Limitations of RX450h satnav!

[Rannsachair]

I live in a relatively remote area in Scotland, so regularly use single track B roads. I was surprised that the Lexus Satnav did not even have some of the roads I use regularly on!

I perhaps wrongly assumed that a 2014 car with built in satnav would be better. As well I have a Garmin with all Europe maps that covers all I need

[Spottedlaurel]

Is it just a scale issue? I don't use the sat-nav much (25+ years of finding my way to obscure rural places with maps or an atlas means I can live without it) but I sometimes find smaller roads and lanes only appear when I zoom in a bit.

I think the general consensus is the sat-nav system isn't one of Lexus's strong points.

[Rannsachair]

Not scale, put in the post code and no road! I drove today to PA31 8PT and there is no road on the sat nav!

I have a Garmin Driveluxe and all roads are there..... 

[olliesgrandad]

2 hours ago, Rannsachair said:

Not scale, put in the post code and no road! I drove today to PA31 8PT and there is no road on the sat nav!

I have a Garmin Driveluxe and all roads are there..... 

Once the destination is put in try zooming in. Think that the roads will appear as you enlarge the map. 

I must admit I have a tom-tom on. to navigate and for speed cameras. 

[Rannsachair]

7 minutes ago, olliesgrandad said:

Once the destination is put in try zooming in. Think that the roads will appear as you enlarge the map. 

I must admit I have a tom-tom on. to navigate and for speed cameras. 

No, it is trying to take me to the nearest road on the mapping software that is about a mile from my destination across a loch, so no good as it's about 10 miles out by road!

 

[Barry14UK]

The Lexus Satnav is poor in a number of respects and Toyota/Lexus  know this from the criticism of owners.  But they just tweek  it  and will not abandon it for a better system.  BMW are the same in respect of persisting  with 'run flat tyres', whereas the vast majority of owners dislike them as forums show.

One one journey the Lexus took me miles out of my way and I resorted to getting my wife to hold my TomTom (to come to my aid) as I have not yet got round to making a bracket for it. Also, I find that at times there is a plethora of detail leaving only a small section of map showing on the Lexus Satnav which can be distracting when briefly glancing towards the screen. However, I do think on the older models the screen is better placed and shielded than on the fashionable afterthought like set up on the 4th generation and on a lot of other cars.

As regards locating the TomTom and this would apply to a Garmin too, I have concluded like another member,  that the best place on my 3rd Generation RX 450h would be to the extreme right of the dash.   

[DanD]

Have you checked the Road Preferences settings? - Maybe something in there needs to be enabled?

[olliesgrandad]

14 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

 

As regards locating the TomTom and this would apply to a Garmin too, I have concluded like another member,  that the best place on my 3rd Generation RX 450h would be to the extreme right of the dash.   

My tomtom i at the extreme right of the dash, and that after much experimenting is about as good as it gets. 

[Mr Vlad]

Bare in mind what the law states with regard putting things on the inside of a windscreen. 

Bottom right hand corner is approved. 

As for your RX satnav. Use your Garmin as it's light years ahead in tech than the inbuilt one.

Another location for a 3rd party satnav is to use the rubber suction pad on the cars navigation screen. 

[Herbie]

3 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Another location for a 3rd party satnav is to use the rubber suction pad on the cars navigation screen.

Oooh, not good - too much chance of damage. Stick to the windscreen, bottom right-hand corner is fine.

[flookyk]

I must be one of the few that actually likes the SatNav in the RX450h.

I updated mine when I got the car from the original 2011 to 2017.

It is much quicker to find routes and amend them if taking a different turning to the one it says than the old TomTom I used to use.

In my old car I used the Tom Tom in around the position this built in one is anyway and prefer that position especially with the 8 inch screen compared to the 5 inch of TomTom.

The only thing it misses for me is there is no speed indicator …. but for me that's what my eyes are for … looking out for speed signs and speedo on car.

[DanD]

7 hours ago, flookyk said:

I must be one of the few that actually likes the SatNav in the RX450h.

I updated mine when I got the car from the original 2011 to 2017.

It is much quicker to find routes and amend them if taking a different turning to the one it says than the old TomTom I used to use.

In my old car I used the Tom Tom in around the position this built in one is anyway and prefer that position especially with the 8 inch screen compared to the 5 inch of TomTom.

The only thing it misses for me is there is no speed indicator …. but for me that's what my eyes are for … looking out for speed signs and speedo on car.

I agree... I have used the Lexus satnavs in the 400h, 450h and now the nx300h and they have always taken me to my destinations (in the UK, but also in various countries across the Europe) without fuss or problem. They work well as a basic satnav... once you have got used to the menu layout and options.

However, I also agree that if you are looking for additional features, current and accurate POIs etc., they are not as good as a TomTom or a Garmin.

[Spottedlaurel]

While we're talking about gen 3 RX sat-nav systems......

Is there a setting that I'm not finding which puts the map screen onto a night-time display with more muted colours? At preset, at night the mainly white display dims along with everything else permanently illuminated but I still find it to be rather bright. I've gone through the menu several times but can't see anything.

On my 2015 Avensis (and probably also my older one) I could choose from several display options.

I get the speed limit display in the corner of the screen, but it's not there for every road. In the Avensis it would go red if the limit was exceeded, but again the RX doesn't do that. I imagine it used GPS to determine vehicle speed so would often be a more accurate indicator then the speedo (useful when trying to maximise French autoroute cruising speed, for example).

[genkakuzai]

Upgrading to the latest software is highly recommended. Original firmware is available at good prices on eBay. I did that first thing after buying the car and there was plenty of improvements, both in regards of actual map data as well as UI related upgrades. I was pleasantly surprised. I use it on a very regular basis in my line of work, and it hasn't let me down yet. I do have a TOTL standalone navigator from TomTom too, from before I got this car, and if need be I'll use both, but as of now that has not been needed.