Google Maps

[Michael Walsh]

Hi,

It's been three weeks since i picked up my new (to me) GS 450h SE, and i have given up on the Lexus maps guidance and use Google Maps instead, when using Google Maps (GM) on a journey i can't get the voice direction to work maps are fine but no voice, i'm not sure what the problem is but i believe there might be  a conflict between the two systems  caused by Bluetooth which i use to connect my Iphone, any suggestions?, is it worthwhile or possible to upgrade the existing Lexus map guidance system, my car was first registered in January 2010

BTW, i love driving it

Regards

Mike

[Sherra]

You can upgrade the maps but its ridiculously expensive and can only be done through main dealer. Does Google maps app allow you to choose which channel the instructions are fed i.e. notifications or music or call? May be worth an investigation through Google search engine.

[johnatg]

You don't need to get updates from a main dealer. You can get them here: https://toyotamaps.online/

Not exectly cheap but much more reasonable than main dealer prices. I updated mine from there - no problems. The latest update I got was about May 2019 - not sure if there's a newer one.

[Michael Walsh]

Thanks for that i'll have a look

 

[Michael Walsh]

My car is a GS 450h SE it was first registered January 2010, i have had it for four weeks this coming Monday, and haven't had the log book back from the DVLA, do you happen to know if my car navigation system can be upgraded?

Regards

Mike

[Bluesman]

4 hours ago, Michael Walsh said:

My car is a GS 450h SE it was first registered January 2010, i have had it for four weeks this coming Monday, and haven't had the log book back from the DVLA, do you happen to know if my car navigation system can be upgraded?

Regards

Mike

The DVLA are months behind with their work caused by staff not wanting to come back in to work and strikes in other departments.  It took 6 months recently to have my plus 73 years driving licence, also a further amount of time to sort the road tax out on my wifes car because we had changed bank accounts all of which they were told about months before that this was going to happen. I have also heard from other people that their experience is exactly the same.  

 

[essldn]

On 9/22/2021 at 4:09 PM, Michael Walsh said:

Hi,

It's been three weeks since i picked up my new (to me) GS 450h SE, and i have given up on the Lexus maps guidance and use Google Maps instead, when using Google Maps (GM) on a journey i can't get the voice direction to work maps are fine but no voice, i'm not sure what the problem is but i believe there might be  a conflict between the two systems  caused by Bluetooth which i use to connect my iphone, any suggestions?, is it worthwhile or possible to upgrade the existing Lexus map guidance system, my car was first registered in January 2010

BTW, i love driving it

Regards

Mike

I love my gs but I would definitely stick with Google Maps. 

 

[Thackeray]

On 9/22/2021 at 4:09 PM, Michael Walsh said:

i believe there might be  a conflict between the two systems  caused by Bluetooth which i use to connect my iphone

I had the same problem. The phone would connect to the car but the phone's navigation voice did not come over the car's loudspeakers and also no longer came through the phone's loudspeaker. I turned off the phone's Bluetooth before starting the car and then I could hear the directions from the phone. Turning off Bluetooth after starting the car didn't work.

I've never managed to get the phone directions to play over the loudspeakers. And I didn't want to always have my phone disconnected from the car on long journeys. So I managed to find a setting in Waze to play the sound through the phone rather than whatever the default setting was. That allowed me to turn the Bluetooth back on so I could receive phone calls. And the navigation voice came over the phone's loudspeaker, which being just next to the steering wheel was fine for me to hear even while the car's audio was playing.

I don't know if there's a similar setting in Google maps. But as a first step you could try turning off Bluetooth and see if you get voice directions from the phone. If Google maps doesn't have the necessary setting you could try Waze instead.

 

[Pielight]

On 9/24/2021 at 9:26 AM, johnatg said:

You don't need to get updates from a main dealer. You can get them here: https://toyotamaps.online/

Not exectly cheap but much more reasonable than main dealer prices. I updated mine from there - no problems. The latest update I got was about May 2019 - not sure if there's a newer one.

