Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Lexus / Toyota Navigation Trouble


Lexus / Toyota Navigation Trouble





In case the picture doesn't show up for you, the screen is in Japanese and has some English text that reads:
-------------
CAUTION
Error; System unable to access the program.
Incorrect program disk.
Please insert proper disk.
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This is a GEN 2 / 3 NAV unit for a 2003 Lexus (also used in Toyota's) made by DENSO. It no longer reads the original US disc and is looking for the Japanese disk.
The disk has the following information:
86271-33031
464210-0270
DATA ver.02.1


Things I've tried so far:
Contacted DESNO - They say they don't help end users - no luck
Contacted Lexus - I'm out of warranty so - no luck
Inserted a disc with the LOADING.KWI file from a 4.1 upgrade DVD - no luck.
Disconnected the battery for a few minutes and reconnected the battery with the car outside so the GPS had a clear view of the sky. - no luck.

Hopefully giving it a Japanese disc will allow me to enter the sequence and get back into US mode.

A fix for this involves opening the ECU and pressing a momentary switch. The switch is present in the ECU's that have a two piece board. I don't know what generation this is. (if you know, please let me know and I'll update this)



The Gen 3 ECU only has one board. (below)



Background of this issue:
Lexus and Toyota Navigation systems are made by DENSO.
They disable the majority of controls while the vehicle is moving (they say for safety reasons) so even the passenger cannot enter an address to find while on the move.

A secret menu was leaked (which gives the ability to enable the override and gives you full functionality of your unit) to the public and in some cases dealers were telling about this override.


Menu to enable Override

Toyota and DENSO are aware that the override has made it's way to the public and they have disabled the override in the latest version of the navigation DVD.

The problem with the override is that in order to get there, you have to enter a screen with other options which can disable the entire unit. When you get to these screens, there are no warnings mentioning the implications of messing with any of the buttons.

When asked about this issue, both parties say that you should not be using those menus and if the unit gets messed up you need to buy a new unit costing around $1500

Looking for help:
I'm not looking for the full DVD, just the LOADING.KWI file so I can get into my system and restore it back to the point that it recognizes my US NAV DVD.

If anyone has access to the LOADING.KWI file for JAPAN or knows how to fix this issue, please let me know at tvstj at yahoo dot com
UPDATE:
In November 2007 we purchased a 2008 RX400h so I was able to use this to help me resolve my issue.
I called Lexus Customer Service and mentioned my issue and the fact that I was in the process of purchasing the 400h. I'm sure it was because of this, Lexus offered to replace the unit as a sign of good will and I would simply pay the installation cost of the new unit which was about $125.
I believe the sign of good will wouldn't have been offered had I not been in the middle of purchasing the 400h, so I guess it's pretty good timing.

13 comments:

navbroke said...

I am having the same problem. I contacted Lexus and they say that they have a reset disk and it cost around 200 dollars, they have to have the factory rep come out and reset the machine. I have not done this yet. I have a Gen 3 machine. I also have the Japan vs 6.1 disk. I need a USA disk. My email is kaid40@yahoo.com maybe we can help each other

Bobman5731 said...

I downloaded a upgrade nav dvd but it was not the right one it loaded and then went haywire everything was Japenese and it said insert the correct disk. Well after trying everything I found on the internet from battery removal from drive to removing all wiring to the drive system take out its battery Ect. Ect. nothing worked I went to the dealer 2/9/08 today to have them fix it for 45.00 I am also out of warranty too so I thought that was a fair price since I screwed up my wifes car The couch was getting really uncomfortable boy was I in the dog house I think I watched to many Home Improvment shows. They told me to bring the original disk so they could reset the system and restart with it . But it would not work they said that you cannot go backwards for instance if you tried to upgrade with version 3.2 from your system disk of 2.1 that it will not reboot backwards so whatever version you upgraded too you has to be at least one step higher as far as versions go for it to fix itself it It so happens one of the techs there just upgraded his system and had a extra disk that was a newer version than mine they tried it and walla it booted just fine they just charged me 45.00 to my disbelief.. lexsus of tulsa a great company
So you can do 1 of three things
1. Go buy the latest version
2. Find a friend with the same generation and a newer version than you had.
3. Drive around looking at the japanese
You do not have to upgrade you nvram or anything else just follow this an it will work.
If I have helped you let me know revrnbob@cox.net

sanbashi112 said...

