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Comments
I don't remember saying that my RX300 has been denuded of Lexus badging, did I?
It's got a lot of features, here's a few:
Driving somewhere where you don't know all the gas station locations? Simply use the POI (point of interest) function and you can see where all the gas stations are around you. POI also works for restaurants (ever have hungry kids in the car??), ATMS, shopping, etc.
I have a long drive to and from my office, it's great being able to push a button and get alternate directions if there is a backup on any road. It lowers your frustration level greatly and adds to the "Lexus Experience".
Know that great Lexus Roadside assistance? Well, if you ever need it you'll know exactly where you are when you call them. Means they'll get to you sooner.
My 3-year old gets invited to a lot of birthday parties at different commercial establishments. No need to print out maps each time, we simply hop in the RX and put in the name or address and we are off.
When we are "traveling to nowhere" it really encourages experimentation, since you'll always find your way home! It's been fun!
The system is very accurate, so if I'm on the road and somebody calls me on the cell, I simply look at the map and have an instant ETA of when I'll arrive. It's usually dead on.
So in the end, could you live without the Nav? Sure, but I love the fact that I no longer spend time "planning" trips or printing out maps from Mapquest. And I truly believe that a few years from now these type of systems will be become more and more standard on many vehicles, so why not get a system that integrates with your vehicle rather than spending $3000 to install an aftermarket model.
Hope this helps,
TC
If ones reads the Acura board and others, you'll find that the Lexus coverage is, in general, superior to what's available today direct from other car companies.
Yep, it ain't perfect -- but remember, it's an upgradable system once a year when the new, annual DVD is available. The company that actually does the physical mapping work for Alpine (Alpine then formats and sells this map data down to the auto manufacturer level) claims that within 2 years all points and streets in the US will be completed.
On a $35-41K vehicle, $25-30 a month is not a major investment. The aftermarket systems, while possibly more comprehensive in area coverage, do not seem to integrate well in the RX interior.
Unlike the Acura MDX, where the Nav model gets a lower residual rate (!) from American Honda Finance, Lexus/Toyota Finance doesn't distinguish on a Nav vs. non-Nav vehicle. So if you lease on a typical 3-year deal, the Nav retains more than 60% of it's value.
In sum, other than one or two posters to this board, I don't know of very many Nav owners who regret their decision.
On the other hand, after 3 months of use in our 2001 RX300, we would be hard pressed to buy another vehicle without Nav.
Charles
What I have said is that anyone using it should first check the "routing" in some detail after "starting" the nav, especially if heading into an out-lying suburban area.
I have had instances wherein the system acted quite normally until we approached the destination and the cdrom did not have enough road map detail at the final destination. I have also had instances where an intermediate area was off the map.
With regards to updates of the system map...
There is only ONE cdrom platter, and Lexus has chosen to put the detail for the entire US on this one platter. Obviously with storage limited in this manner some system resolution compromises had to be made. Until the decision is made to provide only regional mapping I suggest you follow rule number one, don't trust the system without checking the resolution throughout the selected route!
My wife bought me a Magellan handheld GPS (map 410) for Christmas 99. I used it to drive from Havre MT to Lewistown MT, successfully, feb of 2000. At the time I remember being very surprised that a handheld had this kind of resolution. Our UK distributor used it on a trip here in the US and bought one for the UK immediately on his return. He recently gave it a glowing report.
I just checked the nav on my 2001 RX and it has no idea that there are any roads between these two cities.
Comments?
http://www.huskyliners.com/
Mark
Next I tried the RX. Working backwards from City/State first, it did indeed find 183rd avenue SE, but with address range 12800 thru 18299 (larger than Mapquest). I next told the RX to go for it and plan a route from NY to 183rd. It did a route, but when I zoomed in on the endpoint, the highlighted route ended at Fairview Road, BUT I still had detailed streets on the map connecting to 183rd avenue SE. This meant I would have detailed turn directions up to Fairview, but would still be able to track myself on the map till 183rd.
I'm not sure what's up with the house number you gave, but tried Mapquest, mapblast, maps.com, etc. and could not find it.
But again, I have 183rd ave SE, Monroe, WA with actual streets on my RX map.
