Info Please...

[weaselwebby]

Hello all and Happy New Year!

When my IS-F was just a wee babe (last month!) I got some advice on here about how to get to the "hidden" menu that allowed me to get my Bluetooth set up to work a bit better with my Iphone............

It's much better now - I can actually hear and be heard albeit it's all a bit tinny sounding. The setting for "voice quality" (which defaults to 00) gives no guide as to what the options (presumably 00 to 99 as there's a zero to nine numbers keyboard) are, indicating that you look at the service manual.

Any ideas?

Also - I'd hoped to be able to access the system to allow me to change the central locking from the default setting where just my door unlocks and you have to remember to unlock the others before you get out (which I can never do!) to the optional setting where everything unlocks at once.....

Do I have to go to a dealer for this does anyone know!

Cheers,

Steve

[Geoffers]

Not sure on the voice quality - I was wondering that myself. It will be a case of trying it I'm afraid.

Do you have the same on getting into the car? i.e. its just the driver side? If so, it may be linked to the driver or all option.

To change the central locking (this is on the IS250 so hopefully will be the same) press and hold BOTH lock and unlock on the keyfob while you are inside the car for about 5 secs I think it is. I can't remember if it's with ignition on or off. Do the same to toggle it between all doors or just driver. Worth a shot.

[weaselwebby]

Cheers for the reply.

It's this weirdly wonderful keyless system so getting in is no problem it's just that I almost always forget to operate the unlock button on the door when I get out with an armful of stuff off the passenger seat then want to open a back door to get something else out!

In the "quick-start" book there's a couple of pages of optional settings for almost every function in the car - it's just such a pain to have to go up to Listers in Lincoln (my supplying dealer and really good they were too!) to change things but I wouldn't feel comfortable asking the Nottingham guys to do it as I didn't buy it there - when I started looking to order one (back in June) a rather cocky young salesman told me I'd be lucky to get one this side of Easter and, anyway, I wouldn't be able to test drive one - they could perhaps get "a professional" to drive me round for a few miles in a demonstrator but even that was "a bit of an ask" when they'd sold their allocation for the whole year! Strange then that they had a used one on the books a couple of weeks back!

Happy days!

[kenfoxy]

The attitude of Lexus Nottingham beggars belief. Like most people, I would never buy any car, no matter what the price, without a test drive. Every review in the world could award a particular model 100% perfect but if I didn't like it then that is that. Some blame needs to land with Lexus UK for not having a demo car covering a number of dealers. For sure with this system you would need to wait for a demo, but I don't think that it would be a problem. £50K needs a very careful assessment so a few days wait would be neither here nor there.

[fjcfarrar]

Also - I'd hoped to be able to access the system to allow me to change the central locking from the default setting where just my door unlocks and you have to remember to unlock the others before you get out (which I can never do!) to the optional setting where everything unlocks at once.....

Do I have to go to a dealer for this does anyone know!

Cheers,

Steve

No, you don't have to go to the dealer. I found the the same nuisance with the default unlocking setting setting too, and found how to change it in the main (thick) handbook - and it was very easy. I haven't got the handbook to hand at the moment, so I can't tell you exactly where to look - but I remember it wasn't hard to find. Good luck, and hope you enjoy your ISF - if you are going to keep it for a while, it is worth looking into the Lexus extended warranty (not because it is likely to go wrong, but some of the costs could be frightening if it did) and also their prepaid servicing plan, both of which are good value.

[weaselwebby]

Some blame needs to land with Lexus UK for not having a demo car covering a number of dealers. For sure with this system you would need to wait for a demo...

Lexus UK did in fact have a demo and Listers managed to arrange for it to be in Lincoln within a week of asking - the fact that on the demo before mine a wheel got destroyed against a kerb so I had to wait a while longer for a drive was just bad luck......

So much more puzzling then that cocky-boy felt he could adopt such an attitude - I had it in my mind to arrive on their door-step the day after I collected mine and ask to see the dealer principal to see who had the last laugh but, typically, when it came to it I just couldn't be bothered!

[weaselwebby]

No, you don't have to go to the dealer. I found the the same nuisance with the default unlocking setting setting too, and found how to change it in the main (thick) handbook - and it was very easy. I haven't got the handbook to hand at the moment, so I can't tell you exactly where to look - but I remember it wasn't hard to find. Good luck, and hope you enjoy your ISF - if you are going to keep it for a while, it is worth looking into the Lexus extended warranty (not because it is likely to go wrong, but some of the costs could be frightening if it did) and also their prepaid servicing plan, both of which are good value.

The bit about servicing and warranties sounds like pretty good advice - cheers.

And thanks for the hint about the handbook content - I'll retire to bed for a few days and see if I can wade through it!

I'm certainly enjoying it so far other than the fuel consumption! It's pretty much where I expected it to be in all honesty but having run a twin turbo BMW diesel for three years it comes as a bit of a shock to the wallet to find that I'm using as much petrol as my wife does in her three litre Subaru!

[redeagle]

Hi, read with interest about you getting better quality sound etc with the Iphone. Can you share it with me please as I have the same problem and find myself manually answering the phone too often as a result.....naughty boy! Also interested to hear if you sorted the door locking/unlocking problem as that gets me everytime as well.

