Lexusfever

Dear RobertB and GiorgoXXI Thanks for replying, I just purchased the 2009 DVD and took a chance installing it, Thank goodness it did not delete my Traffic Camera POI's. The dealers mechanic does not know how to do backups, and was quite surprised when I showed him the menu item for backups and restore. (scary) Unfortunately the new CD does still not allow use when the car is moving, It seems to be a Lexus Legal issue but this law only applies to some US States. The dealer tells me it is for my own safety but is not worried if I stop the car to change my route and I get hijacked or mugged, a common problem in our country. If someone does stop to get location help from their GPS and gets mugged I can only hope they sue Lexus for forcing them to stop the car to get help from its GPS they paid a fortune for. Will have to carry on using my Garmin till I can afford to trade it in on a BMW. Thanks for trying to help, it is much appreciated and I really hope someone will find a solution. So everyone who loves this car as much as I do PLEASE KEEP TRYING. Thanks Again. I did not realise you were not from Europe. Only the European Dvd overrides the lock. Your only other option is to do the nav hack, where by cutting a couple of cables from behind the MM you can unlock all screens (including Dvd playback). You can find the details of the hack by searching on this forum. Dear giorgoXXI, I think you may be wrong about the European DVD overrides lock, as I have checked and it is also locked in Europe since 2006 DVD release. I have found a group of hackers in Holland and another in the East that can and are prepared for a small fee to Hack the whole Nav DVD and open it up to full modification of data, they say that they will return my original DVD with 3 backup copies. I will wait for a resolution from Lexus before resorting to piracy and I am also a bit reluctant to part with my original. Seems to me that the high cost of map updates for Car GPS units are motivating hackers and pirates. Unfortunately the hard wire fix you speak about voids the Lexus warranty, and I am also not prepared to take this route on a brand new car. It is a great pity that Lexus's arogance has trashed a great car, but it will bite them back in their pockets with sales, I can name several people that have avoided Lexus because of this issue. Also the sales people do not inform one of these problems when one purchases but it is starting to become a known issue among owners and they are talking. The new 2009 European DVD (E11) definately overrides the navigation lock, 100% sure. The override you are talking about was not an official override, it was meant for workshop engineers (I am talking about the one where you press the screen corners). That one was removed since 2006 and is not available anymore. The new override is an official one, no need for any soft hack. Regarding the hard wire fix, you can buy plug and play devices that plug at the back of the MM that do the same thing without the need of cutting any wires (and hence voiding warranty). If you ever need to take the car for repairs you simply remove it. I am not aware of the consequences of putting a European Sat nav DVD on a non-European Lexus (maybe someone over here knows more about it), but if you can get hold of the 2009 European DVDs, you may be able to use them to update the firmware on you Nav (and unlock navigation in motion), and then swap back your original DVDs. Dear giorgoXXI, If you are correct you are a STAR, I will follow up on your info. The Plug at the back of the MM, where is it and what needs removal to get access to it. Also what type of plug is it? USB or SD etc. I believe the UK and South African Lexus Products come from the same plant, just have different options. We have 2 versions of IS250 the IS250SE and the Standard IS250 available in Auto or Manual. he SE version is basically FULL HOUSE and includes all options except Moon Roof, I own the IS250SE with Moon roof. The only thing my car does not have and it is available on USA Models is a Flip down "Sun Glasses" Holder in the overhead console, a very useful item in very sunny SA. We should start a Skype group for Lexus owners. Thanks again

