hypervish

This will not work with a 2000 ES300. Only works with 2002 and newer.

PuReChaos

Yeah, sorry I understand your situation, I had an older car before my 2003 ES and I wanted to do something similar but I ran into the same problem. Sorry for being the bearer of bad news, I hope theres some other alternatives out there!

Megafast13

Great Write Up!

Thanks

hypervish

You're welcome!

Konejita

Now to get it on the honey do list Would the connections all be the same if you have Navigation?

hypervish

I'm not sure if the connections would be the same with navigation, or if it will work with an ES that has navigation. I would contact GROM and ask them.

DanH

Thank you for posting these detailed installation instructions. They are very helpful. I have successfully installed the USB Grom unit. I plan to add the bluetooth feature for handsfree operation of my Windows phone.

hypervish

You're welcome!

Glad to hear you got it installed!

Alcheemee

Hey hypervish! I would like to thank you for the write up and I am very close to ordering one tonight. I have a couple of questions though.

1. What is the USB for? I've been thinking about how the end of the USB would be used and I can't think of any adapters I have for my iPhone that plugs into a USB (USB to USB confuses me).

2. Can you use the steering wheel controls to control the music?

3. The 3.5mm headphone jack - Is it a simple plug-in-play thing? (I have a 80GB iPod classic that I'll be storing as my music harddrive).

THANKS.

hypervish

You're very welcome!

1. If you buy the GROM unit I have shown in this thread, which is the IPD3, then the USB is used for charging your phone.

You take the 30 pin iphone connector/lightning connector and plug it into the female end of the USB coming out of the GROM and it will charge your iphone.

2. I'm not sure, as my ES300 does not have steering wheel controls. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't still work, but I'd contact GROM to be sure. Their customer support is great, they will get back to you quickly!

3. Yes, the 3.5mm is plug & play and can be used with any device that accepts that as an output. Your iPod Classic will work perfectly.

Alcheemee

Thanks man! I actually ordered the GROM adapter and the customer service did tell me that you can use the steering wheel controls!

I am looking into speakers now, hopefully I'll get a full Alpine system going on soon.

hypervish

You're welcome!

Glad to hear the steering wheel controls will work!

msekanha

I've never heard of grom.. Will the bluetooth adapter work with any phone that has bluetooth?

And the USB charger... Is its purpose just for charging, or will it also enable me to play music from my phone?

hypervish

Yes, the bluetooth will work with android phones. It should work with "dumbphone" with bluetooth as well.

In the GROM-IPD3 unit the USB female connector is only for charging. In the GROM-USB unit you can listen to music via a flashdrive plugged into the USB.

Remember, there is also a 3.5mm jack that comes with the unit which can be used if you don't want to use bluetooth.

KLF

Tossing this thread back up to the top, as I found it very useful today when installing my GROM. No iPod/iPhone for me, I ended up buying the USB2 Plus unit, plus I also added the Bluetooth module and the AUX-IN cable. Very easy install on the GROM, and it actually works better than I expected, it has more features and better integration that I thought.

http://www.gromaudio.com/store/usb_a...interface.html

My phone is a Droid RAZR MAXX, and I bought the specific Motorola Mobile Dock for it on Amazon:

http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers...,en_US,pd.html

Originally I had planned to get a bracket from either PanaVise or Pro-Fit:

http://www.panavise.com/pdf_indash/75136-202.pdf
http://www.pro-fit-intl.com/Adobe/LX-52-01.pdf (page 2)

but, when I looked at the brackets, popped the dash apart, scrounged around the garage, I decided "I can make one better than that". A few hours later, some 16ga steel, a welder, and I had a better design that was mounted essentially the same. I had to kinda dissect the dock to get it mounted on my bracket, but it was worth it.

A few notes on the install for the GROM:

* I started by unscrewing the shifter **** (so it can't get damaged), set it aside, then take a small screwdriver and pop out the little cover that lets you move the shifter without the key. Otherwise, once the shifter is out of P, the key is captive in the ignition, so you'd have to listen to that annoying "bong bong bong...". Stick the shifter down in D, then just pop off the entire surround on the console including the ashtray. Carefully unplug the ashtray connector and any other connectors (my car as the rear window shade, one other plug to disconnect). Then set the console cover out of the way in a safe place.

* Put a thick towel over the shifter stub. This will protect the HVAC module, which really does just pop out, no tools required. DO NOT DISCONNECT ANY OF THE CABLES ON THE BACK! (warning on both the Panavise and Pro.Fit document) I suspect that if you disconnect them that this will trigger something bad with the security system.

* As the photos from hypervish show, there are 4 bolts that need to be removed from under the stereo, my Nav/ML unit was the same. The upper 2 are pretty far recessed, you'll need a short extension and a flashlight. 10 mm socket. Once those are out, put another heavy towel over the HVAC unit, then gently pull out on the entire stereo section, it will come out with the head unit and all.

* My GROM interface cable plugged into where the CD Changer connects, but it's a "daisy chain" connection, meaning you plug the changer back into the other end of the GROM harness. I removed my CD Changer years ago (it broke, good riddance), so I have no way to test to see if it would still work now. Once you have the interface cable attached, you can gently put the head unit section back. Very easy!

* I put my Bluetooth mic in pretty much the same spot. I found these nifty plastic pry tools very helpful for tucking the wire under the headliner and down the A-pillar.

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performan...80691/10002/-1

* There is a LOT of room in the dash under the HVAC unit and behind the ashtray/console cover to hide stuff. I also put my GROM "brain" on the ductwork, same place, with some strong double-stick tape.

* I tried the proprietary AALinQ app on my phone, but honestly, I didn't like it. I had to use the charging cable that came with my phone to connect, not the cable that is integrated into the car dock. The interface is kinda crude, too clumsy to navigate through the ~15GB of music on my phone. Besides, I really intend to just use Pandora most of the time.

* So, I'm using the Bluetooth adapter to connect the phone for both the audio streaming and hands-free. So far I am really impressed with the connection and features. I pop the phone into the dock, set the stereo in CD Changer mode which automatically goes to "BT STREAM" on the display, the phone automatically goes into "Car Mode" with a special home screen, then hit the Pandora app, and tunes start in a few seconds, even on 3G. Navigation, phone calls, Poweramp, everything comes through the speakers. And, it charges the battery at the same time. Phone calls dim the music volume as it should, and I even found that the "forward/back" buttons on the steering wheel communicate with Pandora and Poweramp. I swear the thing looks factory!