Lexus Acknowledges Widespread GPS Navigation System Issues

When I first started driving, GPS systems were still in their infancy. They still wouldn't be available for cars for several years, so I'd simply learn the roads by heart, and hope that Yahoo Maps could guide me well enough to get me to a destination that I'd never been to. Well, if you're driving a Lexus, you might soon find out that your car's built-in navigation system isn't functioning. So you'll have to find something else to guide your trip.

Toyota Motor Corp. has been investigating reports that some Lexus owners are having issues with the navigational systems in their cars. The issue arises when the driver first starts up the system. After going through the startup, the app gets stuck in a loop where it just keeps restarting after flashing a purple screen. What's more, some users are reporting that their radios are also affected, as it uses the same screen that keeps restarting. You can see an example of the issue in the video below.

What's particularly interesting is that the company isn't exactly sure what the source of the problem is. A spokesman for the Lexus division has stated that they think it might have been caused by a faulty application that was deployed to customer vehicles via satellite.

Since they haven't been able to pinpoint the root of the issue, they're still not sure how to fix the problem. It's possible that affected customers may have to bring their car to a dealer in order to get navigation functionality back. If we're lucky, then they may be able to simply deploy another update via satellite to fix the problem.

VIA: AutoNews