New Owner

My 96 LS400 came without a very important accessory, a CD player.

I would much prefer to have the real deal Lexus changer but in checking at the dealership it's going to cost between $1300-$1400. There's $236 for the new glove box liner kit plus $890 for the changer itself. Add in installation labor, tax and misc. and we're well into 4 figures.

What are my options? Are there any aftermarket options or would anyone dare consider looking at a salvage yard for the real McCoy Lexus changer?

How difficult is it to install the Lexus changer yourself?

LOTC

New onwer you can either get a RF CD Changer that will connect to the antenna or you could get a double din aftermarket head unit with both a casette and cd player,but you will have to get a custom mounting kit which will only cost about $20-$30.I would not get the factory cd changer ir is not even worth it.

New Owner

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I'd prefer to keep the car "all Lexus" if I can and I certainly don't want some bozo butchering the dash or wiring harness.

Sorry for not providing more info up front. I guess I'm wanting to have my cake and eat it too ;^)

Before considering something from the aftermarket, it's going to have to be something that fits or can be inconspicuously installed in the upper glove box area where the "factory" unit goes and it's going to have to come with a wiring harness adapter that plugs in to the factory harness and works with the factory radio. As for the FM units, I've heard one and no thanks. The dynamic range and fidelity doesn't compare.

I was merely curious if anyone knew of something other than the $1300-$1400 factory system that might be available or if there was a source to get the factory system at wholesale. I agree that's too much. I've checked Crutchfield for compatible aftermarket systems and they don't seem to have anything that doesn't require some butchering or replacement of the factory radio.

Has anyone ever found a factory unit in a salvage yard?

SQ-LS

I have my old Pioneer head unit and cd changer, if you would like it I'll sell it to you really cheap.
Name your price.

JBrady

Lou, does the 1st gen head unit fit the 2nd gen dash?

Lou, I believe there are 2 different stereos for the 2nd gen LS, Pioneer and Nakamichi, but the head unit appears "identical" except for a small label. The head units themselves are pre-wired for the in glovebox mounted cd player that I think are the same for both head units. Many aftermarket companies make an adapter wiring harness that adapts factory head units with aftermarket cd players. NO ONE does so for Lexus...WHY? It would seem fairly straightforward. Power, signal, control.

QUESTION: Anyone know of a stereo guru who could figure out how to make a Pioneer player work the the Lexus Pioneer head unit???? Gotta be doable. Factory player can't be much different than standard stuff. Several shops that I asked said they get requests for it all the time and could sell a bunch of players. PLUS, as edogg says, the factory unit ain't all that, gotta believe there is a market for upgrades...ANYONE?

SQ-LS

That is a good question John.
I figured they are both the same headunit since they are similar in size and mount in the same area.
As for fitting a pioneer cd changer to the lexus headunit all you really need to do is find out if the signal input is the same.
If it is then it should pop right in with no problems.

Going aftermarket on these luxury cars (that includes MB, Audi, and BMW) is very hard.
The market is small and thus little to non aftermarket kits and harness is produced.
Since there is no kit and harness available then installing a aftermarket system takes on new life and frustration.

New Owner

Well, such a deal I may have found!

The widow of the fellow whose '96 LS I just bought is going to be trading her '97 in a couple months. She's willing to let me have her factory CD changer for the wholesale trade-in difference (about $200) and I pay the labor on both cars to make the change.

OK, this begets the obvious question; is swapping the glove box and CD changer something I can do myself or is it something best left to the dealership???

SQ-LS

I don't know how well your are with electronics but for me it is a do it yourself type of job.
It is pretty easy tearing it out and putting the new stuff in, but if you don't know how to take the dash apart and runs wires then I would reccomend a good installer doing it.

New Owner

Thanks Lou.

Yep, do-it-yourself job for sure. With a couple pointers from Lextek (thanks Kyle) I decided to make a dry run today, disassembling and reassembling both glove boxes on my own car. I also found the white CD connector.

Yes, I can do this. Duck soup.

However, I was somewhat in awe of how "put together" these cars are. Holy Toledo, talk about FIT! If Lextek hadn't told me where to start, I don't think I'd have figured it out on my own.

And to think that Lexus actually gets $236 for the glove box kit. Simply amazing.