03 Stereo replacement option.. Should I try it?? (1 Viewer)

[costalcat]

No never did. I ended up throwing some other money at her for some maintenance and figured I would tackle it in the spring...

 

[fnpierce]

Now, I am looking to add an amp, subwoofer, and would love to replace the tape deck with an aftermarket unit. In lieu of an aftermarket head unit, I will add an Audio Control LC8i that includes an aux input.

Who reconed your subwoofer?

I did this mod
Don't replace the subwoofer - it is super easy to repair and sounds like new. I think this is the kit but check the part number that is stupid on the subwoofer first.
Speaker Foam Edge Repair Replacement Kit, Toyota, Lexus, JBL, Levinson 6" Speakers, FSK-6bt
Remove 3rd row seat.
Unbolt both set belts
Open hatch to jack and remove tools
Unscrew everything you can see and then pop off the entire rear molding.
Getting ti to go back on with all th eclipse in place is the tricky part.
Sounds great - 20 bucks

 

[costalcat]

I did this mod
Don't replace the subwoofer - it is super easy to repair and sounds like new. I think this is the kit but check the part number that is stupid on the subwoofer first.
Speaker Foam Edge Repair Replacement Kit, Toyota, Lexus, JBL, Levinson 6" Speakers, FSK-6bt
Remove 3rd row seat.
Unbolt both set belts
Open hatch to jack and remove tools
Unscrew everything you can see and then pop off the entire rear molding.
Getting ti to go back on with all th eclipse in place is the tricky part.
Sounds great - 20 bucks

Yea had that done on mine by a shop as I just did not have the time but it sounds great. After that and replacing the speakers in the doors it has sounded really good. part of the reason I have not jumped into the replacing the deck and amp yet

 

[ncmarine]

I have read where people have stated the tape deck can be removed, but has anyone actually done this? I don't mean by relocating the tape deck to another location in the vehicle, but complete replacement with an aftermarket head unit.

 

[LX470Beast]

I have read where people have stated the tape deck can be removed, but has anyone actually done this? I don't mean by relocating the tape deck to another location in the vehicle, but complete replacement with an aftermarket head unit.

I just finished mine. You cannot remove the tape deck all together, if you want the trip info and ac controls to function. You have to keep two set of the wires plugged in. At least on a 2004 Lexus the buttons on the bottom are all in one pc board. Also there r no room for a double din behind the tape deck. Even behind the top it's a tight squeeze for a double din. I don't mean to hijack your thread but this what I have done. I actually did the move and had a stereo shop did the stereo install which I thought was the easier and less risky portion. After I moved the nav, all of the stereo shop was willing to help me. At end state I'm very happy with the results.

Successfully Moved Navigation Screen To Make Room Pioneer AVIC-8200

 

[CK03LC]

Despite reading this thread and all the others I can find, I am still not clear on the ability to pull the tape deck and amplifier and replace both with a single DIN aftermarket in a 2003 LC with Nav. I don't care about integrating sound from the Nav into my new system. I would like to simply pull the tape deck and amplifier, replace both with aftermarket units, leave the NAV in place and not touch it. Will be replacing the speakers as well of course and adding a real sub.

I keep reading mixed reports of whether complete removal of tape deck and amp will lead to HVAC or other issues.

Can anyone confirm for a 2003 LC with Nav?

Thanks!

 

[jerryb]

yes you can do that. No big deal. It doesn't look like this anymore, but that is where i started. I moved the screen like lx470beast did in may or something like that. I'm pretty sure ours look the same now.
I have that flip out pioneer for sale if anyone wants. Also a flat stereo cover faceplate that someone could straight cut the 7x2 hole in. That would make it look a lot nicer than whats in the picture. That's almost more valuable than the pioneer. When you take the stock deck out you should not mangle the cover/faceplate. That's a hard thing to replace.