lexuspeter

See my very recent post concerning my CD player. It may well be that the wiring loom is failing. In my case the garage moved the wiring loom whilst it was connected to the amplifier and got intermittent sound problems. If this is your problem it will, I am sure, be a lot cheaper to fix than changing any hardware. Ask for Martin in Service ( Lexus Wolverhampton ) He may well be able to advise you. LEXUS KNOW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND IT IS LOGGED ON THEIR SYSTEM FOR RECORDING INFREQUENT ISSUES.

Just in case anyone has the same problem and has not read my previous posts. My Mark Levinson CD player would install the 6 discs correctly but no sound could be heard. However the radio and sat nav worked fine. ( Repairs were carried out under warranty.) Visit 1 :- System was booted by disconnecting and reconnecting the amplifier Visit 2 :- Amplifier replaced Visit 3 :- CD player replaced Visit 4 :- ECU unit replaced Visit 5 :- Wiring Loom replaced which solved the problem. Visits 1-4 seemed OK at the time but the fault reappeared after a few hours. 2 kind replies to my previous posts did suggest the wiring loom/optical cable may be the faulty part. I advised my Lexus Dealer of these suggestions but I was told that warranty repairs have to place in a methodical order as directed by the Lexus Company.

Hi "adjust8r" Yes I do have an auxilliary socket. In fact there are 2 sockets. Which one would I use ? Presumably an mp3 player would have its own leads but would I need to buy a special one to connect to the aux socket ? If so what type ? Once set up I presume all controls would be made on the mp3 player such as stop/start, track selection etc. Is that correct or would anything be controlled by the CD player ? Someone told me that mp3 discs placed into the player have the track contents displayed on the screen. Reading through the various replies I think your solution would suit me the best so I just need a bit of help to set up the mp3 player please. Many thanks for your suggestion Whilst not answering your question directly....why dont you just download your music onto an MP3 player and connect via the AUX jack. You can pick up an 8 GB MP3 player for €40 odd and that will hold thousands of songs.....I never use my CD player. ( Im not sure if it is only the MM that has an AUX jack)

Thanks for your reply but I have recently changed my car to an IS250. The manual says that MP3s can be played

I have been advised by my Lexus Dealer and Lexus Customer relations that playing mp3 discs can cause the CD multichanger to jam. My system loads 6 discs on the front panel not the boot. The reason given is that blank discs are slighty thicker. I have created some mp3 discs with Nero but I am reluctant to put in the car multichanger. However they work perfectly well on my home hi fi system. Your comments would be welcome please.

Hi, Sincere thanks to the 2 guys who responded to my earlier posts that the sound could not be heard on my CD player ( Mark Levinson). I was advised that the optical cable was the reason for the problem. When Lexus changed the cable ( contained within a wiring loom) the CD sound worked perfectly and has done so for 3 days without issue. Let's hope that it remains trouble free. Thanks again for your contributions. Best wishes, Peter

Thanks for the information. As the CD player is in the front of the car, and the amplifier is in the back of the car, then presumably the cable is a long one and maybe difficult to get at ?? Do you think this is why my optical cable may not have been changed ? Also was this fault found quickly or did you have components changed as in my case ?

I am posting this note in case others have had similar problems. I purchased my 08 IS 250 in May 2010 and despite 4 visits under warranty to the dealer the Mark Levinson CD player loads all 6 CDs correctly and elapsed time displays plus track information but NO SOUND can be heard. Radio sound works fine. Visit A : Amplifier disconnected and reconnected to boot the system Visit B : Amplifier replaced Visit C : CD Player replaced Visit D : ECU Unit replaced. Visit E : I am waiting for a date to have the problem sorted out once and for all. On each occasion the CD sound is working when I get the car back but after a few hours the sound disappears. I was told by one mechanic that replacement units are reconditioned ones. Another mechanic told me that new units are used ! I cannot understand how a top of the range audio system can fail or not be easily repairable. I have heard that wiring problems can be difficult to trace. Perhaps I have been extremely unlucky ??

Thinking a bit more about the previous comment ( amplifier tripping out )... If this were the case and the amplifier did trip out ... surely this would prevent the radio working but the radio has worked throughout these problems !