Dear RobertB and GiorgoXXI Thanks for replying, I just purchased the 2009 DVD and took a chance installing it, Thank goodness it did not delete my Traffic Camera POI's. The dealers mechanic does not know how to do backups, and was quite surprised when I showed him the menu item for backups and restore. (scary) Unfortunately the new CD does still not allow use when the car is moving, It seems to be a Lexus Legal issue but this law only applies to some US States. The dealer tells me it is for my own safety but is not worried if I stop the car to change my route and I get hijacked or mugged, a common problem in our country. If someone does stop to get location help from their GPS and gets mugged I can only hope they sue Lexus for forcing them to stop the car to get help from its GPS they paid a fortune for. Will have to carry on using my Garmin till I can afford to trade it in on a BMW. Thanks for trying to help, it is much appreciated and I really hope someone will find a solution. So everyone who loves this car as much as I do PLEASE KEEP TRYING. Thanks Again. I did not realise you were not from Europe. Only the European Dvd overrides the lock. Your only other option is to do the nav hack, where by cutting a couple of cables from behind the MM you can unlock all screens (including Dvd playback). You can find the details of the hack by searching on this forum. Dear giorgoXXI, I think you may be wrong about the European DVD overrides lock, as I have checked and it is also locked in Europe since 2006 DVD release. I have found a group of hackers in Holland and another in the East that can and are prepared for a small fee to Hack the whole Nav DVD and open it up to full modification of data, they say that they will return my original DVD with 3 backup copies. I will wait for a resolution from Lexus before resorting to piracy and I am also a bit reluctant to part with my original. Seems to me that the high cost of map updates for Car GPS units are motivating hackers and pirates. Unfortunately the hard wire fix you speak about voids the Lexus warranty, and I am also not prepared to take this route on a brand new car. It is a great pity that Lexus's arogance has trashed a great car, but it will bite them back in their pockets with sales, I can name several people that have avoided Lexus because of this issue. Also the sales people do not inform one of these problems when one purchases but it is starting to become a known issue among owners and they are talking.

Dear RobertB and GiorgoXXI Thanks for replying, I just purchased the 2009 DVD and took a chance installing it, Thank goodness it did not delete my Traffic Camera POI's. The dealers mechanic does not know how to do backups, and was quite surprised when I showed him the menu item for backups and restore. (scary) Unfortunately the new CD does still not allow use when the car is moving, It seems to be a Lexus Legal issue but this law only applies to some US States. The dealer tells me it is for my own safety but is not worried if I stop the car to change my route and I get hijacked or mugged, a common problem in our country. If someone does stop to get location help from their GPS and gets mugged I can only hope they sue Lexus for forcing them to stop the car to get help from its GPS they paid a fortune for. Will have to carry on using my Garmin till I can afford to trade it in on a BMW. Thanks for trying to help, it is much appreciated and I really hope someone will find a solution. So everyone who loves this car as much as I do PLEASE KEEP TRYING. Thanks Again.

Anyone know how to backup Memory of POI's on satnav. Their is a option on the service menu to backup Memory and an option to restore memory. If I press backup then the system says no backup device inserted, or when saying restore it gives the same message. I found information that sugests that a backup of the GPS memory must done before performing any updates and then restored afterwards. It also claimes backups should be done before removing vehicle battery. I am very worried should I lose my speed camera locations and warnings that took me many hours to manualy enter. Unfortunately Lexus has no method of downloading this type of info automaticly like Garmin and some other vehicle satnavs. I also hope Lexus will remove the stupid lack of ability to disable the stopping of the use of the satnav while the vehicle is in motion, my wife is used to operate the BM's one while I drive the car. I believe it was possible on the 2006 model and was disabled by lexus on 2007 and 2008 models. So I now have to use a Garmin stuck to my window when traveling on long trips. Happy with the Lexus otherwise and good on fuel economy, got 7.7 litres/100km overall on a 1200km holiday trip and most of the time at between 110 and 130 Kph and some serious overtaking bursts at +-170Kph for the overtake duration..... Very happy with this as it included some city traffic runs.

