Lexus sat nav and apple carplay/android-auto upgrade - 68 plate - dealer dragging their feet

semiloose · January 27, 2023

Hi guys,

I have a couple of questions with regards to a used car i bought from an official lexus dealer.

recently purchased a 68 plate premier model which didn't have latest sat nav or apple carplay/android auto but the dealers told me that it can be upgraded, i asked them to upgrade but they said some licence key is on back order and couldn't be done before i pick up the vehicle. This task was then switched to a dealer near to where i live and they booked an appointment to do it, Today i got a call saying they had to cancel the booking as the item is still in back order and won't know until 10th of Feb whether they can go ahead. even then the guy said they can't tell if it can be upgraded until they try and do it.

by the 10th of Feb I will have had the vehicle for more than 1 month.

1. is the dealer giving me the run around? I don't believe he doesn't know whether it can be upgrade or not, i didn't like the tone of his voice either, he sounded like he was doing me a favour and i should be thankful for it

2. as i've recently bought the car, should i take it for a check with lets say AA/RAC used car check? it is a dealer approved car

3. am i overreacting and let this "dragging on" is normal?

thank you

NemesisUK · January 27, 2023

3. You are overreacting .... Why wouldn't the dealer upgrade the system if they could? You would be paying for this upgrade, money in their tills.

Does the car have a full service history (one can check using the My Lexus app or set up an account on the Lexus website). Did the car get a hybrid health check before sale? The AA/RAC wouldn't be able to tell you much regarding the hybrid side of things. Personally I wouldn't bother. You get 12 months warranty on the car anyway.

semiloose · January 27, 2023

I'm not paying for the upgrade, it was part of the purchase that it would be upgraded.

yes the car has full service history and 12 months warranty since its an official lexus dealer.

is there anyway I can check if the car can be upgraded to have android auto? I don't want them to turn around and say it can't be upgraded later on

from official website:

Lexus NX models produced from September 2018 to September 2019

mines a 68 plate

from mylexus vehicle delivery date: 10/12/2018

NemesisUK · January 27, 2023

14 minutes ago, semiloose said:

mines a 68 plate

That's when it was first registered, not when it was produced (model year) Is there a VIN look-up to test for the upgrade possibility? Where on the website does it show that statement re upgrade-ability?

1 hour ago, semiloose said:

even then the guy said they can't tell if it can be upgraded until they try and do it

This would worry me. I hope this upgrade wasn't the deal maker?

semiloose · January 27, 2023

seems you can check here but its not accepting my VIN number

https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/about-my-lexus/multimedia

scroll down to the middle

Andy B · January 29, 2023

On 1/27/2023 at 4:01 PM, semiloose said:

I'm not paying for the upgrade, it was part of the purchase that it would be upgraded.

yes the car has full service history and 12 months warranty since its an official lexus dealer.

is there anyway I can check if the car can be upgraded to have android auto? I don't want them to turn around and say it can't be upgraded later on

from official website:

Lexus NX models produced from September 2018 to September 2019

mines a 68 plate

from mylexus vehicle delivery date: 10/12/2018

I believe that it should be possible to upgrade your car to have Android Auto \ apple CarPlay. My previous NX was a 2018 on a 18 plate (Luxury with Premium Navigation - registered in July 2018) and it got the upgrade.

I must admit that I did the upgrade myself, using instructions that other forum members posted on here (although please note that I don't recommend you go down this path as you could possibly "brick" your car's head-unit which can cost £thousands to replace - as happened for one or two people on here) but I followed the same process that a dealer would follow. If your NX has the larger 10.3 inch screen then I can see no reason why it can't be upgraded.

I'm not sure how a licence key can be on "back order". It's not like a physical part that needs to be manufactured and shipped. Isn't it just a sequence of numbers that can be generated almost instantaneously? Sounds to me like your dealer can't be bothered to do this (free - so no financial incentive for them) upgrade and are fobbing you off. The upgrade can be quite time consuming and laborious, especially if your car's system is a few software releases behind, so maybe they don't want to do it.

semiloose · February 1, 2023

the guy actually told me its a physical part which i find surprising, two dealers have told me its on back order so not too sure what's going on.

StGeorge · February 3, 2023

I had a similar experience with my local dealer this time last year over the AP/AA update.

There were no license keys available and had to wait about a month IIRC - I asked about it being a physical 'part', which is a tad misleading as a term, as I understand it, they get a physical something (assume, a card/bit of paper 🤷‍♂️) with the license key on it that is used to enable/register the update - or something of that ilk.

