Updating My Satnav Maps

[Anthony B]

The satnav maps in my LS430 date from 2004. I'd like to update, but today have been quoted £108 by the Lexus dealership in Bristol. Are there any cheaper - but legal - options available to me? (I'm told that, apart from better maps, one of the benefits from a new map CD is that you can input your destination by postcode, which my current installation won't do. Any hints tips or offers?

Incidentally I was very positively impressed by the chaps at Lexus. They've quoted me a very acceptable fixed price for a timing belt replacement job which I'll need to have done in the next few months (for peace of mind) and were forthcoming with free advice on several issues. I came away impressed. Anthony

[ColinBarber]

I don't believe you will get full postcode entry, maybe the first 4 characters. You will probably get to enter a destination whilst the vehicle is moving if you don't have that already.

Obtaining a cheap disc normally involves eBay, either somebody selling a year or two old disc because they have updated or somebody in Europe selling the UK disc out of the set they have just purchased.

As there are multiple nav systems and generations it is important to make sure you get the correct disc - it will normally have a part number which is sequentially close to your existing one.

[Cotswold Pete]

Given how Sat Nav tech has moved on since the advent of disc based system, would money not be better spent on a Tom Tom and then just update the Tom Tom memory as needed.

Back when the 430 was invented Sat Nav was really in it's early stages of 'getting it right', so a 2004 hand held Sat Nav is going to beat a 10 year old car based system hands down.

Appreciate it makes the LS touchscreen a little less useful, and you have a bit more clutter on the console.

I would see if Argos have got nay special offers on, and if you need updates on a regular basis get a contract.

As for me I still (perversely) enjoy the tactile feel of the good old paper atlas, and preparing ahead, and in last 35 years of driving have only ever got lost twice in the UK and twice in USA, and never in Europe - though had an interesting experience in Spain 3 weeks ago when using a 5 year old map of Andalucia to navigate and ended up driving the Hyundai holiday rental along a dirt road for 10 miles, only to discover later that a current map had the road removed!!

[Anthony B]

Thanks for this guidance. In fact I married the world's best navigator 40 years ago, and we also enjoy good quality atlases. Off to France next week ,and in decades of exploring the continent have never got lost yet. So I'll probably stick with the current satnav when I need it (the moving map is itself useful even without detailed guidance.) But I'll also try eBay for a useable update CD.

Anthony

[Malc]

..... but isn't getting " lost " part of the fun of touring in Europe !!!! I love it, then finding the unexpected ............... a sense of adventure ..........

Malc

[n4chv]

I've recently purchased a 2003 '53' Lexus LS430 and I spoke with 3 Lexus Dealers who quoted me £180 for an updated DVD - they all mentioned that the latest versions are launched around November / December each year

Whilst you can buy an aftermarket product like a Tom Tom or a Garmin device, I do like to use the built in screen and functionality plus I am keen to keep the car as factory original but update to as possible.

[SHELLDRAKE]

Anthony: If you are using 'Calais' for your journey, on your return give yourself about an extra hour driving time,I was in france last week and around 1to2 miles from the ferry the trafic was stop start right down to the customs post.the problem is about 80 illegals were trying to get into the wagons they would step out into the road causing them to stop, then two would open the container doors and others would climb in and the doors were closed again.I counted 9 people going into a container,and the doors were closed, we eventualy got on the ferry with a few minutes to spare before she sailed--and I mean a few minutes.

[Titch LS]

Anthony, I always book the ferry to Dunkerque. Although the crossing takes half an hour longer than to Calais, (which is relaxing), there's absolutely no hassle when leaving/entering the port. No gendarmes, no illegal immigrants and no traffic hold ups. Simples. Makes sense unless you're travelling to Brittany, of course.

[n4chv]

This might be of help to you

http://www.lexus-mapupdates.eu/Shop/Index

I didn't realise there were so many variants of the DVD navigation

[9690phil]

Think you will find imigrants are at dunk now as well

Not good

[Anthony B]

Thanks for all these hints and tips. We'll be sailing to France from Portsmouth as always, so no need to worry about the roads around Calais.

[arfur45]

I've repeatedly looked at updating my satnav on my 06 ls430 but to be honest it's not that bad in practice and Google maps on my note3 is so good it picks up the slack where required and it's free ;-)

[Woodpeck]

I have a 2004 LS430 and the map version from the menu is 2003/4.

There was an updated set of disks which came with the car but don't appear to have been used.

The manual says that this should be updated by the dealer but my question is - Is this so complicated that a 430 owner can't do this themselves ?

Cheers guys 😄

[Anthony B]

Although I started this thread yonks ago I have in fact done nothing about the issue.  The installed map is mostly still useable and in practice I mount my cellphone in a clip on the dash and rely on this for most navigation these days.

