daylight1

I've not managed to get this option working yet but am on holiday next week so am bound to get both texts and emails to my Iphone and perhaps the opportunity to spend a bit of "quality time" with my various manuals

I've found the most reliable method to be copying my music to a USB drive and then using that in one of the two available sockets instead of connecting either my iPod Classic via cable or Iphone via Bluetooth - both of these stutter or freeze from time to time which is poor to be honest.

Robert

I've just spent a fruitless hour trying to set this set up with my Iphone 5 and got nowhere, even read the relevant pages in Lexus manual before I started to make sure I followed every step properly!

All I managed to get was a message saying "Connection not possible (ID 214)" - about as much use as a chocolate fireguard!

I suppose I'm now going to have to try and find what this obtuse and unhelpful error message actually means - or perhaps I'll just drop in to Lexus Nottingham next time I'm passing and see if they can set the damned thing up if I can be bothered.

Robert

Yes, apart from the couple of occasions, when I'm sure the poor reception was the mobile network and not the car, plus the losing of favourites the phone has worked fine. I've just been looking on the My Lexus customer portal and see there is a version E of the software listed, so I reckon I will drop into Lexus Nottingham and ask about this the next time I'm passing. Who knows, I might get lucky! :D

This said the car is, in every other respect, fantastic to drive.

Hi Neil

I bought my IS300h on the 19th of March and in light of the problem I'd encountered on my previous IS 250 SEL (losing phone Favourites and call history) I insisted my dealer (Nottingham) install version D. Initially I was told that it hadn't been released, but when I told them to ring Lexus Leicester to get it they obviously called Lexus UK again and got version D. It was installed by them before I took delivery of the car.

Until two weeks ago my phone (Iphone 5, running iOS 7.1.1) had been working fine, then I had a couple of occasions when the person I was calling said the reception was very poor and echoing - they could barely hear what I was saying. I put it down to a bad area for signal and thought no more about it.

Then, last week, all of my phone favourites records disappeared! In addition to this I've noticed that when I start the car the messages about the phone are now different. It used to just say Telephone Connected, now it displays three messages:

Message 1 is: Telephone Connected

Message 2 (about 10 seconds later) is: Contact & Call History Transfer Complete

Message 3 (about 3 seconds later) is: Audio Player Connected

I've no idea why it's start-up sequence has now changed as I haven't made any changes to settings, so I'm now going to have to take it back to see if Lexus Nottingham can work out what's going on. As other posters have said, this isn't a major problem, but I do want to be able to use the phone whilst on the move and above everything I want it to work as it should. Frankly it's poor for a brand that sets such a high standard for customer satisfaction.

I'll let you know if I get the problem fixed - maybe there's a version E of the software?

Robert

Peter - I have noticed my clock does lose slightly but not as much as you're suggesting, only about a minute a week

David - do you know if there is any way of reducing the volume of the beep? Probably sounds silly but if it was quieter it might help keep SWMBO happy!

Thanks for confirming what I feared David - looks like I'm going to have to contend with a grumpy wife when woken then! :(

But can you turn it off?

I'm also looking to find a way to turn it off - but only because my wife is unhappy that it wakes her up!! I'm not kidding, she loved my old IS 250 SE-L to bits as it was so comfortable and she enjoyed a good snooze on longer journeys - all right for some isn't it? She finds the new IS 300h every bit as comfortable, and most of the time quieter too, but she just can't sleep through the sound of the speed camera warning beeps.

It doesn't bother me - as I'm normally awake whilst driving - but I'd really like to find the option to switch it off if it's possible for the times I've got SWMBO in the car.

I've been through every menu option I can find in the nav system today and no joy there. Also no joy in the paper manual, or on the CD which has all the information on the whole Lexus range which came with the car (it's in the service manual pouch) so I'm going to have to speak to Lexus Nottingham and see if they can help.

MrW - I wasn't aware that it is illegal to have this function in the car, but clearly if you have it you'd need to make sure it was switched off before venturing into Europe.

Robert

Hi Mark and thanks for posting the pictures - she's a real stunner and I'm sure will give you as much pleasure as the rest of us are getting from our IS's.

Enjoy! :D

Quick update on this thread.

