Satellite Navigation

Lion · July 5, 2008

Hello Gents,

I have an IS200D 08 Reg. I regreted not to have the satellite navigation -multimedia centre. Does anyone of you have the SatNav installed afterwards? I do not want to have a tom-tom or similar satnav on my windscreen....

Cheers

ColinBarber · July 6, 2008

It isn't something that your dealer could add. It would probably be cheaper to sell your vehicle and purchase one with Nav as the parts are expensive and many hours labour would be required.

jamesholden · July 6, 2008

Hello Gents,
I have an IS200D 08 Reg. I regreted not to have the satellite navigation -multimedia centre. Does anyone of you have the SatNav installed afterwards? I do not want to have a tom-tom or similar satnav on my windscreen....

Cheers

I would go along with the comment above about it being cheaper to change the car. Whilst I've not been able to find the information for an IS250, Toyota do have a technical document showing the installation on a Camry, and it involves all sorts of things, removing the centre console, top of the dashboard, all the trim down the side of the drivers seat, including the seat itself, lifting the carpet, which in turn means removing the footrest. I would say thats why usually these things are stated as factory fitted options because there a lot easier to put in whilst the car is being assembled. Built in Sat Nav systems usually run at around £2000 so if you add that onto the cost of probably 5+ hours of labour and the risk of everything not going back together quite as it was originally I would say try something else.

Scarlet Pimpernell · July 7, 2008

After having had the MM system for 2 years, here are my observations:

1) Sound system is superb. The MLS is incredibly good, better than Audi BOSE, and on par with the new Audi B&O system (which is very Bassy).

2) The reversing camera is fantastic, and far better than audible sensors, and much bettr than Merc Parktronic (which looks feable and aftermarketish) and the BMW system where you see bars around a Birdseye view of the car. Only Audi comes close, but its expensive.

3) Bluetooth is great too, safe and pairs easily with most standard phones.

4) Voice Commands - I have completely stopped using it now. The BMW one with Extended Voice Commands is so much better - you can even set destinations etc. Much more "useable". The Lexus one is limited in Vocabulary and really could do with enhancing.

5) DVD player - I used it a lot when we first bought the car to "wow" the friends. Watching a decent movie with surround sound is great. BUT - who actually watches DVD's in the car? Bit of a gimmick.

6) Then you come to the Satnav. This is where I have really mixed views:

Overall there is nothing like having a "plumbed in" satnav system. It is connected to the wheels and has a Gyrosensor (digital compass) so always knows where you are. Even through tunnels, or where the signal goes etc. In that respect it is very accurate. The screen is a good size.

The TMC RTA is dodgy IMHO. Over 2 years I have learnt that 9/10 it scares you by telling you that there is a congestion problem, only to find that when you ignore it, the road is fine. May be it's just the one in my car - but when you challenge it/ignore it, sometimes you are so much better off. Now I know it could be down to the TMC information, but the whole thing is not trustworthy. What is interesting though is that my Garmin C510T (for pool/hire cars) has no issues, and only tells me of traffic problems only when it really is bad.

The next thing is the quality of POI's which are abismal. I don't know if the new 4 Euro disc version is any better for UK, but the standard 05/06 disc just does not have many of the POI's you need. Many hotels are missing, there are very few fast food chains (if any) and no speed camera's.

Anyone buying the MLS should consider buying it for the positives listed above. That's my view. Stand alone Satnav's have come along so far now, that even without a speed pulse/gyro sensor, they are more than up to the job for navigating. They are now so cheap, that a decent Garmin will cost you £250 and give you everything a Satnav system should, plus Bluetooth/MP3/Digi picture frame capabilities etc...and you can take them car to car, to different continents, get cheaper software downloads, or just buy a newer one...

I would rather get the new HTC Diamond with Co pilot then change the car, or buy an aftrmarket Satnav. It makes so much more sense, and you won't get that much back for it at PEX time.

EDIT - the only other thing of course is that once you have had the MM system, any IS without it feels quite bare. Overall it is good, but I wouldn't break a leg to get it!! The touchscreen is great, better than rotary dial ones from the competition, but it isn't 100% intuitive.

drooi · July 8, 2008

I would agree with most of the comments made above, adding the following:

1. Remember that the Bluetooth will not let you dial whilst moving, or even select an entry from the phone book! That is of course Nannying gone mad, but it is a major inconvenience.

