So I drove down to OEM Auto Audio and woo they were able to fix my Lexus RX infotainment within 30-40 minutes!  The gentlemen I spoke to said he services Lexus head units (along with other cars) for many dealerships and that this is a very common problem unfortunately.  Why Lexus hasn’t done a recall or released a TSB is beyond me, all in all it cost me about $1k CDN to get the work done and I am happy that my car works properly again.

I drove back with the head unit just attached by the cables but when at home, I bolted it in along with putting the trim pieces back on.  Odd the center clock seems to have died but that’s a module that I can replace myself and I’ll look at it on the weekend. CBSA gave me the side eye when I explained that no one in Toronto (or Canada) works on Lexus head units, even authorized Pioneer dealers up here and yes I had to drive all the way to Manlius NY (a suburb of Syracuse) to get the work done.   I could have shipped the thing but it’d take another 2 weeks at least and I didn’t ant a huge gapping hole in the center of my car.

He said that Maggie’s car is also affected by this problem and that if I have to change the battery, to get it done at the Lexus dealership in case it breaks there too lol.

Overall I’m still pretty pissed at how things turned out and I might see if I can get enough names to start a class action, we’ll see how motivated (or lazy) I am but it’s ridiculous that my only option was a $14k replacement.