Many 2010-2018 Lexus Vehicles have lost all the comfort and safety features associated with them Lexus Enform service now 3G is being phased out in the United States by major mobile networks. This is certain and relatively bad news for owners new — Lexus models based on the old wireless standard for functions such as remote lock/unlock, remote start and stolen vehicle tracking.
The Lexus support site says there are no plans to upgrade modern mobile radios that work on newer cellular networks (such as LTE or 5G) in affected models. The only component not affected is the navigation system, but almost the entire gamut of Lexus Enform services equipped on certain Lexus models was connected to 3G, which the major telecommunications companies started phasing out earlier this year.
The 3G phase-out process has now become a difficult transition for owners of all 2010-2017 Lexus models and 2018 Lexus GX models. There are a few exceptions here and there, but these are mostly related to cars that don’t have wireless connectivity in the first place.
The offline services are Lexus Enform Safety Connect, Lexus Enform Destination Assist, Lexus Enform Remote and Lexus Enform Service Connect.
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Safety Connect included automatic collision notifications, an emergency assistance button, enhanced roadside assistance and a stolen vehicle locator; Destination Assist enabled a 24-hour live response line to help if you got lost; Remote included, uh, remote vehicle start/stop, lock/unlock, vehicle finder, guest driver monitor, Alexa or Google Assistant and, worst of all, key fob start; finally, Service Connect included vehicle health reports and maintenance alerts.
The services are officially terminated as of October 31, and Lexus will give prorated refunds to customers who had active subscriptions. Some features are being migrated to the Lexus App SuiteIncluding Alexa and Destination Search, but it doesn’t seem as full-featured as the outgoing Lexus Enform systems.
It’s not like the 3G shutdown was covered up or unexpected, but it’s still going to be a rude awakening for owners. Many of them have come to expect these features and capabilities that enable wireless connectivity in their luxury cars – features they have paid for.
Of course, the caveat here is that these features were available when owners bought their cars between 2010 and 2018, and there’s no express guarantee that anything based on technology or telecommunications will last forever, but it’s a bit of a bummer. Especially when it comes to non-services there is going beyond cellular networks to work – like anything related to a key fob that can use shortwave or a line of sight.
It’s hard to blame Lexus or Toyota – some of them Toyota models also lose 3G-related features – something that’s out of their control, but it still seems like an oversight. Reached for comment to confirm whether there are plans for future upgrades, Lexus said it has no plans to offer or sell upgraded hardware to restore connectivity.
