Jabberwock

OK so I when out to install the TOYPD2 in my car.

1. Got the seat heater cover off np
2. Removed the 3 screws exposed by removing seat heater panel, and removed the next section containing the little drawer and CD deck cover.
3. Removed the two 10mm bolts that were exposed under and on each side of the CD deck.
Try to pull out radio and cd deck as one unit and no go. Pulled out straight and also tried downward slighly, pulled pretty hard but I was not gonna force it and potentially break something.

My car is non Nav - anybody done this before on a non Nav LS - any secret to getting the radio/cd deck assembly out after removing the two 10 mm bolts below the cd deck?

LSDoc

OK,
If this:

"...iPod control from your steering wheel with direct wired sound quality, plus an XM tuner plugged into the 2nd Auxiliary port of the iPod adapter. This way you can have crystal clear sound from either source..."

-is what I could get, then I would be quite happy! It sounds like it would be efficient and of high quality.

Am I on the right track???

Playdrv4me

Jabber, you just have to give the thing a good tug. I have the exact same radio you do and once I removed the two 10mm bolts and pulled from the bottom middle (under the CD unit) with a little force it unlatched and came right out.

There are two clips still holding the radio in even after you remove the two bolts, so you have to give it a firm pull to get it all to come out. Watch out when pulling too as the radio unit is cumbersome and heavy and wants to fall STRAIGHT DOWN toward your shift lever as soon as it releases.

Ears

Nav is same way on a 2004

Ears

yes, but the xm tuner , hooked up to the second aux is not controlled by the steering wheel/car stereo controls, I recall...

McSwine

This gizmo plugs into the back of the radio, right? My '02 has an adapter cable I have to use.

I'm not sure I have sense enough to pull this off.

Playdrv4me

If by "adapter cable" you mean the Y shaped cable included with the kit, I had to use that on my 2004 as well. Yes, once you have the radio out, it replaces the smaller connector on the back of the radio. You then re-plug in that smaller connector to one end of the Y cable, and you plug in the Soundgate unit's cable to the other end of that Y cable.

Jabberwock

Ok I gave it another try and finally did get my radio out. It is important to pull the radio straight out (and not down) In my case it took considerable force...was actually afraid I'd break something apart. It took so much force because it turns out one of the two spring clips holding the radio in was twisted and caught in the right side bracket. The clip got completely bent up and fell off trying to take the radio out. Had to reform/re-bend the clip and reinstall it on the side of the radio for it to work smoothly again and engage the right side bracket. Once the clip was reinstalled correctly the radio popped in and out of the brackets pretty easy.

The rest of the install went pretty well after that. There is room at the bottom of the dash stack cavity to house the TOYPD unit. Snaking the cables out to the glove box was a little bit of a challenge. Pulled passenger foot well cover (black plastic panel held up with clips in front) and used the shine a flashlight upwards trick to see the path. Lots of sharp edges in there so be careful not to nick wires/cable. Reassembled for dry run and test. Everything worked well after I re-programmed the dip switches correctly. I ran the ipod connect cable into glove box by bringing it in thru the back of the cabin air filter access door. The Ipod will likley be sitting on top shelf left of glove box. Keeps it hidden but easy to access.

I now have to go back thru the install and add some velcro, cable ties, and some hi-temp foam tape as necessary to make sure everything is in secure with no rattles.

LSDoc

That sounds quite fine to me! It would be a vast improvement over what I've been tolerating. It sounds like the installation would take a bit more 'hands on' than I would prefer. Usually, these projects take me 3 times as long as I had imagined, and I wonder why I didn't get a 'pro' in the first place!

Thanks for all the insight!

McSwine

Installed my gizmo this weekend...pretty straightforward. The only problem I had, other than screwing around with the dip switches, is one of the cables I got had a bad end on it. Took me a while to figure it out; apparently I had a loose wire on one of the plugs. I was able to stick it back in and tape it down with duct tape to get a good connection. I'm going to contact mp3carpros.com for a replacement for a more permanent fix.

BTW, I got the one that has the second aux. input, since I was more interested in connecting a Sirius sat. receiver than an iPod. It sounds fantastic, much better than the "direct FM antenna" input I had on my previous LS400. I snagged a Sansa Fuze mp3 player off Woot, so I can use it as well.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with the sound quality, and would recommend either of these boxes for someone looking to hook up an iPod or other music source.

aypues

is this like the PXAMG? I want it to do bluetooth streaming audio too, but a lil concerned with making phone calls from it too. i don't think it can be paired to the factory bluetooth and to this add on bluetooth unit simultaneously.

http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=11457

Bocatrip

Tried out the Philips today with a friend's Ipod.(I'm a dinosaur and need to buy an Ipod). The sound is quite good. I noticed at first when I had the LS car volume all the way down and the Ipod volume all the way up it was distorted. It took time to adjust the Ipod volume somewhere in the midrange to get the best sound quality. Anyone else find this to be the case?

honeygee2

Based on the statements found on here I bought two adapters for my two lexus's my 430 and her 330. As stated I can't believe the sound quality from a 10 dollar device. Put the ipod on "shuffle songs" and drive for ten hours with your favorite music.

Thanks for the info. Great product.

Bocatrip

Purchased a Ipod Shuffle today, hooked it up to Philips adapter and loaded it up with my initial 30 songs. I cannot believe how good it sounds! I actually feel it sounds clearer than my CD player. How can you go wrong for $8.00?

caddyowner

I reviewed this thread over the weekend and found the Philips adapter at WM today. I tested it out in the driveway this evening - comparing a CD v. the same disk ripped to iTunes and downloaded to my iPad. The sound was OK, but basically had the same issues as any cassette - a bit of thin sound compared to a CD. It certainly will be OK for use on road trips.

Since my wife likes to listen to music all night, I figure I'll set up some playlists for her and hook her iPad up to her stereo via a 3.5-to-RCA cable.