I've now got my new car and the service book notes there are different service intervals. It says:

• For private customers who typically drive lower mileage with frequent cold starts and shorter journeys, we recommend a 10,000 mile / 1 year regime.
• For private customers who typically drive higher mileage with regular long distance driving at a constant speed we recommend a 12,500 mile / 1 year regime.

I fall into the latter category as I use my car for business purposes so the service plan with intervals of 12,500 is correct for me. I have to admit I've never come across variable service intervals like this before but this is my first Hybrid, so it must be one of the additional benefits of hybrid technology.

Robert

Evening David

At the risk of opening a wound - there's been a lot of posts on this forum about this and other issues on some cars. As a newcomer to the forum I don't know if anyone from Lexus monitors the posts, but if they do you'd have thought they would have offered some form of explanation?

Peter

I haven't had any problems with phone contacts or favourites on mine, (which had version D loaded before I took delivery of it), but you might try a solution that was found for the previous IS 250 model.

If you make sure your phone is switched on before you start the car you should not loses any of the phones details; contacts, favourites or call history. However, if you start the car with the phone switched off, then turn on the phone, you might lose the contacts, favourites and call history.

I haven't tried this myself yet but just wondered if you'd had your phone turned on or off before starting the car?

Robert

Hello Peter

I've got the very car you're in the process of getting and can confirm that it does have both auto-lights and rain-sensing wipers, so no worries there.

I've only had it a week but can also confirm it's excellent in every other respect too! :D I'm sure you won't regret the decision if you buy.

Robert

Hello David

Yes everything is working as it should so hopefully that will remain the case. Thanks for the advice about having 'show notifications' enabled via the phone Bluetooth, I'll check that as it would be very useful to receive text messages on screen. I guess care would be needed on this though as it could be a distraction whilst driving. Have you found this to be the case?

Robert

Finally the wait is over - I picked up my new IS 300h from Lexus Nottingham this afternoon and am delighted with it. They were able to get hold of the very latest version of the infotainment system software and upgraded it before I picked the car up. I was pleased / relieved to see the car recognise my Iphone 5 running iOS 7.1 straight away and downloaded all of my contacts without any problems.

I'm a newcomer to the forum but have worked out how to post a picture as this seems to be appreciated when a member gets their new car. I've attached one to this post.

My initial opinion is that it is every bit as quiet, plush, smooth and relaxing to drive as my previous IS 250SE-L and I find the Remote Touch system very responsive and easy to use. This might sound sad, but I'm also delighted to report that after only some 40 miles of driving I'm already averaging 50mpg. I do around 17,000 miles a year so this is clearly going to generate me a big saving on fuel costs.

It may seem like a strange thing to say, but I'm really looking forward to the commute to work tomorrow! :)

Silver Arrow - I haven't seen the show yet but can't disagree with any of your points. I'm just about to take delivery of my third Lexus and neither of the other two (both IS 250's) ever let me down in over 150,000 miles and I averaged 31mpg over an 8-year period. I consider this to be excellent and I have to admit I often feel uncomfortably smug when I hear people telling me about how their very expensive alternative make of car is "more trouble than it's worth".

I've always considered reliability to be the single most important reason for buying a car. Having the most beautiful, or fastest motor in the world means nothing if it won't start or breaks down! :)

I have looked at the German alternatives, plus Jaguar, but when you compare the models on a like for like basis, the cost of all the extras which are standard fit in Lexus have always pushed the other makes above the cost of the Lexus. I was really excited when the IS300h was launched last summer as the improved fuel economy was the only thing I felt could have improved my IS 250. The test drive convinced me then it just came to the price - ouch!

I was very surprised and disappointed to be told that sat nav was a £2,000 extra on all but the Premier model. I couldn't justify this so waited and low and behold Lexus, (whom I suspect got a lot of stick from customers about this), then offered it as a free upgrade for a limited period on the SE and Luxury models. The deal ends on the 31st of March so be quick if you want to grab one. This convinced me and I placed my order.

Robert

Thanks DJP, Ian and Barney for the comments - I'm really counting the hours until next Wednesday and will try and post some pictures as soon as I can as it seems like these are appreciated by fellow members.