Thanks for ypur reply. There is no "pop" sound coming from the speakers but it may well be something to tell Lexus at the next visit. Something tripping the amplifier sounds like an avenue to explore

Err3 seems to be about CDs getting stuck in the player. My problems are not related to CDs getting stuck in the player ! Err3

Ongoing problem with my 08 IS 250 Mark Levinson system Sat Nav OK Radio OK CD no sound but each CD placed in machine is shown on screen. Tracking works and elapsed time is shown. Car has been back to dealer 3 times. Now booked in for a 4th time. Everyone at Lexus very obliging but so far the problem remains. Visit A. Amplifier disconnected and reconnected. Standard ( I was told) first line of approach. Worked for a couple of days Visit B. Amplifier replaced under warranty.Worked for a couple of days Visit C. CD Unit replaced.Worked for a couple of days Visit D. Due soon. Hopeful for a cure. I have been advised by an audio engineer friend that the auxilliary sockets could be the culprit(s) as when an Ipod or similar is used the CD sound is muted. I have not used any auxilliary device but the previous owner may have done so. If anyone has any experience of this fault or if anyone has an idea of the likely problem I would be grateful for some feedback please.

Hi everyone, Update on my CD player problem. Lexus Wolverhampton have replaced a faulty amplifier and all is well. Before the repair I could hear the radio but not the CD. Battery issues still remain. The first problem was a lack of understanding on my part that the engine MUST be running before using the Sat Nav, radio, CD etc. No one mentioned this when I bought the car and I have seen no warning in the manual. Many thanks to those who replied to my previous posts on this topic. What happened was that the battery went from 12 v to 10.3 v in half an hour, enough to prevent the engine from starting. AA confirmed that the battery was fine. The second problem was that the engine wouldn't start when I returned from a 2 week holiday. It had not been used during my 2 weeks absence. The AA told me that the battery was completely flat. I had checked carefully that no interior/exterior lights were on and that no doors or boot were partially open. The battery was recharged and again the AA said that the battery was fine. Lexus Wolverhampton have now checked the battery and found the battery to be fine with no issues with leakages,outages etc. Their explanation was that the Lexus 250 has advanced electronics and the battery can be "in use" due to the security light or a possible audible warning. I did notice the red light flashing but thought this was normal when the security system was primed. I have no complaints with the AA or Lexus Wolverhampton but am puzzled that Lexus appear to have designed a car where the battery can, in certain circumstances, be unable to support the electronics. I have previously owned a Lexus 200 and before that a Toyota Avensis and in 9 years never had a single battery issue !! Does anyone have any ideas please as to what may wrong assuming that this is not actually a design problem ? Best wishes, Peter

Hi Rory, I mentioned the optical cable to Lexus. I assumed ( wrongly ? ) that they looked at it but when it goes back to them shortly I shall be more insistemt. Thanks for your reply. Peter

Hi everyone, Is 250 2008 Thanks again for the many kind replies recently to a few queries getting used to my my Sat Nav ! Unfortunately another problem is getting worse.On the first day of ownership the CD produced no sound although the radio, climate, sat nav works fine. I loaded 6 discs and the screen showed all 6 correctly and the tracking works but NO SOUND ! On this forum I was advised that the problem may be an optical cable. However as the car is still under warranty I had the problem addressed by Lexus Wolverhampton. They said that they had not experienced a similar problem and consulted with "Head Office" who advised them to disconnect and reconnect the amplifier. This worked until I removed the 6 discs and loaded another 6 discs more to my wife's liking. I don't mean to sound unkind but I find it very hard to believe that Lexus Wolverhampton have not had similar issues with CD systems. There are many issues on this forum on the subject but not specifically related to my problem. I also read on this forum that Lexus have issued pdf files related to Mark Levinson. If Lexus have nobody capable of repairing it I intend to request that they replace the CD system or the faulty part if they can identlfy it. I am sure this is reasonable but would appreciate any comments on this situation. Lexus Wolverhampton have agreed to check out the problem so maybe there will be a happy ending. Best wishes, Peter

Yes, the battery will go flat with all the electronics running, so here’s a tip- Don't be a tight wad and keep the engine running while you play with the sat nav! The car will never overheat, unless there's a problem. Unlike Fords of the 1970's which would overheat at every traffic light in your car will be fine. In a Lexus you could sit all day with it ticking over, don't worry it won’t break. Now for the sat-nav. Pick a street where you want to go, any street where you know the way, just to test. Go to your satnav, engine running and climate on, got to keep cool, have a tinkeling of your favourite music humming in the background, (CD in slot press play). Now with your street name, press ‘DEST’ You will now see an option to input the street name, input the street name using the keypad on display. Once this is in you may well see a list of streets. Choose the street you inputted. Now press Guide, then Route, or visa versa, I can’t remember off hand. A nice lady will talk to you in a soft voice, (she’s not a real Lady), mine is called Doris, you may choose a name for yours, you have to, all people do. No need to start the car, it is running. Follow the voice and glance occasionally at the map. You are on your way. Keep doing this until you are confidant. If you want the sat nav to stop, the nice soft Ladies voice does sometimes become annoying, press the Menu button the Suspend Guidance. That is all there is to know about sat nav. (Apart from) You can keep your home address in the sat nav too which means that wherever you are you can simple press a Flag and the nav Lady will guide you home, and then there are the POIs (points of interest) but this is in the advanced course. Have a play, you won't break it, good luck! ............ Many thanks Knitwear for your quick response. Enjoyed your humour.Much apprecitated. Will do as you suggest and play gently with engine running. I am still surprised that the engine went flat. Do you think it was the fan at the lowest setting or just that playing with the sat nav buttons for 30 mins drained the battery ? I say "drained" but I have just read the AA report which tells me that the voltage was 10.6 volts instead of 12.2 volts. Presumably enough to stop the startup. Fortunately the battery is now up to full strength with hopefully no damage.

