Fireman21

I bought my wife a 2008 ES350 with nav but it only has a AUX jack in the center console and you have to play the songs from the IPOD. IE as it uses the headphone jack.

Is there a retrofit kit out there that you can run and have the IPOD in the glovebox and have it ran on the bottom port, the control port of the IPOD. This way it charges....of course would this mean we could control it from the nav screen and not have to use the Ipod?

Anybody know what i mean? My pioneer premier Nav in my F150 uses this, I have a cable that runs from the back of the nav into my glove box so its clean and neat and the ipod is controled from the screen not the IPOD.

Thanks

Fireman21

^

Saw the Icarkits advertisment above. Surprised nobody had an answer though.

alexulan

I believe Sewell Lexus has an IPOD cable for ~$250ish that needs to be connected to the back of the stereo. so prob another $80 for the install.


http://lexus.sewellparts.com/pdf/PT54500082_GS.pdf
http://lexus.sewellparts.com/accesso...2009/3136.html

MWR

The best unit I've found to do exactly this is from Vaistech, the SoundLinQ2 SL2i-UP - Apple® iPod™ interface adapter, $199.

I have a 2008 ES350 with the Mark Levinson system and this product works perfectly for me. You can put the iPod in the glove box quite easily.

Installation is straightforward, so you may not need to pay for installation. If you search the forums, you should find a radio removal post with drawings on how to remove the required dash panels (they all pop off) and the 4 bolts that hold the radio assembly in. This thread has all the details: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...e-driving.html.

The adapter cable plugs in the back of the radio. Route the iPod docking cable to where you want it (mine is in the console) and reinstall everything. Everything works as before, including the in-dash cd player, and the iPod charges and is controllable from the touch screen.

Really a great product, can't imagine not having it. Hope that helps.

MadMax96

How is the sound quality from the Vaistech unit?

I ask only because when I use the Aux jack (only 1/8" headphone jack) that is in my '07, I find I have to crank up the volume quite a bit on my iPod while also turning up the volume on my headunit a bit more than normally required compared to the Tuner or CD player.

Does using the iPod dock connector seem to have a little more gain than the headphone jack?

Thanks.......

MWR

The sound quality is excellent, in my experience, using the Apple Lossless Format on my iPod, as good as the CD player.

As for gain levels, the Vaistech uses the apple connector to connect with the iPod, so the output is the standard line level output; the iPod volume control is bypassed. The resulting gain level is just fine, again on par with the CD player.

By the way, there are other products on the Vaistech website, so make sure you look at all the compatible units to see which one best suits your needs (the have some with USB ports, for instance).

When it comes to using the touch screen to control the iPod, this is a nice feature, but it's only available when the car is stationary. Just like the navigation system, the buttons go blank when the car is moving. You can still use the stering wheel controls to skip to the next song or album and adjust the volume while the car is moving, but the functionality of the touch screen is limited.

Hope that helps.

KILLERGS4

this works well also (iSimple - iPod® Direct Connect Kit), Bestbuy will do the install:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iSimple+...e%20&cp=1&lp=4
they charged little extra for my install, but wasn't too much. $220 OTD.

MadMax96

Does the iSimple one have on-screen control also?

Thanks for the reply MWR - I didn't realize about the screen lockout, but it makes sense.

I've installed many car stereos in my day - back when cars had simple headunits instead of all this integrated stuff. Needless to say I wouldn't be afraid to do the install myself on whatever I end up with, if I even get one.

MWR

I should mention that the Vaistech unit has two modes: Emulation Mode, where the iPod is controlled by the navigation touch screen and the iPod is disabled; and Simple Mode, where the iPod controls are active and the touch screen is disabled. In simple mode you, or a passenger, can use all the regular iPod commands while your moving.

You can switch between these modes on the touch screen, so if you're on a long trip and are frustrated by being locked-out by the Lexus touch screen, you can always revert to Simple Mode and just use the iPod itself to select songs.

The steering wheel controls work in both modes, if I remember correctly.

The other simple solution that uses the existing Lexus Aux-in is to use a Line Out Dock Cable for the iPod, like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

It takes the analog audio from the iPod at line level, by-passing the headphone volume control altogether. Your iPod won't charge and you can only control volume from the steering wheel, but you also won't have gain or distortion issues. And it's pretty cheap.

Fireman21

Thanks for all the replies. Im going to go with the Vaistech unit for her Bday. Thanks!