Rydo

12 hours ago, KolePaha said:

Just finished another call with my dealer regarding CarPlay. They recommended to call/send e-mail/letter directly to the importer (Toyota (GB) PLC in UK). The dealers themselves have very little power to put pressure on Toyota/Lexus Europe (Toyota Motor Europe) to get the ball rolling regarding the development.

I have sent an e-mail to Toyota Baltic (importer in my region) regarding that.

If we put enough pressure on the importers, then they might make it more of a priority.

I encourage everyone that wish to have it on their LC/LS to send a polite reminder that the retrofit is highly anticipated - the number of requests matters!

People outside of the UK should contact your local importer (your local dealer can provide the required contacts).

Sign the petition - change.org 'Develop CarPlay Retrofits to Lexus LS and LC'

@Kevin Williams I am in the market for a used LC, hence my passion for this subject. The contemptuous tone taken towards me on that thread didn't warrant a reply from me.

The only real hope now is that the revised infotainment unit that UK cars are getting can be purchased through parts department - at astronomical cost - and swapped into older vehicles.

That or a nice. third party solution like the BeatSonic CarPlay unit, which isn't 100% confirmed to work on UK cars but works with the equivalent year group navigation system in the US.

On 1/4/2021 at 2:31 PM, Stuart-S said:

So they’ve finally confirmed on the UK blog that this is not coming to existing LCs and LSs outside of the US.

Pathetic really and the handling of this plus their obsession with SUVs has put me right off Lexus now to be honest. 

Just seeing that now. Pathetic from Lexus, but what can you do? They looked at how many customers it affected and thought meh who cares.

It's irrelevant because it doesn't change Lexus's stance on something so simple as a software update - which they are applying to the rest of their range.

Just because you are a fan of something doesn't mean you put the blinkers on to any faults...

On 12/13/2020 at 8:27 PM, AJ500 said:

Thankfully not everybody is worried about lack of Car Play and just want a fantastic car .

A J.

The LC is a great car - but it could be perfect if it had CarPlay. Live Google Maps navigation with satellite view beats some ancient looking out of date the moment it's 'updated' built in Lexus system.

On 12/14/2020 at 5:51 PM, Kevin Williams said:

When I asked why, I was told that is was only available in America...! 

This is the kind of trash that means Lexus will never be a respected brand in the UK. 

You can't just not bother to update your infotainment with features that other markets get simply because you haven't really sold many of the vehicle in question and can't be bothered.

Lexus have fed you a lie, because the other vehicles with the next-gen infotainment system - which remember was introduced with the LC - all get the update. Just the LS and LC don't - conveniently the two vehicles that probably number 1000 in total sales if they are lucky.

I will be stunned if you get CarPlay installed - see the other thread on this - Lexus have backtracked on CarPlay for the LC and LS on their official UK blog.

Looks like spending £100k on a car doesn't guarantee you features of an Aygo...

Some may have seen my post already on the LC500 CarPlay thread, but it seems that Lexus has now backtracked their earlier Lexus UK Blog posts.

They have reverted back to their generic 'we have no information at this time' statement despite earlier in the year saying that they could confirm that the update would be out for LS and LC by the end of the year.

How Lexus can justify not giving their £100k cars a feature that an Aygo has is unreal. It might go a long way to explain the woeful LC sales and the fact there is ONE LS500 for sale on AutoTrader.

This is simply not good enough. Diabolical customer service from Lexus to just ignore their two most expensive cars because there's hardly any out there.

No wonder LC sales have been woeful and there's currently ONE LS for sale on Auto Trader.

EDIT: I see your posts on the blog Stuart. They still have the following reply to a comment further down.

"

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for your comment.
Whilst we cannot be more specific at this time, we can confirm that the apple CarPlay retrofit for the LC 500 will be available at a later date.
You can sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates, here: https://www.lexus.co.uk/forms/newsletter

Thanks."

I have replied to this comment but my reply has yet to be published on the blog.

On 9/24/2020 at 12:42 AM, mrfunex said:

No update for the GS... ah well. 

The GS has the archaic system sadly - the LC was the first car to introduce the new style system with updated interface. As above, anything introduced pre-LC won't get it.

On 7/8/2020 at 11:08 PM, runsgrateasanut said:

I could certainly live with that LC even with the Spindle Grill which is possibly (??) growing on me.  The curvacious styling is just so S*xy.

Can't believe that you have to lift the Boot yourself after pressing the button. And also that you can't just press it again for it to self close!  Dear me, behind the times or what!

 

 

 

I originally had this complaint too, but, the added gubbins for an electric boot aren't really worth the hassle. What I find more unforgivable is the complete lack of thigh support adjustment or any form of seat massaging. When you are going for all out GT long distance luxury, how can you omit such basics? The competition and the LS have it.

That is epic news, I'm absolutely buzzing right now that Lexus didn't simply forget their ultra luxury offerings - no matter how small the sales are it simply would be unforgivable to not bother with them.

Good news for ES, UX and NX owners.

But as for the £100k LC and LS buyers - there is a reply to a Lexus UK Blogpost saying that LC retrofit is in the works...nothing about LS. And again, that's just a reply to a comment on the blog post - nothing overly official.

Come on Lexus...

