If there are enough people that complain about the bad design
decisions, maybe Lexus will pay enough attention to fix them in the
software (where applicable).  I apologize in advance for the rant.

1. The passenger seatbelt indicator - It is louder than for the
driver's side.  If my dog sits there, or I have my bag on it, it goes
off uncontrollably and very loud.  I end up buckling the seatbelt to
shut it up.

Suggestion: Make it lound and obnoxious for the first 30 seconds or so,
or so that you can turn it off.  It's enough of a warning to make
someone (or something) think twice about not wearing a seatbelt, but
does not force it

2. Disabling the Nav/Phone/etc controls while in motion - I support
this feature for safety, but you have to be able to turn it off.  I
have seen ways to enable the options on a Prius, through pressing
obscure combinations of buttons.  However, the only way on the IS 350 I
have seen involves opening the dash and clipping a wire, which will
undoubtedly void the warranty.  Lexus forgot one thing . . . the car
can carry passengers!!  The BMW iDrive is looking better every day.

Suggestion: Allow the feature to be disabled, and if necessary, couple
it to the incredibly annoying passenger seat weight sensor.

3. ID3/info tags for media files - The car has the capability to read
ID3 tags for MP3s.  Why would you want to see the file name when there
is an MP3 tag?  Does the track "Various Artists - Soundtrack - " strike
you as being very descriptive?

Suggestion: Configuration option, choice between the ID3 or the file
name.  Debatable: ID3 by default.

4. Auto-recirculate does not stay selected after the car turns off,
other climate settings do - I do a lot of crowded, stop and go highway
driving where the fumes get pretty bad.  The feature is there to detect
hydrocarbons and "automatically switch to recirculate", but it will
never "automatically" kick in because someone has to put it to auto
first.  It's annoying, but I do see how it could be bad.  Recirculate
in cool and humid fogs up the interior easily.  It's a not as bad a
hazard to have a few fumes than it is to not be able to see.

Suggestion: Not software, unless the sensor is already there . . . add
an interior humidity sensor to switch if it gets to foggy.

5. Bad auto climate handling - At first I thought that the temperature
calibration was off, but it was checked during routine maintenance.
When I paid more attention, the switching between AC and non-AC is very
bad.  I turn on my car and the external temp is 50, then internal temp
(set to auto) is usually ~74.  It turns the AC on when it passes the
internal setting.  Cold air should not be blown unless it is much
hotter in the car than it should be.

Suggestion: Wider temperature threshold when the auto climate control
temp is reached.  Use the setting as a "ceiling" and turn the air off.
Do not blow cold air unless the car is X (5?) degrees hotter than it
should be (and it's cold outside), and don't blow hot air unless the
car is X degrees cooler than it should be (when it is hot outside).  It
doesn't sound like a good feature, but the point is you don't want cold
air blowing on you if you are cold, and you don't want hot air blowing
on you if you are hot.

I'm probably not thinking of everything, but I welcome anyone to post
additional annoyances, or even to tell me that I am way off base and
provide a reason why.

Thanks,

-b