2. The DVD will not play images whilst moving, so has very limited functionality.

3. You cannot add speed camera POIs to the Sat Nav, again a major inconvenience.

4. There is no 7-digit postcode search in my 2007 model, I believe it is still the case with the 2008 models.

5. Most annoying of all you cannot enter destinations whilst moving, a safety feature which will ensure that if I ever buy another Lexus I will never specify a built-in Sat Nav system again.

Of course you can over-ride nos. 1,2 and 5 with major hardware surgery, but it's a hassle.

Good luck!

PLEWIS · July 9, 2008

I would agree with most of the comments made above, adding the following:
1. Remember that the bluetooth will not let you dial whilst moving, or even select an entry from the phone book! That is of course Nannying gone mad, but it is a major inconvenience.

2. The DVD will not play images whilst moving, so has very limited functionality.

3. You cannot add speed camera POIs to the Sat Nav, again a major inconvenience.

4. There is no 7-digit postcode search in my 2007 model, I believe it is still the case with the 2008 models.

5. Most annoying of all you cannot enter destinations whilst moving, a safety feature which will ensure that if I ever buy another Lexus I will never specify a built-in Sat Nav system again.

Of course you can over-ride nos. 1,2 and 5 with major hardware surgery, but it's a hassle.

Good luck!

If you store your phone numbers onto speed dial you can phone on the move.

Maz · July 9, 2008

I would agree with most of the comments made above, adding the following:
1. Remember that the bluetooth will not let you dial whilst moving, or even select an entry from the phone book! That is of course Nannying gone mad, but it is a major inconvenience.

2. The DVD will not play images whilst moving, so has very limited functionality.

3. You cannot add speed camera POIs to the Sat Nav, again a major inconvenience.

4. There is no 7-digit postcode search in my 2007 model, I believe it is still the case with the 2008 models.

5. Most annoying of all you cannot enter destinations whilst moving, a safety feature which will ensure that if I ever buy another Lexus I will never specify a built-in Sat Nav system again.

Of course you can over-ride nos. 1,2 and 5 with major hardware surgery, but it's a hassle.

Good luck!

1/ like PLEWIS said you can dial if you store the numbers in Speed Dial.

2/ this is a safty feature that appear on most if not all Sat Nav and in car Dvd system, factory fitted or after market.

3,4,5/ the Lexus Sat Nav system is not perfect, but i can say its the best i had the chance to use compare to others.

Lion · July 9, 2008

I would agree with most of the comments made above, adding the following:
Thank you very much Gents for your valuable comments

1. Remember that the bluetooth will not let you dial whilst moving, or even select an entry from the phone book! That is of course Nannying gone mad, but it is a major inconvenience.

2. The DVD will not play images whilst moving, so has very limited functionality.

3. You cannot add speed camera POIs to the Sat Nav, again a major inconvenience.

4. There is no 7-digit postcode search in my 2007 model, I believe it is still the case with the 2008 models.

5. Most annoying of all you cannot enter destinations whilst moving, a safety feature which will ensure that if I ever buy another Lexus I will never specify a built-in Sat Nav system again.

Of course you can over-ride nos. 1,2 and 5 with major hardware surgery, but it's a hassle.

Good luck!

1/ like PLEWIS said you can dial if you store the numbers in Speed Dial.

2/ this is a safty feature that appear on most if not all Sat Nav and in car Dvd system, factory fitted or after market.

3,4,5/ the Lexus Sat Nav system is not perfect, but i can say its the best i had the chance to use compare to others.

Scarlet Pimpernell · July 9, 2008

The nannies are a fact of life I'm afraid...

As for the Satnav, it's actually not as good as most topish end Garmin systems costing £250 - relatively speaking!

Speed dials can only hold a limited number, so you might jut get your most frequently dialled ones on there!!!

Tel · July 9, 2008

Fitted my TOM TOM with a Pro-Clip Console mounting bracket that uses no screws & powered it from the 12v.supply in the centre console the set-up looking like a phone bracket when not in use.Then,after a series of tests,use a Visor Parrot which works perfectly.

Total Cost c.£300.

Tel.