Glad I am not alone but sorry to hear that you have the same problems.

Hi everyone, Thanks to those kind people that helped me with regard to my Sat Nav disc unit query. I am now trying to tackle the manual of the IS 250 Sat Nav system. 331 pages along. Does anyone know how to obtain an easier to understand version ? I know manuals are complicated and you need to be patient. However for example on page 14, just as I think I am understanding something, I am referred to Page 43 because there are 12 different methods to search your home. On page 43 it tells me that I can use 12 different methods to search my destination See Pages 45 - 61. I'm sure this makes sense to somebody but not a 69 year old like me ! Why is it not possible to learn each step, one page at a time ? I sat in the car pressing the Sat nav buttons like a lunatic ( not driving ) but with the engine switch on the first position. I was unaware that the climate fan was running at the lowest setting. Anyway, after about 30 minutes all the electrics started to fail and finally the engine would not start. 3 hours later and a nice chat with the AA man he checked by battery and told me , whilst it was in very good shape, it had run down !. He suggested that if I wanted to learn the Sat Nav the fan should be off ( obviously- that was my fault ) but have the engine running. He was NOT surprised that after 30 minutes the battery had run down. Well... I am very surprised, as running the engine in idle consumes petrol and I suppose could overheat after a while. IS IT ME ????

I dont quite understand what you are trying to say?! Are you trying to put the Sat Nav discs in to the cd changer? The Nav disc should go in to the cd drive for the navigation system which is behind the clock panel. This only accepts one dics at a time. Sorry if i have misunderstood you Thanks for your quick reply. I am only putting music CDs in the multichanger. The nav discs were installed by the garage but I cannot find the CD drive behind the clock panel. Please describe its position. If the missing disc is in this drive and I remove it, would I be able to hear the CDs? because at the moment I cannot !!

Grateful for a reply please I have just bought a Lexus IS 25O (2008) Very happy with it except the no sound comes from the CD. The CDs load OK and the tracks and elapsed time are shown on the sat nav screen. All radio stations work fine. Loud and clear !! I have also noticed that one installation disc is missing ( The UK and Spain). However UK and Spain have been installed ! I was wondering if the missing disc could be somewhere in the sat nav system that I have not found. The missing disc is not in the multichanger so perhaps the discs are installed from somwehere else in the car ? Peter

Thanks King85. Will try the Clicky. Have you tried it yourself ? Best wishes, Peter

This is my first post so I apologise if this subject has been discussed before now. I searched the subect but only found comments on how to obtain replacements. My concern relates to the poor quality of the plastic casing of key fobs. The plastic case on on one of my keys broke in the lock !!! Fortunately there was enough plastic on the metal key to remove it from the ignition. The service desk quoted £80 for a replacement key fob even though the electronics still worked. Customer "Care" at Lexus UK were blunt and unhelpful advising me that key fobs were obtained as a complete assembly and I could not order the plastic shell. My local Toyota/Lexus garage told me that, whilst blank key fobs could be purchased on eBay or the Internet, they could not be calibrated nor could the blank key be cut by the garage. So a £20 wasted purchase was avoided. The garage manager suggested that I wrap the plastic casing (3 winds) with electrical tape. This works well but it was necessary to press the tape firmly in place after each wrap. Another Lexus garage phoned to invite me to special sales initiative with 2 years service thrown in with any purchase. Wow !!! Not very generous. I mentioned my key problem. I was advised that a new expensive key fob was the only solution. Incidentally the salesman did mention that on several occasions the keys returned on part exchanges had taped repairs so I would guess that my my problem occurs quite often. How can Lexus use such a cheap brittle plastic and then charge £80 for a replacement when a new plastic case would probably cost a few pence to manufacture ?