It's worth the wait though, transforms the screen from a POS to something resembling usable 21st century tech. Only downside on the 18 plate that we have is that it's reliant on the scratch pad thing rather than touchscreen, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

hockeyedwards · February 7, 2023

Our 67 plate NX got the upgrade, we paid for it (£80) outside purchasing the vehicle as we didn't buy it locally. We were booked in that same week and had no problems and made the very antiquated system useable again, however this was before the world had its successive meltdowns so that may explain your delays.

The process is quite long so it had to be left for majority of the day and they had suggested doing it during a service, but that wasn't due for 9 months and the wife isn't that patient haha - maybe they cba with the labour time for £0 essentially.

Agreed that the 'physical' is misleading, you already have that bit in the car (hence being able to upgrade) and not like we have wonderful advancements in technology to allow rapid communication.

I would be one of those people who says 'I would like xyz done to the car as well (for a decent amount of money) and see if said back order magically resolves itself... 🤷‍♂️🤣

Al D-Much · February 8, 2023

On 2/3/2023 at 9:26 AM, StGeorge said:

I had a similar experience with my local dealer this time last year over the AP/AA update.

There were no license keys available and had to wait about a month IIRC - I asked about it being a physical 'part', which is a tad misleading as a term, as I understand it, they get a physical something (assume, a card/bit of paper 🤷‍♂️) with the license key on it that is used to enable/register the update - or something of that ilk.

It's worth the wait though, transforms the screen from a POS to something resembling usable 21st century tech. Only downside on the 18 plate that we have is that it's reliant on the scratch pad thing rather than touchscreen, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

Funny you should mention the trackpad.
I prefer it to a touch screen. No more stretching to reach the screen (as in my old EVO-X) and no more fingerprints which need to be cleaned off after every journey!

semiloose · April 26, 2023

not sure if I should be replying on an old thread but I have good news, my car has finally been upgraded with android auto/apple car play.

had it done Monday (at official Lexus dealer) after couple of calls in march to Lexus HQ (possibly the missing part was available).

is it good? display wise yes but bit mixed as I don't get the HUD directions while using google/waze via android auto - I haven't cycled through the HUD display options yet though

the Lexus nav has also been upgraded as it was on some old version so that's good as well.

Al D-Much · April 28, 2023

On 4/26/2023 at 4:04 PM, semiloose said:

I don't get the HUD directions while using google/waze via android auto - I haven't cycled through the HUD display options yet though

the Lexus nav has also been upgraded as it was on some old version so that's good as well.

HUD? Or the direction display between the "analogue" dials?
If the latter that only works with the built in SATNAV

JordanLeeds · May 4, 2023

Hello,

I am the Aftersales Manager at Lexus Leeds, I would like to take the opportunity to clear this up for you.

The licence key is certainly a physical part (a plastic scratch card) and is ordered from Lexus like any other part, unfortunately, they were on a major back order for a long time - circa 3 months. They are now available to order and I hope this has now been completed for you.

All the best & enjoy your NX.

Jordan

Abraxas · August 19

Hi all.

Newbie here, just got a 2018 NX [Lux with premium nav] registered Nov 2018. I am getting a service done this week and my dealer is claiming that it needs "a license" to upgrade "the maps" (multimedia system firmware?) prior to being able to enable apple CarPlay. Now that wouldn't be a problem in itself, except they want to charge me £257 for the privilege. Seems a bit weird (and quite annoying as I am being charged best part of £600 for the service).

Does anyone have any helpful pointers, please?

There are places online that seem to advertise the enablement for £80 [1] , reports of owners above for £80 and even the "e-store" in myLexus advertises map upgrades for £119 even then... it doesn't add up to £257...

Has anyone had this done recently? How much did you get charged? Any pointers or keywords I should use?

Thank you.

[1] For example of a Googlewhack, no affiliation or recommendation: https://www.vantagemotorgroup.co.uk/news/lexus-apple-carplay/

Abraxas · August 21

Nevermind. Got a bit further with the dealers and the CS. it is all about versions of the MMU (both hardware and software) and what "comes bundled with what" [maps bundled with the OS/ firmware of the unit itself).

It boils down to a top tip: Update your maps regularly i.e. every year with your service (at least while they are free).

The tread can now go back to zombie mode... until the next 🧟‍♂️ mapocalypse.