Lexus Faulty Navigation System Results to National Blackout Among Owners
Car owners took to the social media to express their outrage following the software crash of Lexus infotainment and navigation systems affecting an unknown number of vehicles.
The Toyota-owned Lexus brand recently confirmed the technical glitch in the car's software system that caused mass blackout among owners. The company promises that it is currently working on a fix. A company spokesman said a recent software update triggered the crash but noted that the vehicles' core safety features and function remain unaffected.
According to a report by Fortune Magazine, the company hasn't figured how many cars were affected by the widespread shutdown. The blackout seemed to have occurred in 2014-2016 models fitted with 'Enform' system with navigation. This means that not every car released in those years has a dysfunctional infotainment system. In 2015, Toyota sold around 652, 000 Lexus cars worldwide.
The faulty software update was released through wireless broadcast. As a result of the buggy update, drivers are prevented from using the computer system to get navigation help, climate controls, or use the digital radio. Toyota urged Lexus car owners to bring their vehicles to their dealer to get a "complimentary system reset and a confirmation of the system."
"Errant data broadcast by our traffic and weather data service provider was not handled as expected by the microcomputer in the vehicle navigation head unit (center display) of 2014-16 Model Year Lexus vehicles and 2016 Model Year Toyota Land Cruiser," a Toyota spokeswoman explained as quoted in a BBC News report.
"In some situations, this issue can cause the head unit to restart repeatedly, affecting operation of the navigation system (if equipped), audio and climate control features. The data suspected to be the source of the error was corrected last night."
Meanwhile, some car owners managed to resolve the problem through a do-it-yourself fix by unplugging battery cables for 10 minutes to force a hard restart. Toyota isn't recommending it though as per Autoblog report.
