good luck!
LC & LX470 Tesla Style Screen Radio Upgrade with Climate Control: General Discussions (27 Viewers)
- Thread starter BigLittle
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Interesting- my experience with Phoenix was terrible-
They NEVER answer the phone-
they do not call you back.
Took them weeks to send me a new harness after they promised when I purchased that the harness they were including initially was the new one I NEEDED (and asked for)
I called them recently about the apple play dongle they sold me-they NEVER returned my call. Basically, I was on my own
The only way I got the radio to work was through the great folks on this forum.
Perhaps they have changed their tune
Interesting, I called them multiple times a day for a couple of weeks and they were very responsive and even began to recognize me and greet me by name
Hey guys....I have a 2006 LX and have been struggling with my audio features in the car (or lack-thereof) for a while now. I recently went with a Grom Audio unit that used the OE screen and offers apple CarPlay/spotify, etc. It works OK but not fantastic. I decided that Im not going to stick with it. So, my options are: Installing a flip-out radio (pioneer) and keeping the OE screen to control the HVAC. Or jumping into one of the large screen units. I feel like the pioneer will work right out of the gate with minimal issues....but will look a bit odd (two screens). For those of you who are using the large screen unit....what are your thoughts regarding my situation? Thanks!!
Were you part of the VL2 group buy? Just curious as to why you don't like it as I was pondering switching over to that from the Tesla-style at some point. I haven't had any experience with aftermarket radios except for this unit.
Having had the unit for 9 or so months, here's been my experience:
Pros:
- Having a modern interface has been great
- Large screen with high resolution is good
- Having apps like Torque, Maps, etc is awesome. However, I get better audio quality streaming Spotify from my phone versus using the app.
- You can use higher res backup cameras and can add a front camera as well
- Screen is glossy, so if there's sunlight on the passenger seat, good luck seeing what's on the screen
- Screen is a bit dim in the daytime, but too bright at night, even at the lowest setting
- Android Auto loses connection and I have to disconnect and reconnect my USB cable. I've tried different cables, but not different phones. I gave up and just use built-in Maps and have a mobile hotspot stowed in the sunglasses niche overhead.
- Touchscreen HVAC control sucks and I miss having buttons to control temp and the rear window heater.
- You will need to upgrade your amp, speakers, and sub, so budget accordingly. Otherwise you may have grounding buzz (like I do).
Thank you SO much for the detailed review! This is exactly what I was looking for.
I was not part of the VL2 group buy (unfortunately). One of my gripes with the OE system (aside from no connection to iPhone available) is the fact that the OE bluetooth was VERY clunky. When I would go to place a call, even though I was connected, the call would go through before the bluetooth would pickup and link it through my speakers. REALLY annoying! I had hoped that the Grom would have bluetooth capability (since it does SO much else) but, alas, no phone connectivity.
I think I'll give the Tesla a try!
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Eli, I just found this thread and had seen your YouTube video on this unit. So I decided to pull the trigger, bought and installed the unit. It seems to work great, but when I turn up the volume I get this really bad distortion at about 50%. You mention you had one with a bad amp, what were the symptoms? I was fearful my ML amp and/or speakers were bad. I pulled a Seicane unit out because it was trash. Lived with it for several months because it had SO many bugs in it. Any help would be appreciated, I am in Loveland and purchased the unit from the same place you did. Any suggestions you may have on fixes for the distortion? I fiddled with all of the amp and equalizer settings with no joy. It seems to react the same way with almost all inputs, radio, movie, hard drive, etc. I was tempted to go with a new amp and speakers, I did notice the same issue with the Seicane, but at much greater volumes. Thank you for the help!
Mine Dual zone is not working either..
I have the PX6.
Have you gone into the settings that allow you to change the gain level for each type of input? I recall that making a big difference when I had issues with the levels being too high for some sources and too low for others. It's in the password-protected User Settings (8861 is the code, I think).
The reason our dual zone HVAC button doesn't work is because our vehicles actually never had that functionality to begin with. It's just a dummy button.
Thank you, I will look there tomorrow, it is making me crazy at this point. Also, I went with an aftermarket Amazon camera and used the AUX inputs to wire in a Sirius radio touch screen. All seem to be functioning. If I can get the amp issue figured out, I would be extremely happy. I'll report back tomorrow on my results. Thank you again.
No problem...looking forward to hearing how it turns out. The process is a little annoying because you have to reboot the device every time you change an input level, but once you get it dialed in it'll never be an issue again.
I take it from your post that these don't have Sirius capability built-in?? Or the option to just add a tuner and get on-screen menu?
There is no built-in Sirius tuner, but you can install the Sirius Android app and use your subscription over the data signal. I wouldn't expect on-screen menus with an aftermarket tuner, but I've never shopped for one so can't be certain.
Damn.
Its odd that they would have a provision to add a simple tuner (just like on any modern aftermarket radio) and then have a screen/menu to access the stations with.
What are you using for a hotspot?
I just use my phone for hotspot. It automatically connects whenever I turn the car on.
Thank you, I changed the the amp settings by upping the volume and tone levels and also reduced one media volume setting from 100% to about half of that. Things sound so much better. I did not find any tone or volume settings on the screen where the pass code is required. I wonder if I am missing something? If there are gain settings for each media type would you mind sharing the steps to get to them?
I believe I will need to refresh the system with a new amp and speakers at some point soon. But I am thankful for your help and it is much appreciated.
Thank you!
You can download the Sirius app from the google playstore to the headunit or you can download the Sirius app to your phone and stream via bluetooth, but I opted to install a small dedicated Sirius device. I think sound quality is better. So far during testing, it sounds really great I will post some pics when I have the unit back in the dash. I removed the ashtray near the center console and installed it there. Lots of modification to the ash tray area, definitely not for everyone, but it fits good and looks like it belongs there.
When you can, pics would be great!
