update - wifi dropout is still prevalent on commutes, i dont have to drive much anymore, so long trips werent tested - im going to change the wifi channel again, but the dropouts is still a huge issue. maybe there is a software update available to address it
Cheapest Carplay and AndroidAuto Retrofit under $300? 2016-2021 LX570
- Thread starter NKP Garage
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- Thread starter
- #42
have you been able to narrow it down to a certain street or certain part of town? We have 2 places in town where my wife's phone always drops the signal and then reconnects. Same to spots of town every single time.
i dont commute, so i never take the same route, i guess except to get to the highway, and i havent been able to pinpoint it. i wonder if it has something to do with the toll system that is all over the roadways in DFW texas.
I just completed installing this in my 2017 following @NKP Garage 's video. The cursor is obviously responding to whatever is going on in the OEM interface behind the CarPlay projection and so I disabled or minimized the clicks and feedback in the OEM menu. I don't know if the joystick signal interrupt (or whatever that cable is called) was supposed to change this.
I had a brief interrupt in the audio stream despite my phone being 1-2 inches from the wifi antenna I put underneath and to the right of the transmission shift plate.
I also noticed diminished sound quality and found there is an EQ menu in the module's interface so I set that back to flat and it seems better so far (did that at lunch today).
I'll never use it but the YouTube app works with my phone set as the wifi source. I was unable to get airplay to work on my first attempt.
I'll report back after I get the RCA video input wired to my trailer for rearview camera off its back.
Overall, I'm really pleased with how well it's working for the price.
I had a brief interrupt in the audio stream despite my phone being 1-2 inches from the wifi antenna I put underneath and to the right of the transmission shift plate.
I also noticed diminished sound quality and found there is an EQ menu in the module's interface so I set that back to flat and it seems better so far (did that at lunch today).
I'll never use it but the YouTube app works with my phone set as the wifi source. I was unable to get airplay to work on my first attempt.
I'll report back after I get the RCA video input wired to my trailer for rearview camera off its back.
Overall, I'm really pleased with how well it's working for the price.
I ordered one for my 2015 LC, we'll see how this works out. I'll report back after the installation and a week plus of use.
The one I ordered
Amazon product ASIN B0BB2V7DCR
The one I ordered
Amazon product ASIN B0BB2V7DCR
After a two hour round trip commute to the office yesterday, I’m less pleased. The EQ even set to flat seems to significantly attenuate frequencies below 50 hz with no way to correct that (other than put everything at -12 and have a lot more noise). It also shut off 2-3 times, once toward the end of my drive home and twice more on short drives in town. I don’t know if it overheated under the passenger carpet. I had to pair my phone again after the third shutdown.
Using the joystick to operate CarPlay means it is also activating menu items on the oem screen in the background so it would be better to rely more on Siri and/or use the steering wheel or direct phone controls.
Further update. After having this for about a week, it does have a tendency to blank out the screen for a few minutes. You can get back to OEM screen normally with long press of map or menu buttons. It also makes the rear DVD screens unusable. One screen flickers and the other is solid bright green.
Almost two months and I’m more than happy with it. Few times it doesn’t boot up and it’s either my phone acting so I restart it or i turn the car off and back on, easy. I strictly use it for google maps. WiFi automatically connects for the car play and I keep the bluetooth connected to my car. Spotify and calls all go thru the car bluetooth. Works fine with my kids in the back watching the DVD screens too.
Dang. I wish I had the same experience. Losing the rear screens was the deal breaker for us.
- Thread starter
- #50
I wonder if something is hooked up wrong. I just tried my rear screens while connected to CarPlay and it’s all working on ours.
I’ll double check the connections at the back of the head unit for something loose. It’s really not possible to plug things in the wrong place with all of the unique harness plugs and that I do get a flickering signal on one screen shows there is A connection. It might just be a POOR connection.
Well, I’ve definitely done something to my wiring. I removed the CarPlay unit and my drivers side rear screen is still not working right. I can see menu options and all that but just can’t get any video to show up, whether it’s DVD or HDMI as the source, the result is the same.
