Lexus Owners Say Update Bricked Cars’ Navigation Systems Image courtesy of Derik Gutowski
Just like your phone or computer, your web-connected car needs to get the occasional software update. Most of these system tweaks happen quietly without too much interruption to your life, but occasionally one goes wrong and you end up with a Lexus with navigation and infotainment systems that can’t be used because they are stuck in a reboot loop.
Lexus says it is working “around the clock” to find a solution for a satellite communication issue after many owners of vehicles with Lexus’ Enform system with navigation said the head units for their systems stopped working.
In an email to vehicle owners, the car company says it is aware that many Lexus vehicles are suffering from a glitch likely related to the release of a system upgrade.
“Lexus is presently investigating this problem,” the email, shown on Twitter, states. “It is possible that the problem is being caused by satellite communications can could be remediated by remote resolution.”
Owners began posting about the issue on Twitter and other social media sites on Tuesday, noting that their dashboard screens spontaneously reset themselves, rendering the navigation and infotainment systems unusable.
https://twitter.com/rossberkley/status/740256218443190272
Videos of the glitch show the navigation systems of several Lexus vehicles starting, changing to a blank purple screen, and then restarting the process.
A spokesperson for Lexus tells Bloomberg that the problem may have been caused by a faulty application, but that the company hasn’t determined whether the vehicle will have to be returned to dealers to be fixed.
While Lexus says it is working on finding a solution for the glitch, some owners Tweeted that they were able to fix the issue by disconnecting their battery to force a reset of the system or visiting a dealership. Some claim these fixes are just temporary.
Lexus Seeks Fix for Software Glitch in Navigation System [Bloomberg]
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