Hello, were you able to fix the problem with pressing the button on the board? I am getting the same screen for the same reason. Thanks for your help.

sanbashi112 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TOYBOY said...

Had the same problem. Removed the lithiumcel in the DVD-unit: no result. Problem solved with an original set of 3 DVD's (quite expensive: € 159,-). Central, North & West Europe. Have used 1 DVD in my 2003 IS200 GXE10 and the other in my 2002 Corolla E12, so € 79,50 per car ! DVD's are sold as 2007/2008 version, maps from Navteq are actualy from juli 2006 ...

dontknowwhat2do said...

Hi i just had that happen to me last night, i went into the service screen then i clicked on location and selected us:tad i think and now it wants to load from a disk i have the original dvd the car came with but nothing! i have d/led the 7.1 version but it won't read that either i have no idea what to do please HELP!

Unknown said...

i went into the service menu.. and messed around with languge..

there were 2 version of US english and... well the second one i choose must be the ROM for the system with joystick..

i can't get to the service menu again.. buttons are nor missing.

any ideas? where did you get the link for ecu clear thing?

Wilson said...

Like Bobman said, you will need a disk version that is higher than the one you currently have to update the system software and the menu will be back to normal.

I had the same problem with my 02 camry. It was updated to 7.1 with the 5.1 menu then I put back the 3.1 disk and the maps weren't working correctly so I messed around with the service menu then it got stuck at the error screen. Tried everything to get it working again with the 3.1 disk but nothing worked, so I put back the 7.1/5.1 disk turned off the ignition and turned it back on and the system updated back to normal.

pseudoluxury said...

This is an old blog, but today on July 27, 2011, I had to fix the dang thing myself. It was the result of a slipped finger during the lockout bypass code entry-- not from any disc changes or anything else... My local dealer could not do the repair-- but a good service writer named Patrick gave it his best shot. I have the one piece board. version 6.1.

The battery is a photo cell and is held in place by a battery holder that has three points that solder into the board. The battery is seen in the lower corner of the one piece board pictured in this thread-- it has a yellow plastic guard around it. You will need to carefully place the tip of the soldering iron on each post-- one at a time while gently pulling upwards on the battery. When you get the third one loose, it will be in your hand separate from the board. I waited a minute (spent it cleaning up and straightening the three legs of the battery holder for re-insertion) and placed the soldering iron on the underside of each hold while pressing the battery holder pins in, one at a time. It only took a few minutes and the battery was back on the board.

I then-- not sure if it mattered or not, pressed the momentary interrupt button on the face of the unit adjacent to the disc ejection button-- then put the thing back together and into the car. I started up the car, and the WHITE screen appeared (scared me half to death) followed by a "Programming is taking place do not turn off power until finished". Once it finished programming itself, it took me to Washington DC for some reason. I reset the location to my actual location, programmed the direction I was facing, and that was it!!!!

I had almost bought a unit on ebay for $915 but gave this a try since I had nothing to lose anyways. I low bid the thing and the fellow selling them called me the next day no doubt to try to get me in at a higher price.

It is an easy fix if you are at all experienced with soldering-- if not, take it to a computer repair shop and have them do it for you. It will save you a ton of dough!

gwinner said...

Great to have this blog. I messed up my nav, by "exploring" screens I shouldn't have, and have been using a suction cup GPS for a while. Just found the blog instructions to re-set the factory nav and thought I'd give it a try. I've got an '07 Avalon with 6.1 software, using the joystick method of user input. The screen I've been getting is the "Error ;System unable to access the program".

Here's one more description of the experience, for what it's worth.