I put the CarPlay unit back in and will just keep audio on Bluetooth and I’m use the google maps (main reason for all this in the first place).
I put the CarPlay unit back in and will just keep audio on Bluetooth and I’m use the google maps (main reason for all this in the first place).
- Thread starter
- #53
If all you touched is the wiring behind the head unit and behind the screen I would go through and check all of those. check the pins at the connectors to make sure nothing is bent or loose.
I thought I could live with just losing the left rear screen but yesterday's drive to grandma's had the main screen go black after 45 minutes and again on the drive home after 5 minutes. Can't have that. I pulled everything out and put it back to stock and now all of the screens work like properly. Whatever the cause for the bad screen was, I don't know. The unit itself dying in the middle of a drive is a whole different and unacceptable problem. It's good I bough on Amazon as today is my last day for a free return.
I'm jealous the rest of you haven't had the blacking out issue like me. Maybe I'll have better luck if I try a different unit sometime down the road.
I'm jealous the rest of you haven't had the blacking out issue like me. Maybe I'll have better luck if I try a different unit sometime down the road.
- Thread starter
- #55
I wonder if one of the cables was bad or something like that.
Do you have a walk-through you used to open up the center dash? We are having the same issue but our driver screen works and our passenger just shows the DVD menus so we think it's a wiring issue. Is there a guide to open up the center dash to check wiring?
Hey man, fellow 2018 LX570 owner…wanted to chime in and say thank you SO much for this. Best DIY of its kind I have ever seen, and thanks for the link. My only regret is that I watched your video after purchasing, so I didn’t know to use your link to buy until I'd already bought it. My bad on that.
I've only had it installed for a few days but so far, so good. I've had a Grom VLine in my previous LX470, 2003 Land Cruiser, and IS F, and this works just as well if not better for less than half the price. Just have to deal with the goofy joystick which isn't the maker's fault. Once you get everything set up you don't have to use it much at all anyway.
For those wondering, I can double-confirm that you want dip switches 2 and 3, and the unit seems to be working well for me so far. I would assume this is true for all 2016-2021 US LX570 models.
To the guy talking about sound quality: set the EQ to flat in the CarPlay box and then adjust the factory EQ for the AUX. For whatever reason, Lexus EQ settings are source dependent, i.e. your Bluetooth EQ settings don't carry over to the AUX. I'm relatively picky myself and this seemed to fix the sound quality issues. Any reduction in sound quality vs factory bluetooth is borderline imperceptible, at least for me.
I don't have rear screens so no helpful tidbits there.
TL;DR: Thanks again, OP! Saved me $400 and your walkthrough was incredible.
I've only had it installed for a few days but so far, so good. I've had a Grom VLine in my previous LX470, 2003 Land Cruiser, and IS F, and this works just as well if not better for less than half the price. Just have to deal with the goofy joystick which isn't the maker's fault. Once you get everything set up you don't have to use it much at all anyway.
For those wondering, I can double-confirm that you want dip switches 2 and 3, and the unit seems to be working well for me so far. I would assume this is true for all 2016-2021 US LX570 models.
To the guy talking about sound quality: set the EQ to flat in the CarPlay box and then adjust the factory EQ for the AUX. For whatever reason, Lexus EQ settings are source dependent, i.e. your Bluetooth EQ settings don't carry over to the AUX. I'm relatively picky myself and this seemed to fix the sound quality issues. Any reduction in sound quality vs factory bluetooth is borderline imperceptible, at least for me.
I don't have rear screens so no helpful tidbits there.
TL;DR: Thanks again, OP! Saved me $400 and your walkthrough was incredible.
Hello All!
Has anyone tried to plug this module in a facelifted LC200?
Has anyone tried to plug this module in a facelifted LC200?
- Thread starter
- #59
Yup, one of the other members tried it on an LC200 and it did not work. This exact unit only works on the 2016-2021 LX570, it's made to work with the Lexus system. The Amazon listing also says it works on other Lexus models like the RX, NX, ES, UX, LS, RC, LC, and GS.
- Thread starter
- #60
No worries, glad you found the video and it was helpful. I totally agree with you, the system is just as good as the more expensive units. And so far it has been working great for us.