The "base" premium sound system that comes with the RX is already a 244-watt seven speaker (including sub-woofer) system. While not as good as a custom aftermarket job (not many factory systems are), it's pretty damn good. The Nak system is 230-watt system and all it brings to the table is the Nak name, which means the cassette player will sound better. I believe the base stereo is OEM'ed by Pioneer, and the FM sensitivty and separation is great.
Lexus USA marketing realized their blunder and simply held off from shipping many of the Nak equipped vehicles to the USA. Now, if it was the Mark Levison stereo now offered in the LS430 (and GS series), that would be a different story....
"I used a regular cordless cell phone that I plugged in. It worked fine for me. I would always have the benefit of unplugging the phone and taking it with me wherever I went. "
This statement seems to imply that one can't take the Lexus Phone out of the vehicle. The Lexus Phone currently being offered with the RX300 can be taken out of the vehicle like any other modern cell phone. Plus you have the benefits of a very clean install, auto-muting of the stereo, plus hands-free voice commands I believe.
It is a pricey option and not for everyone.
That system will be the Mark Levison System(option) I previously mentioned, I'm 90% sure. At first you could only get the ML System in the LS430, Lexus has been slowly trickling it down to the lesser priced vehicles.
RP
Once Mosfet HV power supplies/amplifiers became the norm (12V NEVER was enough!) the only other item that needed upgrading to produce real high fidelity was the speakers. My 92 LS was the very first vehicle I have ever purchased (since 60)which didn't need to have all of the speakers upgraded immediately.
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket and Accessories message boards
DVD or CD, if there was enough storage capacity then a COMPLETE map would have been included, this is Lexus we're talking about here!
The strange and weird part is that on mapquest you must use the city of snohomish as destination in order to find 27xx 183rd ave se, don't have any idea why.
When the RX GPS opped OUT I was on Spada just approaching 171st ave. I have to go back and check the RX now and try to replicate what happened. Basically it didn't know which way to have me turn on 171st. I wonder if two intersections between 171st and Spada (loops around)could have confused the poor beast.
But then I am quite sure that when I got home that evening and checked the system had no roads showing in the immediate area.
Oh, fairview? You must have been in a completely different area of Monroe. I just checked mapquest myself and it put me south of monroe. I guess every system has its BUGs!
http://www.denso-int.com/news/pr.asp?Action=65
Try this: try repositioning the roof cargo cross-bars.
Are we really sure the RX300 Nav is by Denso?
It does mention the LS400 so I wonder. I know the LS430 has more bells and whistles so I wonder if only it has the upscale Denso system?
I've done experiments with MDX Nav owners where their's couldn't find an address and the RX could. I truly believe that the RX is one of the most complete databases out there, but I have no misconceptions that it is perfect.
The whistle appears to come from the spoiler area, I guess it could be coming from the rack cross arms. I'll try moving them and see if it solves the problem. I hope it will, the whistle is so loud it is distracting.
Thanks for the suggestion.
You are a very knowledgeable Lexus consumer and you may have answered this question before but,
Is it at all possible to get an RX or any Lexus w/out leather? And if you can, can you still get options such as in-dash CD & NAV?
Thanks
When I was researching the RX, I was just like you. I had the brochure, been to the Lexus web site, and I decided on the features I wanted. I've always been a happy cloth seat driver and thought I could do without the leather. Also could do without a 6-cd changer and the moonroof. To me, the safety features were the selling point.
The first time I asked a dealer for a RX without leather, they nearly laughed (not really). Then it dawned on me: Look at page 45 in the RX brochure. Every "package" configuration has leather seats as a minimum. The bottom line is that it's easier for Lexus marketing to just ship "package" models here. And the "value package" is the most popular thing going and considered a "baseline" RX nowadays, which means you are also getting a moonroof, 6-cd, etc.
Could you order a "stripped" RX with cloth seats? I'm sure it's possible, but probably just as elusive as the mythological "Nak package" RX. Have you asked your dealer to do a special order? What did they say?
TC
I don't care about the roof or the leather but I do want the NAV and CD.
I'll let you know what they tell me after they stop laughing....(smile)
Thanks for the quick response.
CD
it would not build one without leather.
I guess this is a sign but they shouldn't call cloth standard when it is hardly available.