[weaselwebby]

Hi, read with interest about you getting better quality sound etc with the iphone. Can you share it with me please as I have the same problem and find myself manually answering the phone too often as a result.....naughty boy! Also interested to hear if you sorted the door locking/unlocking problem as that gets me everytime as well.

Glad it's not just me that gets grumpy about little things!

The multi-option locking stuff does appear to be a "dealer techy" only job but around page 51/52 in the main handbook there's a set of options that I've now used and am more or less pleased with (all doors lock once on the move over 12mph then all unlock so long as I open my door within 10 seconds of pressing the start/stop button to shut the engine down). This just involves getting in, closing all doors, starting the engine then - within 10 seconds - moving the shift lever to N and pressing the unlock button on the driver's door for 5 or so seconds (the auto lock once moving is actually operational anyway as a default setting through the multi customising procedures listed towards the back of the handbook or in the quick guide book).

As for the phone you need to get into the "hidden" menu - if you look in my post in the Newcomer's Area you'll find a reply that lists the moves you make to get there (it's really easy but if I tried to remember it and list it here but I'd almost certainly miss something out!). Give me a shout if you can't find my post and I'll dig in my file and list it for you.

Once you get to the menu you select Bluetooth and you can adjust (separately) the volume of incoming and outgoing voice (I've moved mine from the default level 2 to the maximum 5 on both). There's also scope to adjust "voice quality" from the default setting 00 with a full number pad but it appears that you need to refer to a service manual to find out what the options are and, to be honest, I can't be bothered with either going to a dealer or playing around with "suck it and see" settings to improve the quality - it all sounds a bit tinny in the car (but I don't know if my voice sounds equally so at the other end) but I'm unlikely to loose sleep over it anyway!

The bit that really bugs me though is something that cannot be improved - it's the fact that the Lexus Bluetooth system will only input phone book info from a very short list of (pretty old!) phones!!!!!! If BMW, Audi and Mercedes (and the £100.00 Parrot system in my wife's car for that matter!) can do it then why can't Toyota?

Grumble over - it's a small price to pay!

[kenfoxy]

Wouldn't it be nice if Lexus dealers could undertake a vehicle handover when you go to pick up your new car where all these customer options are sorted out. IMHO a Lexus salesman should be a fully trained expert on every Lexus model set up. If they are less than this then what are their multi-million pound showroom and customer handover sections all about. One thing just laughs at the other. Weaselwebby, I know that Lincoln is a nuisance to get to, but they seem to be more on the button.

[weaselwebby]

I know that Lincoln is a nuisance to get to, but they seem to be more on the button.

They are good - but good only goes so far......

I'm sure that they would have been happy to set everything up to suit me if I'd known what was available to change - chicken & egg situation therefore!

Perhaps the way forward would be for the dealers to have a current handbook for every model available on loan for a few days before handover, that way you could pick up on such details and be ready to ask the relevant questions....

[kenfoxy]

That's a good idea. I wonder if Lexus have even thought about it? Could steal a march on its competitors.

[redeagle]

Hi, read with interest about you getting better quality sound etc with the iphone. Can you share it with me please as I have the same problem and find myself manually answering the phone too often as a result.....naughty boy! Also interested to hear if you sorted the door locking/unlocking problem as that gets me everytime as well.

Glad it's not just me that gets grumpy about little things!

The multi-option locking stuff does appear to be a "dealer techy" only job but around page 51/52 in the main handbook there's a set of options that I've now used and am more or less pleased with (all doors lock once on the move over 12mph then all unlock so long as I open my door within 10 seconds of pressing the start/stop button to shut the engine down). This just involves getting in, closing all doors, starting the engine then - within 10 seconds - moving the shift lever to N and pressing the unlock button on the driver's door for 5 or so seconds (the auto lock once moving is actually operational anyway as a default setting through the multi customising procedures listed towards the back of the handbook or in the quick guide book).

As for the phone you need to get into the "hidden" menu - if you look in my post in the Newcomer's Area you'll find a reply that lists the moves you make to get there (it's really easy but if I tried to remember it and list it here but I'd almost certainly miss something out!). Give me a shout if you can't find my post and I'll dig in my file and list it for you.

Once you get to the menu you select Bluetooth and you can adjust (separately) the volume of incoming and outgoing voice (I've moved mine from the default level 2 to the maximum 5 on both). There's also scope to adjust "voice quality" from the default setting 00 with a full number pad but it appears that you need to refer to a service manual to find out what the options are and, to be honest, I can't be bothered with either going to a dealer or playing around with "suck it and see" settings to improve the quality - it all sounds a bit tinny in the car (but I don't know if my voice sounds equally so at the other end) but I'm unlikely to loose sleep over it anyway!

The bit that really bugs me though is something that cannot be improved - it's the fact that the Lexus Bluetooth system will only input phone book info from a very short list of (pretty old!) phones!!!!!! If BMW, Audi and Mercedes (and the £100.00 Parrot system in my wife's car for that matter!) can do it then why can't Toyota?

Grumble over - it's a small price to pay!

Nice one, got into 'hidden menu', had to stop myself fiddling with various other options etc, but the voice thing seems to have improved, so thank you for your help, much appreciated.