AFB

[MLW]

I was in the same position. My 2002 430 was updated to about 2012 by these people.

https://www.satnavishop.co.uk/

Disc worked very well. At £30 not too bad. Make sure you get the exact one, there are several Lexus ones.

As said above, we also have a Garmin (Updated for life- very important to get this one) that covers Western Europe. It was about £75 from a Halfords deal about 4 years ago. It is a basic one but works great. The big advantage is it works on a postcode, the Lexus does not. Both sometimes go wonky and want to take you to Nagasaki, but that is the nature of sat navs. It was invaluable when we were house hunting.

[PCM]

12 minutes ago, Anthony B said:

Although I started this thread yonks ago I have in fact done nothing about the issue.  The installed map is mostly still useable and in practice I mount my cellphone in a clip on the dash and rely on this for most navigation these days.

AFB

I went here https://www.satnavishop.co.uk/ for my wife's RX350 and my older 300.

Works well, looks good, and gained me about 10 years in updates...

 

[MLW]

Yes, the same people

[Herbie]

Although we have a 63-plate car the inbuilt satnav is still very clunky to use and not a patch on a stand-alone device like a Garmin or the TomTom that I have, but even the TomTom is now redundant.

Like you @Anthony B, I now use my cellphone and I'm getting quite evangelical about an app for the phone called 'What 3 Words' because it's absolutely brilliant (I have no association with the company, just a satisfied user).

It's completely free to download and use and can be used either with their own mapping app or in conjunction with your favourite one, say, Google Maps or the one I use, Waze. Basically, the company have divided the whole world into 3 metre x 3 metre squares and given each one of them a three word address, such as 'Bicycle.Door.Frog' or 'Glass.Pen.Speaker'. It's so accurate that the front door of your house will have a different three-word address to your back door.

Because it's on your phone you can use it on foot too. For instance, when you park up somewhere you've never been before, as you leave the car park, get the three-word address for where you stand and you can then go exploring to your heart's content, knowing that you can wander anywhere and still easily get back to your car.

I went on holiday with 8 other friends recently and one day we split into two groups and went off exploring different things. When it was time to meet up again, one group sent the 3-word address of the pub to the other group and it was supremely easy to get there and start enjoying the beer 😁

[Anthony B]

 What 3 words sounds good, but do I have to remember the three words for every location I'm interested in or frequently visit?  In practice how do I navigate from A to B?

[Herbie]

3 hours ago, Anthony B said:

 What 3 words sounds good, but do I have to remember the three words for every location I'm interested in or frequently visit?  In practice how do I navigate from A to B?

Thankfully not Anthony - given the state of my brain I'd never manage to get anywhere 😁

All you do is open the What 3 Words app and search for the address you want to navigate to and the app will then give you the 3 words (there's a 'Favourites' facility to store frequently used addresses). The app actually has its own mapping software so you could just use that if you wanted but if, like me, you have a favourite (I use Waze) you simply tap on the 'Get Directions' button (shown by a red arrow in the picture below) and it then gives you the choice of whatever mapping software you've got on there.

Below, I just searched for a random address of 39 Richmond Green, Carlisle and the app shows that its 3 word address is 'skip.stage.spot'. I then clicked on the 'Get Directions' button, chose to open Waze, and the final screenshot shows Waze plotting the route:

 

 

 

[Anthony B]

Thank you Herbie.  But in the light of the procedure you outlined what's the need for 'Three Words'?  You could have done all that without W3W.

AFB

[Texas]

I think it would come into it's own when you have to pinpoint places that are not so straightforward as addresses.

I usually work on location and some of these can be miles from the nearest Royal Mail Postcode, forest's,beaches etc and railway sidings miles from the nearest letterbox (postcodes pertain to letterboxes)

Paul m.

[Herbie]

Exactly what Paul says above.

In rural areas a postcode can cover a couple of miles, whereas W3W is accurate to a parking space-sized area. Delivery companies are beginning to use it for that very reason.

[Guest bigbullhead]

On 1/13/2019 at 4:24 PM, Herbie said:

Thankfully not Anthony - given the state of my brain I'd never manage to get anywhere 😁

All you do is open the What 3 Words app and search for the address you want to navigate to and the app will then give you the 3 words (there's a 'Favourites' facility to store frequently used addresses). The app actually has its own mapping software so you could just use that if you wanted but if, like me, you have a favourite (I use Waze) you simply tap on the 'Get Directions' button (shown by a red arrow in the picture below) and it then gives you the choice of whatever mapping software you've got on there.

Below, I just searched for a random address of 39 Richmond Green, Carlisle and the app shows that its 3 word address is 'skip.stage.spot'. I then clicked on the 'Get Directions' button, chose to open Waze, and the final screenshot shows Waze plotting the route:

 

 

 

We use this at work on the highways