explanation or scenario that persistently solves the problem. I'll try it soon and see where it takes me. If I find anything I'll report back.

What I found interesting was when I said something to the effect of "but if I want to change the radio station you "allow" me to do that, but I can't work with the GPS?" Her response was something like "sir that's not the same thing". To which I replied matter-of-factly "actually it's the exact same thing. Both have screens, both require user input, both give audible feedback, both require you to search for what you are looking for, but the difference is that you decided to give me access to one and not the other." And again she stuck to the script. Yes, I know that call center people are basically just supposed to apologize and nothing more, but that's it. Apologies don't resolve problems. I thoroughly agree that they do this to save themselves from frivolous lawsuits. But when you think about it Garmin, TomTom, et all have made a business model out of this an have kept themselves out of litigation. Well I would have not minded if the 'Spoken Phrase' system worked even remotely well. When I asked it to call my wife (used her name) it thought I wanted Higher Education Institutions to display on my POI maps overlay. I tried again and used my name instead to which it wouldn't even recognize. I have a very simple last name. It is the same word that is listed next to anything that has an 'ON/OFF' switch. Just frustration, well that and my Tape Deck which I used every single fr!ckin day.........woot to the cassette tape.

or you can also get a Vasitech navi lockout over ride install like many other Lexus owners, personally, I dont like to rip apart my dash board unless I have to. See I would like to. I even started a thread about which one to get. While I don't want to tear apart my dash either I would since I would also be gaining some sort of iPod integration as well. So to me that would be worth it. Any recommendations as to which one to get? We (wife and I) have iPod Touches and I'm looking at getting an iPhone. Don't want/need video on the screen. Thoughts? Was thinking SL2i-UP. At a penny under $200 it's worth a shot IMO.

We will probably get a garmin or something like that and set it up. Truth be told I was actually a little surprised as you would figure that their scripted answers would be pretty solid. They were weak and full of holes and when pressed they just defaulted to 'i'm really sorry'. Just wish I hadn't *BLEEP*ed away my money on the system and just pocketed it. Lesson learned.

After a long time of being fed up with being locked out of the Nav screen while driving I decided I wanted to be heard. Who did I want to be heard by? Lexus corporate. I called the main number 3 separate times. I waited on hold for an "experience rep" for no less than 30 mins each time. The first two calls I hung up after the half hour because I was at work and had to pee. The third time I held out and waited a full 45 minutes to speak to someone. Here was my rationale: you car is advanced enough to know when someone sits down in the passenger seat to activate the seatbelt chime, yet these advances are not enough to unlock the nav system et all. The first day of calls was met with nothing but "I'm really sorry you feel that way Mr. Chickenslut, I really am sorry" to which my response was "really? that's it? you're sorry? wow I suddenly feel better" and "so you are the only one I can talk to regarding this matter at Lexus at a whole? No one else in the entire Lexus corp wants to hear what their customers say?" "We'll have one of our senior level reps contact and follow up with you" Less than 24 hours later my phone rings. We'll call her Ms. X is on the other end of the phone. Once again she spews the script about how it is "for your protection that we disable the navigation". I tell her that I should be able to decide what I would like to do with my car and not a corporation. She says that because she cannot guarantee that we would not be using the nav while driving. So I ask: "But it is my choice to flip the radio station while driving, or answer my phone, or view my child in the backseat while driving, or plow into a parked car, but I cannot be allowed to use the nav system at all while the car is above 5 MPH? It is a car that I bought and I should do what I want. So what you are telling me is that my $3K nav system is less useful than a $100 Garmin unit?" Silence falls and she sticks to the script. Repeating something about how it was a decision that was made laterally and that there was nothing she could do. I explained to her that I was extremely disappointed in Lexus and Toyota as a company. I felt that though they did not listen their customers and they should they ever decide to allow us to take back control of our cars to call me and I will spend even more money on Navigation discs. No my time spent did not bear any results. I didn't get any money back. Did I feel satisfied after the calls? No. Am I happy about ruining 2 peoples day? No. I wanted to be heard. And I guess the best way I can be heard from here on out is speaking with my wallet.

Hi all. I have an 07 RX350 with Nav, no Marc Levinson. I want to surprise my wife and get some sort of iPod integration installed (or DYI install really) but while almost everyone universally recommends VAIStech.com I am having a hard time figuring out which one is right for us. We both have iPod Touches (1st and 2nd Gen models of those) and I'll likely be getting an iPhone sooner than later. I am torn between the SLV2i and the VML and the price difference is negligible. According to this chart: http://www.vaistech.com/products/product_comparison.php both should work fine for me. Has anyone installed these on their 07-09 RX? How was the functionality? Is it locked out while driving like the other stuff put forth by Lexus? Would I still need to do the lockout override lockpick device/method? If you installed the VML where did you mount it? Under the head unit? Also where did you put the USB plug for easy access? Thanks in advance for any help guys. I am very comfortable taking stuff apart but just want to have a clearer picture before I go nuts and tear apart my dash.

Well since the software we're talking about is technically illegal since it reverse engineers products; there aren't many legit sources and you won't find any of us linking to it because we will get kicked off the boards. We all know how to use Google and you'd be amazed what you find when using the right search terms. mmmmmmmmmmkay? If you are the most daring out there, kits are available that will ground your brake sensor wire to the chassis which tricks the system into thinking it's parked. It involves cutting and soldering wires. So caveat emptor as it will likely void at least a couple of warranties. You might have better luck just searching for a hybrid 7.1/5.1 disc. The map data isn't bad, it's what I used for a while and yes you can use the Volume hack. Just read my earlier posts about what fuses to pull and you'll be all set.

I have an 07 RX and the problem is the same. When I pressed the dealer about it they said that the system will allow you to register multiple phones however it only remembers the last phone that was successfully linked. You will have to manually go through and TELL the system to look for your specific phone. This was the case with 2 different BlackBerry Bolds. We're moving to new phones next month so I hope that will be different/better but I fear otherwise.

Sounds like a fuse issue before a disc issue. The replacement disc will only rework your NAVs firmware and map data. The new disc only changes what data is displayed on your screen and won't fix a rebooting issue. If it resets and removes your POI it's a deeper electrical issue. Check the Radio 1 fuse to see if there is any wear or needs replacing (under $2 fix at your local auto parts giant) and less hassle. As for the dash stuff that usually means you have an electrical issue. In my non-technical opinion I think you might have a wire that's not grounded properly and causing a short somewhere. Or a larger type fuse is done. Either way get it to the dealer ASAP and get a loaner. You might have something happening with your fuse cluster that took on some moisture or something. Something simple might take longer than you think. We had a ball bearing in a tire that was bone dry and causing grinding when turning left. From dropoff-->diagnonsis-->fix-->pickup was 5 days. Thank god for the hassle-free loaner.

Can you tell me a bit about your wife's phone: Carrier, Make, Model, etc. I'll do my best to help as phones are my best known areas of interest.

Tried my hybrid 8.1/5.1 disc in a 2009 ES but it didn't work, so it's back to the drawing board. Lexus must have changed the 8.1 firmware to not allow any downgrades. That's my story! So 8.1/5.1 wont work in a 2009 ES. Were you able to get a 7.1/5.1 to work in your 2009 ES? I assume a 09 ES would also have a 5th gen NAV hardware as in my my 2008 RXh? Yes. I currently use a 7.1/5.1 disc on my 2007 RX and it works really well when I need it. I have a copy of the 8.1 map data and will likely just use that since I'm sick of the 'I Agree' screen and can deal without the hack. The 09 is still Gen 5 AFAIK, I believe it was in 2010 that they changed to the next version. I will just ride it out on the 8.1 disc for now.

Sadly no. You need to have the right Generation disc in order to cobble together a hybrid disc. In your case you would need to find a Gen 4 v8.1 disc and piece together that map data (8.1) and the loading.kwi file (5.1). If you do some searching online I think you will find that one is not that far away.

I have an '07 RX and a 1st gen iPod touch. Currently I don't have any sort of iPod input for my vehicle. I make due by burning various CDs with MP3s so I can play and have fun. But as I was sitting there today waiting for the wife to finish in a store I looked at my touch and super-useless tape deck. I picked up the ipod and literally inserted it into the tape deck and it was a really good fit and so I thought to myself: "what if I could hack my tape deck to allow me to insert my ipod, dock it, and use the steering wheel controls to use it" I thought this would be a wicked cool solution and fun pet project. I turned here first to see what others think. I haven't taken the dash apart to install an ipod kit or anything. I am very crafty and such, but was wondering if anyone else had the same idea or similar. Am I just insane or am I onto something? Has anyone does anything like this that they can share their experiences here. Thanks everyone.

Likely no, Gen 5 systems do not have this functionality. I have a Gen 5 system with 7.1 map data and haven't found this functionality anywhere.

I have on 07 RX and a Chamberlain liftmaster. It was a frustrating experience to say the least but I finally got it. Now that I've done it I can do it about 14-15 times and not even bat an eye. What, for me, was the stumbling block was my liftmaster remote passing along the sequence to the Homelink remote BEFORE hitting the Learn button on the opener itself. Even though the liftmaster remote was like 1 inch away it wasn't "seeing it". I held down the '1' key and the liftmaster remote almost touching the 2 and 3 keys and that did the trick. For anyone else out there, I recommend reading, re-reading, writing the instructions down and then doing it. dens, thanks for the tutorial. I can now cross this one off my list.

Yes you CAN copy it. So long as you have a DVD reader/writer that can read dual layer discs. Since it's all just data on a disc, like an MP3 for example, or a copy of Microsoft Office, it can be copied. It does however involve copying all the data on the disc to your computer and then burning a disc with some rather specific settings. That also is before you get into pulling fuses, inserting and updating your NAV system data. It's all about your own comfort level. I'm a computer geek myself so it was not a big deal for me. Ask me to change my own oil and I'll look at you like you're speaking Farsi. :D If it's something you want to pursue, do a search as there are a couple of other threads here and on other Lexus boards that showcase how to do it all.

Sneaky Denso/Lexus. Sneaky indeed. Well I'm happy with the 7.1 maps. Around me there isn't much I can't find in by address since typically once a building is torn down there's another right behind it. Also I like adding by GPS coordinates when I get really stuck. I've used http://www.geocoder.us for US stuff and this one for other places: http://www.gpscoordinates.eu/determine-gps-coordinates.php

This weekend we were on a road trip and were forced to eat in the car. The wife spilled some mayonnaise based sauce on our tan seatbelt. Does anyone have a good recco to get rid of the stain? We blotted and while the major color is gone the outline is still there. Thanks in advance guys. I do have Scotchguard Oxy Cleaner but was fearful to test on such a visible spot on the belt. Not sure if anyone has used that.