One of the beauties of my Lexus GS 350 is the Pandora App. It sounds crystal clear (better than normal bluetooth). It also allows me to switch stations easily (and safely) while driving. Also can like/dislike as necessary. It may be slow to boot up, but I love it once it is running, and I really look forward to using it especially on long trips. Needless to say, I really like it.

However, to my shock and dismay this morning, I received an email from Lexus Enform Guest Support stating:

Dear Lexus Guest,

Thank you for being a Lexus Enform App Suite customer.

As technology and markets change, third party application providers continuously evolve their products and services. On or around November 13th, 2018 a multimedia system update will appear on your vehicle display. After completion, Pandora®, OpenTable®, and Facebook Places will no longer be available in Lexus Enform App Suite, as these products and services will no longer be supported by the third party application providers.

It also said to use regular bluetooth for listening to Pandora. But that poses some issues:

Safety. I have to refer to my phone to change stations and get it going.
Loss of sound quality
Inability to like/dislike without taking eyes off road down to my phone.
Awkwardness.

Does this trouble you too?

What do you think?

Will Lexus replace this?

Is this Pandora's fault? Because I've noticed they want me to pay more for their service lately.

Does this open up the opportunity for a third party "hack" to make it work?