I believe my 2017 GSF has the same satnav system as yours - Im looking to update it. Which Lexus satnav system option did you chose to buy the update and what format does it come in (i.e. SD card, CD etc?. There doesnt seem to be an obvious place for to insert an SD card. Thanks, Paul

[johnatg]

Here's a post of mine from November 25th, 2019:

 

<Quote>

When I got my 2014 GS300h a couple of months ago the map update screen showed 'last map update was cancelled'. That irritated me no end so I resolved to do something about it and came across this thread. I visited the link:

https://toyotamaps.online/map-updates/toyota-lexus-navigation-gen7-update

I paid my $79 (£64.10) via PayPal and received a link to onedrive files. There are 8 of them and the total download size is about 14Gb. You then need to extract (one of the files is an extraction program) the files to a 64Gb Flash drive - I had a 64Gb SD card and a USB card reader but that didn't work. I contacted the vendor and he confirmed what I had already suspected - the car is fussy about the flash drives it accepts. So acquired a 64Gb San Disk Cruzer (other brands are available!) and extracted the files again. The total extracted size is just over 32Gb. You plug the flash drive in to the USB port in the cubby between the seats.

Now you go to the map update screen and plug the flash drive in - this time it showed it was ready to update. You take a picture of the screen and email it to the vendor - he then sends you an activation/licence code. When you start the update the first thing is it asks you is to key in the code then it does a software update. This takes about 10 minutes, then you have to stop the car and restart. Now it's a bit worrying - the screen goes black for quite a few seconds but then it comes back and tells you the map update is ready to start and will take approx 98 minutes. (So you'd better be driving somewhere, even aimlessly, if you don't want the car to be idling on your drive for a couple of hours!)

At last it tells you the update completed successfully. The map is updated to April 2019 and it was issued in October 2019, so now is as up-to-date as possible. Very happy!

I know the navigation is nowhere near as good as you get for free on your phone but now my car is working properly for a reasonable cost.

I suspect this isn't quite kosher but hey! it works, it's a reasonable cost and Lexus should offer this service (they used to, but have discontinued it) rather than tell you to go and be ripped off by a dealer!

<end quote>

PS I received a letter this am (27/9/21) from Lexus Stoke offering map updates for £159.99 until 30/9/21.

[DBIZO]

I suspect I'm in the minority, but I absolutely prefer Lexus Navigation in my IS300h over pretty much anything else I've tried. More pleasant, easier to follow directions, and no need to mount anything anywhere. Also, better routes for most, less of a tendency to lead you into mad routes, such as residential back streets like Waze or Google maps does, and a more pliable when you decide not to take its advice - although there is something in Chichester it finds so attractive it ALWAYS wants to drive through the centre, not the bypass. Probably some metadata error the map provider never detected or managed to fix.

It's a shame the ability to connect online to get updates and richer data on traffic/POIs was (still is?) considered to be a premium ££££ feature, instead of making it standard. It's also inexplicably poor a business decision, standard navigation basically removes Lexus' ability to sell you online services for a monthly sub (remote telemetry monitoring, book services from a car, software updates etc.). 

[KayCee]

I too like the Lexus Sat Nav granted its not as intuitive as other systems but mine as never let me down and mine updates with a SD card if it is post 2015 its under a flap on the ML motif.

I am also with Lexus connect and can input route into phone and it transfers to car over wi fi or Bluetooth and i love it it costs nothing if you on data plan with your phone i am on Iphone

if you get all the settings correct i think it is a good system

my daughter who as rx450 2019 thinks its a crap system but she uses it in the default mode says she hates it when it takes her off motorway then back on.

i think the problem sometimes people follow them blindly instead of sometimes ignoring what you suspect is wrong.

just my two pence

[DBIZO]

6 hours ago, KayCee said:

I too like the Lexus Sat Nav granted its not as intuitive as other systems but mine as never let me down and mine updates with a SD card if it is post 2015 its under a flap on the ML motif.

I am also with Lexus connect and can input route into phone and it transfers to car over wi fi or bluetooth and i love it it costs nothing if you on data plan with your phone i am on iphone

if you get all the settings correct i think it is a good system

my daughter who as rx450 2019 thinks its a crap system but she uses it in the default mode says she hates it when it takes her off motorway then back on.

i think the problem sometimes people follow them blindly instead of sometimes ignoring what you suspect is wrong.

just my two pence

Glad to hear I'm not alone! I'd have wanted Premium Navigation, but it's so rare it did not make sense to limit my option any further (I was already very particular otherwise).