First of all, I should have disconnected the car battery before beginning, but I gambled and still made out okay. I did make sure the IGN and ACC switch was off.

located the ECU/disc drive in the trunk, under the mat, on the left side. Removed the unit from its location by removing three or four 10mm bolts. This enabled me to wiggle the unit enough to be able to get to, and disconnect the 3 cables and antenna connection. The cables have a snap mechanism to hold them in place. the snap must be depressed (perhaps by playing a C&W song)or using a small screwdriver. Also, there is a black plastic shield that loosely covers the entire back of the unit, which must be removed before you can get to the cables. This is done by depressing some snaps that are easily visible. Once the unit is free of the vehicle, it has to be disassembled. This can be a scary process with electronics, but in this case is quite easy. A small phillips screwdriver should do it. There is a plastic face plate which has to be removed to access some of the screws. Once again, the face plate is attached by plastic snaps, which can be depressed with a screwdriver blade. My unit has the single PC board, with the disc drive sitting above it. The disc drive is attached by screws and connected by a ribbon cable to the board below. the drive has to be removed and disconnected. Removing a few screws will allow the drive to be lifted up so you can access the cable connection on the board. There is a little locking lever across the top of the connector which needs to be lifted (flicked) up. This will allow you to simply pull the ribbon STRAIGHT out. Once the drive is out of the way, the circuit board must be removed by taking out 6 small screws. The antenna connection should also be removed from the back of the ECU housing by removing the one screw holding it in place. Now you can lift the circuit board out and begin the fun part.

The Li battery is standing on end near the edge of the PC board. The battery has a yellow plastic frame around it with 3 metal contacts coming off the frame. Those 3 contacts go through the board and are soldered on the bottom. The battery needs to be disconnected from the board for a minute or so, until all memory (the board's) is lost. Instead of de-soldering all 3 contacts and removing the battery, I chose to simply remove one of the leads. If you look closely at the connections, you'll see that one side of the battery has one lead coming off, and the other side of the battery has two leads (I can't remember which side was positive). I heated the single lead while at the same time applying lateral pressure on the top of the battery in a direction toward the edge of the board. When the solder was hot, the lead popped out of its hole. I made sure the lead didn't touch the board for a few minutes, and then re-soldered it. The hole had closed up with solder when I removed the battery lead, so I had to open it back up before I could reconnect the battery. Reheating the solder and blowing it out or using braided copper wire to wick it away should work. I had to use needle nose pliers to straighten the battery lead and align it with the hole, but that was quite easy. Then I reapplied new solder to the underside of the board. It's VERY important to carefully examine the board and make sure no bits of stray solder are bridging any of the other connections in the area. If there are, they can usually be removed easily with a small screwdriver tip. - Cont.

gwinner said...

Final step was reassembly and the big moment of truth; powering up.

Nothing noteworthy on reassembly - just go backwards from dis-assembly. Hopefully you will keep all bolts in separate labeled stacks, for easier reassembly. One measure of confidence in your ability is how far you reassemble the system, before you power it up. I tried mine, before I bolted it back into position in the trunk. Fortunately my lack of confidence was misplaced. My unit worked fine.

After installation, you will need to go to the "setup" function on the menu and tell the unit which region you're in , and then "calibrate" it by indicating which direction your vehicle is facing.

Good luck

Unknown said...

2004 Lexus GX, one piece board, didn't write down disk version.. tried the method of removing board, desoldering the one battery contact lead, etc. Hooked the system back up after assembly and got the same ol error screen in Japanese o course. Could it be some of you guys are doing something to clear the memory before demounting the board? I have the nav disc in there the whole time, will give it a shot ejecting it forat and then performing the solder fix.

Unknown said...

I get a 2002 Lexus is200 with gen.2/3 nav ecu. I had the same problem playng with the secret menu. I then discharged the lithium battery instead of desoldering. Once did it and reconnected it made the terrific jap screen and then reloaded the entire software (seems based on windows2000 OS. It is now as like as new. The only problem is that voice command button now doesn't work almost anymore. I am not sure it's due to the discharging procedure though. Infact it could be dure to a bad connection of the switch being its wires plugged into the unused pins in the steering wheel's connector I used, located in the under side of the steering column plastic cover.