Alpine Siege | 100 Series HVAC Controller - NAV DELETE - (OEM+)

[dr venkman]

I went down a navigation module rabbit hole when my nav and backup camera died at the same time (still haven't gotten to the bottom of it, but at this point I no longer care).

From what I can tell, you can take out the nav module and the nav DVD player under the passenger seat and be just fine.

Ouch! I've had a the screen freak out on me a few times over the years and my heart straight up skips a beat when it happens, I'm really blown away that it hasn't completely died on me. I installed the Grom VLite a few years back to have "factory" CarPlay and it's held up really well but the factory screen is slowly dimming out of existence so her days are clearly numbered. Definitely doesn't help that it hits 115 during the summers here. Backup camera has been dying a little faster (totally useless at night), when the head unit gets swapped I've got an aftermarket camera that the guts should fit in the factory housing with a little convincing (a drill, a rasp and a glass of scotch).

 

[Squ1dward]

This would be ideal. I would love to just be able to run a touchscreen Kenwood with an aftermarket amplifier, speakers etc.

The factory audio/headunit/hvac controls are easily the worst part of a 100 Series. It bothers way me more than the gas millage ever has.

I have the 10" Kenwood in my rig and love it. Had to do the Nav Delete to make it work, Anarchy's option looks way more easy and is a nice update.

 

[dr venkman]

I have the 10" Kenwood in my rig and love it. Had to do the Nav Delete to make it work, Anarchy's option looks way more easy and is a nice update.

Yes, Anarchy is my hero. Not only looks easier but the fact that someone has been doing this on their own is pretty epic.

 

[Anarchy]

Yes, Anarchy is my hero. Not only looks easier but the fact that someone has been doing this on their own is pretty epic.

I haven’t done it completely on my own, had help from some very talented people along the way.

Side note, we’re getting really close now. Made in America is looking much more realistic, and when preorders open for LX, your order number will also be your place in the production queue.

And for the Land Cruiser owners patiently suffering through the rare indignity of being behind the Lexus guys, $0 reservations while we finish LC validation. No deposit, no payment. It simply holds your place in line until your application is confirmed.

Keep an eye out for it, will be posted on IG first.

 

[Raymond525]

Now, if us older model guys van just be patient . . .

 

[TurboJAM]

I'm more than willing to install in my 07 and test. I can work on a billet faceplate cover too if people want brushed or frosted aluminum
@Anarchy

Brushed ally is always a nice finish… at least to me.

 

[LJE]

Couple of (mildly) exciting things:

#1: Prototype of the LX HVAC module (and the LC Cassette deck to reverse engineer) hit my door yesterday!

and

#2: V2 of the faceplate is complete! This should hopefully correct the errors that the idiot that reverse engineered the LX cassette deck the first time around made. Who was that loser anyways?

... oh wait...

Anyways - one thing that I changed over Anarchy's V1 (besides correcting my contour errors that were propagated through) is increasing the size of the chamfer around the display - would love to know @Anarchy 's (and the communities) thoughts on this.
I haven't tried either faceplate in my vehicle yet, but this should help further mitigate the module housing from blocking the display. I'm curious how the view angle on the screen is - I'll find out once I have time to tear my center console apart again.
That should be next week, I've got a friend's wedding to attend out-of-town tomorrow, so I won't be back till Monday evening.

V1 ('small' chamfer around screen):

New V2 (corrected front contour, larger chamfer):

V2 is about to get printed here - it won't be the super-snazzy MJF that the production versions will get made from (assuming that's still the plan), but it should be good enough to tell us if I got the contour right this time.

I know, not that exciting of an update, but let Anarchy know (since he's the one running this!) what you think of the chamfer/bezel size.
Fun fact - the bottom of the face plate has a larger (flatter) radius to it than the top of the faceplate - I had assumed that it had the same radius across the vertical dimension initially, and that's where the (initial) problems started. We'll see if there's more to come as I test fit V2.

 

[Anarchy]

I definitely prefer the larger chamfer on V2. It opens the display up nicely without looking oversized, and if it gives us a little more forgiveness on viewing angle that’s a win too. I noticed this issue using V1, from the drivers position I lost a bit of visibility of the A/C indicator.

Really appreciate you taking this on, especially with everything else you have going on.

For everyone following along: Alex now has Prototype #2 as well, so his truck will also be our first independent 2005 LX470 validation outside of the development vehicle.

Very, very exciting stuff.

 

[Andrew S]

Bigger chamfer is better for sure. Needs a small radius in the corners though, those sharp angles look out of place.

 

[SMLE]

Bigger chamfer is better for sure. Needs a small radius in the corners though, those sharp angles look out of place.

Now you point this out, that makes sense, especially as the rest of the 100 series/LX interior is quite rounded

 

[05LX]

Bigger chamfer is better for sure. Needs a small radius in the corners though, those sharp angles look out of place.

I also agree. The bigger chamfer fills out the space better, but it needs to be rounded to fit in with the rest of the interior.

 

[Live to Ski]

Bigger chamfer is better for sure. Needs a small radius in the corners though, those sharp angles look out of place.

pluse, the sharp corners are stress concentrators. radiused would be much more robust.

 

[Formerjeeper]

I vote for OEM finish. But, I'm in the Land Cruiser group, so we're waiting longer anyways.

Same

 

[uHu]

nother issue might be the size of the display. It is quite a bit smaller than the original non-nav display, which is a bit small to read already. Could there be space for a twice as tall display on V3, with bigger text and icons?

 

[ZCaptn]

Couple of (mildly) exciting things:

#1: Prototype of the LX HVAC module (and the LC Cassette deck to reverse engineer) hit my door yesterday!

and

#2: V2 of the faceplate is complete! This should hopefully correct the errors that the idiot that reverse engineered the LX cassette deck the first time around made. Who was that loser anyways?

... oh wait...

View attachment 4207672

Anyways - one thing that I changed over Anarchy's V1 (besides correcting my contour errors that were propagated through) is increasing the size of the chamfer around the display - would love to know @Anarchy 's (and the communities) thoughts on this.
I haven't tried either faceplate in my vehicle yet, but this should help further mitigate the module housing from blocking the display. I'm curious how the view angle on the screen is - I'll find out once I have time to tear my center console apart again.
That should be next week, I've got a friend's wedding to attend out-of-town tomorrow, so I won't be back till Monday evening.

V1 ('small' chamfer around screen):
View attachment 4207674

New V2 (corrected front contour, larger chamfer):

View attachment 4207675

V2 is about to get printed here - it won't be the super-snazzy MJF that the production versions will get made from (assuming that's still the plan), but it should be good enough to tell us if I got the contour right this time.

I know, not that exciting of an update, but let Anarchy know (since he's the one running this!) what you think of the chamfer/bezel size.
Fun fact - the bottom of the face plate has a larger (flatter) radius to it than the top of the faceplate - I had assumed that it had the same radius across the vertical dimension initially, and that's where the (initial) problems started. We'll see if there's more to come as I test fit V2.

 

[LJE]

Utmost

Bigger chamfer is better for sure. Needs a small radius in the corners though, those sharp angles look out of place.

I also agree. The bigger chamfer fills out the space better, but it needs to be rounded to fit in with the rest of the interior.

Now you point this out, that makes sense, especially as the rest of the 100 series/LX interior is quite rounded

pluse, the sharp corners are stress concentrators. radiused would be much more robust.

Not a bad point! I just got back from a close friends wedding in Ohio (gross! lol), so I haven't had time to test fit V2 - but I did go ahead & fillet those corners with a small (3mm radius) before the chamfer. This is what that looks like - I turned the 'edges' off to give a better idea of what this would look like once printed - I personally like it, but of course open to further suggestions as we move forward.

 

[Andrew S]

Of course I'll say it looks better. But it really does. Nicely done.

 

[05LX]

Looks great, that's exactly what I was thinking

 

[Anarchy]

350+ miles of real-world driving over the past week or so, with Alabama in the high 90s most days, and the system has performed without a hiccup. Lots of starts, stops, heat soak, A/C use and normal daily driving. At this point, I’m comfortable moving toward preorders.

The launch structure will be:

• 06 LX470: Full $1,099 preorder. These receive the first production releases.
• 03–05+07 LX470: $99 deposit to establish your place in line. The remaining balance is invoiced once that application is validated and cleared for production.
• 03–07 Land Cruiser: $99 deposit structure, with the balance due once the application is validated and ready for production.

The first production run is allocated to the '06 LX470. We are quoting 12–16 weeks after full payment, although I expect the first units to move faster.

For the 03-05+07 LX470 & 03-07 LC, we are being intentionally conservative. Everything I've seen so far points to the '03–'07 NAV-equipped UZJ100 family sharing the same core architecture, with any differences more likely limited to a small number of firmware and/or harness profiles.

The Land Cruiser applications will follow the Lexus validation work. I expect that side of the program to move into final production configuration in late 2026 / early 2027, with timing partly dependent on component availability.

Production units will be programmed, verified, serialized, functionally tested against a controlled reference setup, inspected, and traceable through final QC before they leave production. We will also keep a small pool of diagnostic/update adapters on hand for field support. If a firmware update or deeper troubleshooting is ever required, we can send an adapter out rather than requiring the entire controller to be removed and shipped back.

The $99 deposit establishes your original preorder priority. If we determine that a specific application cannot be supported, the amount paid will be refunded.

Free standard U.S. shipping is included on the HVAC controller.

Initial release is for U.S. market only. A small number of overseas applications may be considered case-by-case by email, but those would be outside the validated U.S. release and at the owner’s risk. I have reviewed several non-U.S. A/C amplifier/configuration variants and have not seen anything so far that changes the overall direction.

To give everyone a fair shot at preorder priority, preorders will be announced at the same time here on IH8MUD, by email to everyone who originally joined the waitlist, and across social channels.

I appreciate everyone who has followed the project and helped get it to this point.

 

[zgfiredude]

I am anxiously awaiting the opportunity for you to take my money!