Hi, There is a hardwired mod that will allow all functions to work while driving and it is quite simple to do. It requires a wire to be cut and grounded. It is a wire from the SATNAV to the parking brake switch. You can test if this will work on your car by applying the park brake slightly until the warning alarm of the parkbrake comes on then try the satnav, if it now works then the mod will sort out the problem. This mod was posted on this forum some time back, maybe someone has seen it or has a copy, it explains the procedure fully and is quite simple to do. I no longer use my SATNav in my IS250sel as I find it useless for my needs and use a Garmin stuck to my dash instead, Much better, can be used anytime, cheaper for maps, better info and most of all you can download trafic speed camera locations a very important requirement in a CAR and my bigest reason for purchasing a car with a satnav system. Much to my disapointment I found the expensive built in option on mt Lexus IS250SEL only good as a potable map that can only be used when parked. Why did Lexus not conect the system to the passenger seat switch instead of the park brake. Then if a passenger is present in the car the system will work when on the move, but not when the driver is alone, makes more sense to me. I Love my Lexus, but am not impressed with their company attitude of; We are perfect, we are GOD, we have made the perfect car, You are only the customer so live with it!!!!! After all the complaints about this coming from most if not all owners and nothing being done makes me wonder what their sales managers are doing, If I was a manufacturer I would be reading all the blogs to improve my product and see what needs to be done to get sales in this very troubled economic climate. All the irritating problems of this car can be resolved by the dealer in a few minuts. All these small issues make a possibly GREAT car just a good car, and in these times good is just not good enough!!!! Hope you come right, I will try to find the full drawings and details for the mod.

Average 25-28 mpg with my auto so I would expect a manual to return less. That's been the case for the last three years. You can achieve lower and higher figures than that, and I've done so over short and long runs, but generally the figure I've given is my average. That's with premium fuels, as it has only had the occasional tank of 95 RON when I've needed to fill up where there's no alternative. thanks for the prompt repsonse....as I expected....Its making my decision more difficult. I had hoped circa 35.....but nayway thanks mate. Hi Paul, My IS250 SE auto gives me 7.6 Liters per 100KM on the open road at between 120 and 130 KPH and about 11.3 litres per 100 in city driving and quite hard driving at that, quite a bit lighter than my wifes 325i and my friends 318i I also found out that the Auto is lighter on fuel than the manual, not sure why? but this was from many owners. I am pretty happy with mine as my previous car a BMW 330i only gave me 16 to 17 liters per 100 in town and about 11 litres per 100 on the open road at 120-130kmh You need to convert to MPG I redline my Lexus quite often as I tend to grow hornes when i drive (typical ex BM driver)

Hi I have a Lexus IS250 SE and no longer use my built in SatNav, have purchased a Garmin and use that, much better. Lexus claims to have best SatNav but that is just TALK, the most important part of a satnav in a car would give speed limits and traffic/safety camera locations. Some built in Car satnav systems have very limited usefulness. BMW seems the best as BM are prepared to solve most problems to make their cars better for the owner, and speed camera downloads can be done on their SatNavs. I doubt very much if your problem will be sorted out, Lexus do not seem to care about anything. I have had my IS250 for a year now and they cant even switch off that stupid "I Agree" screen that drives me mad or the ability to enter a destination while you drive, do they not understand that their may be a passenger in the car that can operate the gps while the driver concentrates on the road, or did they thing that the car was a single-seater. Lexus believes that their car features are planned by experts that know more than their clients, I am not sure if GOD works for them. I love most of my Lexus but will return to German manufacture again. My old BM i could take to the agents and they would plug in a computer and then set up anything I wished for, including belt alarms, TV while driving options and many others in a few seconds. I was just informed by a friend that their "I Agree" warning was switched off in a few seconds on a Chinese car. Seems they are getting it right and the Japs are loosing it. I have neither purchased the new disk for 2008/9 that came out here a month ago, half the cost of a complete garmin just for the disk and nothing much new. What a rip-off. Good Luck on your routing.

Go for brighter globes and ask the dealer to adjust the hight setting, I have the self leveling version HID's but I am sure yours are adjustable. Its probably a five minute job for the dealer. On most cars the adjuster screw has a friction mechanism or spring on it. I love bright lights as well, and I have good eyesight. When I drive at night the road must look like an airport runway.

