I hate my ’07 LX OEM stereo/climate control system!!!! (2 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Short version: GROM VLine VL2 is a magical little box that costs between $550 and $675 (depending on sales and group buys) that tucks behind the dashboard and drags your antiquated Land Cruiser 20 years into the future. It retains all of the OE hardware - including the 240p SD screen. To make up for that, the system is wireless - yes, wireless. The CarPlay works without the phone being plugged in.

 
Short version: GROM VLine VL2 is a magical little box that costs between $550 and $675 (depending on sales and group buys) that tucks behind the dashboard and drags your antiquated Land Cruiser 20 years into the future. It retains all of the OE hardware - including the 240p SD screen. To make up for that, the system is wireless - yes, wireless. The CarPlay works without the phone being plugged in.

It's tempting but that's low on my list of wants
 
Short version: GROM VLine VL2 is a magical little box that costs between $550 and $675 (depending on sales and group buys) that tucks behind the dashboard and drags your antiquated Land Cruiser 20 years into the future. It retains all of the OE hardware - including the 240p SD screen. To make up for that, the system is wireless - yes, wireless. The CarPlay works without the phone being plugged in.

Ok, I’ll check it out. But, it says up to 2006, and I have a 2007, which is basically a 2006, one year newer. I’ve emailed the folks at GROM about the fitment to my ride. We’ll see. $600 plus dollars is not a lot of money considering what it is supposed to do, if it does all it’s supposed to do, considering.
 
Last edited:
1. Do the VL2 units ever go on sale?
2. Are most people having these installed or installing themselves?
3. Are there manuals and instructions for self-install? How serious are we talking?

Thanks,
Will
 
1. Do the VL2 units ever go on sale?
2. Are most people having these installed or installing themselves?
3. Are there manuals and instructions for self-install? How serious are we talking?

Thanks,
Will
1. Not often
2. Diy.
3. I shot video of it, never edited it together. It's pretty straightforward. Pull radio bezel out, undo stereo head. Plug in grom harness adapters, reassemble. Can't recall if I had to take glovebox out as well.

The Grom vl2 isn't perfect, but it offers a pretty sweet upgrade for very little effort/commitment.
 
1. Not often
2. Diy.
3. I shot video of it, never edited it together. It's pretty straightforward. Pull radio bezel out, undo stereo head. Plug in grom harness adapters, reassemble. Can't recall if I had to take glovebox out as well.

The Grom vl2 isn't perfect, but it offers a pretty sweet upgrade for very little effort/commitment.
I’ve read through the entire thread, but most of the feedback is from earlier on—not as many later reviews.

When you say “not perfect,” what are its biggest flaws? I guess I’m asking if it’s WORTH the $700 price tag compared to one of the small hidden Bluetooth units.
 
I’ve read through the entire thread, but most of the feedback is from earlier on—not as many later reviews.

When you say “not perfect,” what are its biggest flaws? I guess I’m asking if it’s WORTH the $700 price tag compared to one of the small hidden Bluetooth units.
In context of what's required to maintain 100% oem functionality otherwise I think it's worth it.

Ultimately the non-nav swap is the "right" solution, imo. That's still my holy grail project for audio in my LX. I want "elite" quality audio and I don't think the oem screen/amp setup really facilitates that. But that's thousands just to get a foundation to build off of. And has no available kit - gotta buy a long list of parts on your own.

The Bluetooth only options are basic and sound quality is unavoidably degraded. Bluetooth only means you drop the full screen functionality of android auto or carplay. Easy, but not ideal.

Problems with vl2: nothing really about the vl2 itself, just the inhrerent flaws of using the oem touch screen/amp/climate controls. The vl2 takes up an annoying amount of space and occasionally needs hard resets (unplugging connectors from the main unit) which means you don't want it buried in the dash.

Unless you're prepared for a deep homework project with a bill upwards of $2k in parts alone for the non-nav swap, I think the vl2 is a good option.
 
In context of what's required to maintain 100% oem functionality otherwise I think it's worth it.

Ultimately the non-nav swap is the "right" solution, imo. That's still my holy grail project for audio in my LX. I want "elite" quality audio and I don't think the oem screen/amp setup really facilitates that. But that's thousands just to get a foundation to build off of. And has no available kit - gotta buy a long list of parts on your own.

The Bluetooth only options are basic and sound quality is unavoidably degraded. Bluetooth only means you drop the full screen functionality of android auto or carplay. Easy, but not ideal.

Problems with vl2: nothing really about the vl2 itself, just the inhrerent flaws of using the oem touch screen/amp/climate controls. The vl2 takes up an annoying amount of space and occasionally needs hard resets (unplugging connectors from the main unit) which means you don't want it buried in the dash.

Unless you're prepared for a deep homework project with a bill upwards of $2k in parts alone for the non-nav swap, I think the vl2 is a good option.
Perfect. Exactly what my expectations and priorities would be. Thanks for taking the time. It’s officially at the top of my birthday list!

P.S. Those fobs are great. I just had a new one made and really wish I’d seen yours sooner!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom