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Tuesday, April 08, 2003

Mr. Dennis Clements

Vice-President, Lexus

19001 S. Western Avenue

Torrance, CA 90509

Re: 2003 Lexus 430 Ultra – Integrated Cell Phone System

Dear Mr. Clements:

I am the owner of a 2003 Lexus Ultra, complete with every accessory available. I purchased my vehicle in January, and waited patiently for the release of the Integrated Cell Phone.

In anticipation of placing the order, I had numerous conversations with your “800” customer service as well as my local dealer. When I was informed that the system was available, I immediately ordered it. Doing so, required me to purchase a Nokia 6310i cell phone and commit to a one year contract with AT&T.

The system arrived and my vehicle was brought to my dealer, (about 100 miles away) for the installation, which took two days. Regretfully, I now find myself seeking the removal of the equipment and a complete refund of all monies and expenses incurred. The reasons are as follows:

1. Lexus has decided for me, that it is best that certain features are not available to me while the vehicle is in motion. This decision was not based upon any law, rules or regulations, but rather arbitrarily. As a result of this fatherly concern, the list that follows is what I CANNOT do:

a. I cannot access the phone book while I am driving, to touch a button to place a call.

b. I cannot utilize the keypad to enter a tone to enable me to reach an extension or even the operator or employees at at my own office, because we have an electronic voice attendant answering device that requires punching “0” for an operator, or the extension number of the called party.

c. I cannot retrieve my own voice messages that are left for me, even if they come in during a call in-progress which was dialed from a stop.

d. I cannot call Lexus customer service as I am required to enter a number, 1 through 4 depending on the department I wish to speak with.

e. I cannot transfer between calls when a tone from the keypad is required.

f. I cannot dial 911 in the event of an emergency or 411 to obtain a phone number.

g. I cannot access the 250-memory phonebook.

h. I cannot tell who is calling me, because the caller ID features works up to the cell phone but does not connect to the navigation screen.

i. I cannot get the phone system onto the navi screen unless I touch the button on the steering wheel to make a call, wait for it to ask me for a voice recognition name, then hearing none, I must hit the “cancel” button to proceed.

j. I cannot add names to the phonebook through the navi screen, even when the vehicle is stopped.

k. I cannot go directly to the last letter of a name in the phonebook when the vehicle is stopped. I must scroll through all 250 numbers to find the one I want.

:crybaby:

2. Here is a much shorter (and perhaps more hazardous) list of what I CAN do:

a. I can voice activate up to 20 numbers providing they do not require entering an extension or pressing a button. for an operator or extension. Interesting enough, I must physically reach forward and touch the navi screen to punch “yes” for the call to go through, or “no” if my voice brought up an incorrect number.

b. I can dial one of two numbers that I have preset from the steering wheel. The instructions say three numbers, but the first is automatically assigned to voice message retrieval by Nokia, however since I cannot activate tones it is useless.

c. I can reach forward, touch the navigation screen and scroll through the first list 9 numbers from the speed dial, but I am now reaching forward and then touching the navi screen anyway.

d. I can pull off a major highway onto the shoulder, hoping I will not be hit by an approaching vehicle and use all of the features. Then, I can try and get back into the flow of traffic on a freeway, hoping that I am not involved in a crash. (Is this not a greater liability issue for Lexus)?

The antenna is far beneath Lexus standards and sits in my rear window with visible adhesive that resembles something that has fallen off. It is extremely unattractive.

There is no button to take me to the telephone mode. The only way to get a screen is to do a voice tag and then reach forward and hit the “cancel” button. This appears to be true whether the vehicle is moving or not. And, of course I have lost the volume control adjustment for my radio as well.

With all due respect, this system is an abomination and embarrassment to Lexus as a manufacturer and to me as a consumer. I spent a great deal of money to own this vehicle and I drive it with pride and envy. I touch an “I agree” button to use the navigation system, why not give me the same option for the cell phone and allow it to operate full function? (You also ought to allow the navi system to work fully as well)! Perhaps a seat pressure switch on the passenger seat to enable the passenger to dial?

Better yet, how about allowing me to make my own safety decisions so long as I am not violating the law. Seatbelts are a far greater safety concern, yet Lexus doesn’t require me to be buckled in for the ignition to start!

This entire issue with the vehicle’s velocity control is absolutely ridiculous. If you allowed that device to be disabled, the cell phone system would almost be a fully useful accessory. I urge you to revisit that feature before I have the system removed or perhaps even an exception in my instance.

Please be aware that I have shared these concerns with mr. John McLaughlin in California, and Mr. Oliver Gunther in Germany from Nokia.

When this matter is fully resolved, I will be the first in line to purchase a cell phone that will do as I and all other purchasers want: To be able to call any number in our phonebook, at any time, and enter any extension or retrieve any voice mail messages that we may have or need.

I truly regret this issue has arisen. I thank you for understanding my concerns and those of your other customers on several continents who are communicating on the Internet.

Sincerely,

HARVEY E. MORSE, P.A.

Harvey E. Morse

President

HEM/mh

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