Lexus cars suffer Purple Screen of Death – code bug turns the air blue

US owners of later-model Lexus cars have had a frustrating day after an over-the-air update left the entertainment and navigation systems locked in a loop of restarts and flashing purple hues.

Lexus has blamed "errant data" that was broadcast to some Lexi sold after 2014, causing the system controlling navigation, audio, climate controls, and Bluetooth to reboot in a perpetual loop while making an annoying pinging sound.

The flash motor maker said it shut down the broadcast when the fault was noted and isn't saying how many cars are affected so far. Some 2016 Toyota Land Cruisers are also affected.

#Lexus #RX450h bad navigation system update, radio & nav system useless. Nice match for defective fuel tank sensor! pic.twitter.com/XFAR5orY5v

— Albert Koval (@kilauea88) June 8, 2016

The fix is, well, you guessed it:

"The correction is a forced reset and clearing of the errant data from the system," Lexus said in a statement.

"Lexus owners experiencing these issues should visit their dealer for a complimentary system reset and a confirmation of the system. Until then, owners of affected vehicles should exercise additional caution when driving. We regret any inconvenience to our customers."

One home-based solution doing the rounds is to disconnect the car's battery leads to reset the balky computer. However, there have been reports that the problem returns after a while with this method. ®