Ha Ha I work with yanks every day and believe me you dont want to take advice of em! Yes, the transmission is locked but you've then got 1600kg of weight resting on the gearbox parking pin. Parking brake is there for a reason guys, only needs a pin to shear and there goes your pride n joy! I agree with Nate73, Use the hand brake as well as Park position, rather safe than sorry. My IS250 has a loud warning beeper if the brake is left on, anyway my brake is so good that you can feel the drag when you try to pull away, its like driving into a wall, or do some of you have 1000BHP with as much torque at idle. Ex race car and rally driver but have driven auto's for years as road cars.

Hi Maz, My 2008 IS250 has Satnav disk 2007-2008 version 1.0 Pity the Lexus Satnav does not have Speed camera info and cant be updated with this info. Most other Satnavs can be updated. I drive the Lexus 250SE with Satnav and a Garmin on my dash just for the speed camera warnings. So don't buy the Lexus with Satnav it's a wast of bucks just get a Garmin it's better. I cant understand Lexus mentality, the most needed feature of a satnav in a car and they omit it. Portable Satnav sales have soared just because of the speed camera warning function, it save one thousands of bucks in fines and helps keep down inflation caused mostly by high fuel prices and speed fines. BMW can bu updated with Speed Camera locations and I believe Audi as well. I believe some people get copies and updates from China ( Pirated ) and also you can send your disk for duplication to a place in China as well as Holland and get 10 copies for a small fee. The very high cost of upgrading Satnav disks are creating a lucrative and worthwhile market for pirates.

Hi, I love my IS250 but also find it underpowered on the getaway. I had a 330i 2004 model BM and loved it but did not like the dreary interior of the new BM so my next s=choice was Mercedes 280c or Lexus IS250 as we can not get the IS350 here, what a pity as i do not think it will be that much lighter on fuel as a 250. My 330 was lighter on fuel than my wifes 320i but nothing beats the 330d for pure power and torque plus very light on fuel my friend gets about 1,000 Kms on 63 liters and thats averaging 140KPH on the open road and plenty of hills. Fantastic motor the 330d. would be great to have a 330i or 330d motor in a Lexus body. But would first like to try the IS350.

That is by design. If you open the car using the key in the lock then you will set the alarm off. With most keyless systems or any remote for that matter radio masts or other interference can cause problems an jam your signal. To solve this problem and open the car or start it just hold the remote close to the start button to start or close to the door handle on the Lexus where I think the antenna is and it should work. the close range will cancel the interference signals if they are not too strong.

hi, i recently (3 days ago) became the proud owner of a 2005 IS250. My previous cars leading up to this were a 1999 BMW 318is coupe, a 2001 BMW 320d and most recently a 2002 BMW325ci m sport. I have always been a fan of BMW and of german cars in general. A friend of mine has a 2006 GS300 and took me for a drive whilst argueing the side of jap cars and how much better they are than the german ones i have always had ( i had a 2001 Audi A4 1.8t sport quattro before the 325!) My friend seemed to have lots of "ammo" and everything he stated was true and apart from my "yes, but like i said they are an enthusiasts car" i had little choice but to admit defeat. I was at the time looking to purchase an E9? BMW and he stated that the second generation IS wins hands down in every catergory and with that we headed to my local Lexus dealer in MY car. 1 week later i found myself sat in the handover bay at Lexus being handed the keys to my IS250. I am very impressed with the car, and the dealer and srevice i recieved were second to none. I will always have a love for BMW but they would have to go a long way to seperate me from this Lexus! glad your happy with your lexus,and welcome to loc :) Hi Chaps, Well I went through the same problem choosing and tested many cars since last year, I have owned several BM's and been a Big BM fan since 1989 as well as all my family and friends that I converted to BM from Mercedes. I spoke to many Mercedes and BMW owners and I am not too impressed with their views on their cars. Mercedes comon answers are had problems with several things, got stuck 6 times with a brand new 200 compressor and after the 6th time they eventualy found a fault and needed to get a part from Germany, another a similar case and ater several failures starter motor found faulty. BMW had no serious problems but are not as good as they were a few years back, my wifes one gives problems but thats only a 318i 2litre and is still much better that the new model, my 325i and 330i were good but then after motor plan over repairs of over R11,000 (about 750 pounds) was common. So if you get a new BMW take a seven year motorplan and sell it on the 6th year. Its a lovely car and so great to drive mainly the 330i makes you grow horns on your head and turns you into an aggressive monster. I moved to IS250 SEL full house because I could not handle the poor dashboard styling of the new BM, had the Lexus for a month now and love the car, so far a lot better than the beemer, smoother and nicer to drive normaly. I found that I lost my horns and actually still enjoy driving, even more so with all the extras that would ad over R100,000 (8,000 pounds) to the BMW price for the same options. Lexus needs to get it's act together with small issues like no possibility to add speed camera info to the GPS navigation. They need to look at user requirements and the most common reason drivers want navigation in their cars is for the speed camera and safety reports, most of us can find our way with a normal map. With the very smooth and noise free Lexus I am now very prone to getting caught speeding, the car is so quiet and you do not feel the speed. So to cap it all, I hate to say this but it is the Lexus that is the Best option by a long way. so lets see what BMW do next year, Audi is out for me as I do not like front wheel dive cars, CV joints and the like can not put up with my heavy right foot, and I do not like the torque reaction it creates on the steering. Enjoy you Lexus.......I am!