Robert

I'm due to take delivery of my new IS 300h next Wednesday so will check this when I get it. If you want the User Manual and Navigation Manual in PDF for the new IS 300h you can download them both from the My Lexus Portal.

Robert

I've just received the quote for my new IS 300h service plan which clearly states a service interval of 12,500 miles, so different again to the figures already quoted on this thread. I also checked with my dealer, Lexus Nottingham, and they also confirmed it's 12,500 with the normal Type A service then Type B, as it was on my IS 250 SE-L.

Seems odd that there should be conflicting mileages being quoted by different Lexus dealers and I suppose the only way I'll know for sure is when I get the service book and see what it says.

Robert

apple have today launched iOS 7.1 which includes their new CarPlay interface.

I haven't downloaded it yet but will be doing so shortly, before I take delivery of my new IS 300h Luxury with the Premium sat nav next week. Having read through the sat nav issues post I'm hoping that iOS 7.1 doesn't cause any issues with the operation of the cars infotainment system. My guess is that my car will have the latest version of the Lexus software, (I understand this is VC03101D), so fingers crossed.

I have an Iphone 5 so will let you know how I get on.

Hello David and thanks for the reply.

Yes I'm sure I'll adapt very quickly and when I took the cars out to test drive I found the whine you refer to (which is the brake regeneration system I believe) is really only noticeable if you brake hard. If you allow the engine to assist braking and use the brake pedal less I got to the point where my wife said she couldn't hear it at all.

Thanks for the reassurance on the nav issue too - I must admit I had no problems on the IS 300h which I had for 24 hours when my own car was in for service so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Looking forward to becoming a regular contributor and will post pictures of my new car when it arrives - can't wait! :)

Robert

Evening everyone

I've recently joined the Lexus Owners Club, although I've been driving Lexus since 2005 when I bought my first IS 250 SE. My current car is an IS 250 SE-L but last weekend I placed an order with Lexus Nottingham for a new IS 300h Luxury with the free Premium Navigation upgrade in Arctic Pearl and black leather. It should be available around the 18th of March and I can't wait.

I really like the car and had a test drive in the Luxury, F Sport and Premium before finally deciding on the Luxury with the option of electric leather heated and ventilated seats. I do a fair annual mileage (around 18,000) so the fuel saving and road fund licence reduction makes a really big saving on running costs. It will be my first hybrid, so I'm sure the drive will take a little while to adjust to, but based on the test drives it won't take long.

I must admit I hadn't really read many postings on the IS 300h forum before deciding to buy and the large number of people who seem to be having problems with the Phone, sat nav and infotainment system has made me wonder what mine is going to turn out like

I'd had a silly problem with my IS 250 SE-L with the car losing my phone contacts and speed dials from time to time. In light of this and the concerns expressed by some unlucky customers I've spoken to Lexus Nottingham who have assured me their master technician, (who apparently is the infotainment specialist), is going to check all aspects of the system as part of the Pre-Delivery Inspection process, i.e. before I take delivery. Hopefully this should avoid me having problems but we'll see.

Anyway, just thought I'd say hello and say how much I am looking forward to getting my new IS 300h.

Cheers for now - Robert

Quick update - Lexus Nottingham have still apparently not heard anything further from Lexus regards the latest version.

Argento I can tell you that Matthew Clarke left Lexus Nottingham about 15 months ago - don't know where he went but he's no longer at Nottingham.

I've taken the plunge and bought a new IS 300h Luxury - don't have a fixed date as yet but will be in the next week or so. I laboured the point about this problem to the new centre manager, James Bridge and he has assured me they will have their master technician check the whole phone / infotainment system thoroughly before I take delivery.

I have to admit I've been reading the horror stories on the IS 300h forum this morning about issues with the whole phone / infotainment / sat nav system and it's making me nervous. Some of the earliest cars seem to have suffered from some awfully flaky software. Needless to say I'll now be watching this like a hawk and logging any and every query in writing to Lexus Notingham and Lexus HQ if I do start to encounter problems.

I really hope I don't though because I really love the new car in every other respect. I'll keep posting, but of course any posts about my new car will be on the IS 300h forum page.

Cheers - Robert