Nav to Non-Nav Conversion Walkthrough (3 Viewers)

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Thanks for sharing this. Im in the market for a GX but all i'm really finding is navigations so i'm contemplating if its worth getting one since I indeed want a more modern headunit. Has anyone here successfully done this swap with an Apple car play double din headunit, such as one of the alpine or pioneer ones?
 
You may want start looking for a non-nav hvac unit before you buy a GX planning to convert--a used take-out non-nav hvac unit is pretty few and far between these days for most of the 2005+ GX's. If you want a 2003 or 2004, you'd prob be fine, but 2005+ is gonna be pretty damn hard to find now.

As far as units with apple car play, there's def been some folks that've done it. If you dont get any hits here, the GXOR facebook group will definitely have some info on it.
 
You may want start looking for a non-nav hvac unit before you buy a GX planning to convert--a used take-out non-nav hvac unit is pretty few and far between these days for most of the 2005+ GX's. If you want a 2003 or 2004, you'd prob be fine, but 2005+ is gonna be pretty damn hard to find now.

As far as units with apple car play, there's def been some folks that've done it. If you dont get any hits here, the GXOR facebook group will definitely have some info on it.
Hey thanks for the reply. Yeah I’m for sure looking for a non nav, but I’m just doing some planning Incase I can’t find one or if I get a really good deal on one with nav that would make it worth doing the conversion. I didn’t realize 2005+ ones are super rare for having non nav. Though I am fine with a 03-04. Thanks!
 
Hey thanks for the reply. Yeah I’m for sure looking for a non nav, but I’m just doing some planning Incase I can’t find one or if I get a really good deal on one with nav that would make it worth doing the conversion. I didn’t realize 2005+ ones are super rare for having non nav. Though I am fine with a 03-04. Thanks!
Where are you located? A non nav 03, 170k, dark grey for $8700 just popped up near me today. I'm trying to talk my friend into getting it... 🤷‍♂️
 
Must be.
Non nav is rare and no one uses it .....however I saw a GROM unit in action and that looked pretty nice. I think it's only 2005+ or something like that though
Thanks for sharing. I wasn’t aware of the GROM units. I looked it up and it looks pretty cool. It just connects to the existing nav unit and transforms it into something more modern and usable? Only thing I noticed is it says a wifi/internet signal is required. Not exactly sure how it works but if it’s required to use the apps, probably won’t work for me as I’ll be taking the GX off the grid pretty often where there’s no service.
 
Thanks for sharing. I wasn’t aware of the GROM units. I looked it up and it looks pretty cool. It just connects to the existing nav unit and transforms it into something more modern and usable? Only thing I noticed is it says a wifi/internet signal is required. Not exactly sure how it works but if it’s required to use the apps, probably won’t work for me as I’ll be taking the GX off the grid pretty often where there’s no service.
I'd look into a GROM not sure if wifi is needed always or just to download maps etc. All 8 know if when a friend shower me in his is was much more modern and feature rush than I thought it was.
 
Hey thanks for the reply. Yeah I’m for sure looking for a non nav, but I’m just doing some planning Incase I can’t find one or if I get a really good deal on one with nav that would make it worth doing the conversion. I didn’t realize 2005+ ones are super rare for having non nav. Though I am fine with a 03-04. Thanks!

I'm not sure I'm coming across correctly... what I am saying is that even the *parts* needed for the *conversion* are hard to find. As in, the hvac units themselves that are needed to convert from nav to non-nav--they are next to impossible to find now for the later models. I would wager you would have better luck finding a GX that *came* with non-nav vs trying to find the used hvac unit for a conversion.

But, also, yes, the 05+ GXs are definitely much harder to find without navigation. (ergo, much harder to find used, take-out units for a conversion).
 
I'm not sure I'm coming across correctly... what I am saying is that even the *parts* needed for the *conversion* are hard to find. As in, the hvac units themselves that are needed to convert from nav to non-nav--they are next to impossible to find now for the later models. I would wager you would have better luck finding a GX that *came* with non-nav vs trying to find the used hvac unit for a conversion.

But, also, yes, the 05+ GXs are definitely much harder to find without navigation. (ergo, much harder to find used, take-out units for a conversion).

^^ This. Took me almost 2 years to find an 06 hvac unit. First gave up on finding a clean non-nav, white ext, dark interior gx after 4 months of searching. Gave up on the non-nav and dark interior. Found my 06 HVAC part from Australia. Lost the rear AC in the process as they are different. Havent dug into the wiring yet to fix it as I have a feeling it'll be a bear.
 
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I have not used one myself but I have heard that the updated Grom Vline v2 is better than the older ones -- with an 07+ nav screen, it may be a usable alternative to a conversion. The Tesla-style units are also far more common/popular/available now, so other options besides a conversion do exist.

That said, I have no regrets for converting my 05!
 
I have not used one myself but I have heard that the updated Grom Vline v2 is better than the older ones -- with an 07+ nav screen, it may be a usable alternative to a conversion. The Tesla-style units are also far more common/popular/available now, so other options besides a conversion do exist.

That said, I have no regrets for converting my 05!
Did you get the original GROM Vline? Do you by chance use Spotify at all? Sounds pretty silly but one of the main things I really want is for my head unit to display album artwork normally. Do you by chance know if it does this? The only previews of the GROM I saw had huge artist/titles and the artwork faded in the background behind the text super large.
 
I'm not sure I'm coming across correctly... what I am saying is that even the *parts* needed for the *conversion* are hard to find. As in, the hvac units themselves that are needed to convert from nav to non-nav--they are next to impossible to find now for the later models. I would wager you would have better luck finding a GX that *came* with non-nav vs trying to find the used hvac unit for a conversion.

But, also, yes, the 05+ GXs are definitely much harder to find without navigation. (ergo, much harder to find used, take-out units for a conversion).
Oh okay, thats good to know. Yeah im definitely going to hopefully just get a non nav. I have a feeling its gonna be an 03-04 regardless as my budget isn't too high. Thanks for clarifying and for the info.
 
Did you get the original GROM Vline? Do you by chance use Spotify at all? Sounds pretty silly but one of the main things I really want is for my head unit to display album artwork normally. Do you by chance know if it does this? The only previews of the GROM I saw had huge artist/titles and the artwork faded in the background behind the text super large.
I have not personally used any V-Line units, just have heard some poor feedback about the v1's.
 
Does anyone have a picture of a 2003 wiring or schematics for the ac climate controls? My installer is saying the wires are not matching up with the wiring diagram schematics for the 2003 Gx 470. He doesnt want to plug in the wires at the dash because they are not matching up and is afraid it could fry something.
 
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When people say it's hard to source the non-nav HVAC controls, especially for later model years, that means sourcing them used at a decent price, right? It's still possible to get these from a OEM Lexus parts store for $700 or whatever it is?
 

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