Anyone managed to add Traffic Camera updates, I have latest 2007-2008 disk and very poor in my opinion. No 3d view, no speed indicator, and they have the cheek to call it a top GPS? at least you can add traffic camera's updates to the BMW 3 series and also backup your DVD in case of damage. I am becoming a bit despondent and maybe should have bought the BM 330i instead. On a car with all these features and a supposed good GPS and one still needs to put a Garmin on the dash. Great Pity! Maybe the Japanese car industry have not heard of traffic cameras, most drivers I know don't get GPS's in cars just to tell them where to go, most want them for speed camera location warning. Some GPS DVD's you can edit and insert downloaded trafic camera info as POI's with alarm warning others can be loaded into the GPS's internal memory from a DVD, CD or Memory stick.

Hi Wallace, I always use my belts, but do not need to put them on like when driving in the parking garage looking fo a spot to park or in similar cases, so I have just disabled it altogether, I would rather have it beeping for a short time or a cancel alarm button. Info I have found regards Speed camera it works on most German cars including the BMW so will surely work on Lexus. Otherwise Lexus needs to Jack themselves Up and inform there vehicle owners what to do or just lose sales. Pimp-My-Nav Add POI to Vehicle Navigation Maps! Pimp-My-Nav is a powerful graphical tool for adding navigation Points of Interest (POI) to BMW, Mini, Range Rover and Rolls-Royce navigation map DVD's and CD's. Display POI such as speed cameras as icons on your navigation map while you are driving Screenshot of BMW navigation showing Speed Camera icons overlayed Key Features * Easily edit, delete or add new Points of Interest (POI) such as speed cameras to the existing navigation CD or DVD of your vehicle. * Simple update process - no specialist computer knowledge required. * Upgrade older CARiN (CarinDb) navigation CD's to support custom POI (MKIV navigation computer still required - see FAQ). * Simple and quick step-by-step Wizard to update your CD/DVD. Screenshot of PimpMyNav editor * Support for popular POI data file formats, including .asc, .csv, .ov2 (TomTom), .gpx (Garmin) and .kml (Google Earth) * Drag and drop POI files using Windows Explorer to import them. * Import and merge multiple POI files in a single operation. * Automatically import and resize icons if available. * View, change and import icons. * Add a custom header image to the navigation search page * Preview POI on the Google Maps website. * Integrated CD/DVD image creation. * Edit the existing menu structure by drag/drop. Insert new levels into the menus; delete, move or copy existing menu items. PimpMyNav editing BMW Speed Camera POI Speed Camera POI in BMW navigation menu Pimp-My-Nav View GPS View They say this works on most DVD based GPS's but no one knows the Lexus, not a popular car here yet, and dealers not jacked up.