On 9/2/2020 at 1:27 PM, Stuart-S said:

Hi guys,

Just wanted to offer some hope to you all - my dealer (Wolverhampton) confirmed to me that the CarPlay retrofit for LC500/h was delayed by Covid-19 but is likely to land November/December time.

This seems to have been confirmed by Lexus UK in a comment reply dated 27th July 2020 on their CarPlay blog post, so maybe there is hope after all?

Thanks for the link, I see that only a few weeks after a generic 'sign up for updates' reply to someone asking about LC, they have confirmed it is in the works and coming later in the year.

I see that the TSB for UX, NX and ES has been published with the associated update files.

I wonder if they will ever get around to updating their other £100k vehicle, the LS.

The CT needs replaced, Lexus are embarrassing themselves trying to put that thing head to head with a new A-Class for instance.

I just hope they don't forget those who have sunk 100 grand into their cars - and who at the moment they are lying to by saying they can't get CarPlay.

1 hour ago, KolePaha said:

Has anyone done an upgrade with the aftermarket add-on that keeps the option of the original system (like: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32906314166.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.17.413179daTb7MmX or similar from AliExpress)? I am trying to find a solution for my LS500 that also lacks the CarPlay functionality and I am looking for recommendations here.

I am very skeptical that there will be a retrofit coming in the near future (or if at all) for our cars in Europe.

 

These systems are usually very buggy and look terrible graphically. I have been around the Android powered retrofit boxes on the Mercedes side and they are buggy as all hell too, overheating and switching off etc

It's a piecemeal repair for something that LS and LC owners in the UK, however few, should be absolutely inundating Lexus UK with complaints for. Like I say, I absolutely refuse to believe that the identical next-gen nav systems in the listed retrofit vehicles will get CarPlay but for some reason, LC and LS will not. It's just a classic case of not giving a s*** because it only affects a handful of people anyway.

On 7/16/2020 at 5:11 PM, malcolmw said:

You are sort of right but for different reasons to what you might imagine. If other LC500 owners are like me then a "racing high performance" version of the LC is not what you are looking for and holds little interest. If I wanted this type of car I would have bought a McLaren.

The LC500 V8 is tons fast enough and I can hardly use the performance now let alone in an F version. You can also drive quietly and smoothly in traffic which is the case for 90% of the time. This is why an LC-F would be a bit pointless and has been shelved because it would be unacceptable to the target market (i.e. older "cruisers" who want a nice car and have the money).

BTW, in the video, the rear wing is horrible. The wheels are quite keen though... 

This was my sentiment entirely in my comment over on the LC sub-forum post. It turns a classy car into a trashy one.

To be honest with you, although there is a contingent out there that want this car as a complete spec sheet king, it doesn't suit the LC. Personally, I feel the LC looks perfect they way it is, and it just doesn't suit tacked on wings and splitters etc.

Anyone have any information if Lexus has rethought their ludicrous decision to not offer retrofit to the £100,000 LC and LS? 

8 hours ago, Zotto said:

A "old" link: https://ausdroid.net/2019/11/09/leuxs-will-now-update-select-older-models-to-googles-android-auto-and-apples-carplay/

Thanks @Zotto, however:

1. That website is Australian based - totally different market.

2. There are already known upgrade programmes outside of the UK, the issue has always been that Lexus UK are absolutely incapable of giving an answer on the issue of whetherr a 100k car will have the same feature as a 12k Aygo.

The fact that Lexus updates the same year of navigation systems outside of the UK to CarPlay shows that the architecture within is capable of it (despite different hardware manufacturers). Is it just a case that Lexus UK can't be bothered because they've sold so few LSs and LCs that 'who cares'? Don't underestimate that probability as Honda UK did the same with the Legend, suggesting completely incorrect fluid for the rear differential because they sold hardly any of them so didn't really care.

It really is sad, because as someone who is actively looking for a used model, I know that CarPlay will make or break my experience with the car overall. If you are that way inclined, your mind is not going to allow you to simply think 'who cares, it plays music and does navigation anyway' - once you've used CarPlay and experienced the fact it is up to date far more often than the OEM infotainment, you can't go back to instantly outdated maps etc

I've still not seen any clips of this, do you mind putting something on YouTube?

Thanks

Hi everyone, this is my first post on the forum after being a longtime Lexus Enthusiast forum member - a lot of yank content on there so it's nice to see some UK based stuff.

It is absolutely bemusing and downright embarrassing that the LC and LS do not have CarPlay and Android Auto. I understand there was a licensing issue in the beginning that meant it could not be put in initially, but you not have a situation where Toyota Motor Company's absolute pinnacles of engineering have a feature less than an Aygo...it's frankly ridiculous.

I get that people will say the usual blinkered remarks like 'you buy this car for the V8 soundtrack', but that is just being an apologist for Lexus's severe lack of tech competency vs the rivals.

Lexus debuted their new infotainment system with the LC, and now they are saying the same system is not capable of CarPlay yet the identical UX system is? That is a complete nonsense.

Has anyone had any further update on the update for the LC? I noticed that some earlier posts on their thread suggested that dealers did in fact indicate they would be updating the LC - I would love to see how a UX CarPlay update file would behave on the LC.