CJG

hey all...

I have a feeling there have been posts on this. I've searched, but didn't see anything to answer the question. Please bear with me as I just got back from wasting 4 hours at Best Buy.

I recently purchased a 2004 RX330 for my wife. Literally 6 days ago. Love the car, but wanted to get her a stereo that would let her plug in her phone and play music, as well as doing bluetooth calls.

Best Buy had me purchase a harness and kit on my own, since they didn't carry the parts. I order from Amazon, bring 'em in today, and pick up a basic Alpine stereo.

Couple of hours later, it's all in. As I'm pulling away, i go to turn on the A/C (controlled via the Nav screen), and the nav screen is unresponsive. I pull back into the lot and explain the situation to the installer, who swears he only touched the radio, not the nav, but he'd take a look at it.

Another couple of hours later (literally... 4 hours total), he's put the factory nav back in, and told me they'll refund my money (altho the refund will take 3-5 days, in spite of the fact that they were able to get the money immediately, but I digress...). He says he realizes that he can't offer me a radio without "breaking" the nav. And clearly, the nav is important for things like climate control (we do come to like our A/C here in Phoenix).

He tells me there are other ways to implement bluetooth audio without an aftermarket stereo, and shows me some options.

I may take him up on the other options, but first I wanted to verify. Is there really no way to add an aftermarket stereo to a 2004 RX330 with factory nav without rendering the nav screen useless? Surely there's got to be some adapter/kit?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and HI! My name's Charlie. This is my first post. I've been a Lexus owner for a few years now. have had a '98 ES 300 that just hit 190k miles, and now my wife's 2004 RX 330. Love these cars.

Thanks

RX330inFL

Welcome to Club Lexus, CJG.

Yes, this all has been discussed before. First, you need to read Carver's writeup:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...a-dnx6960.html

Be sure to read all the way through this as there is also a writeup from 1koolfella who has a setup with the existing NAV.

Then, Packrat1's new writeup:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...-installs.html

That should get you started for now.

RX330inFL

If you are looking to just add Bluetooth to your 2004 RX330, the only model year for the RX330 which did not have that as standard, you might look at a product such as:

http://usaspec.com/product.php?ProductID=73

Am sure there are others out there. This is not a recommendation, just an example. You will want to do some research before making such a purchase.

Packrat1

Prior to my Kenwood nav system I had a Parrot Bluetooth Kit PAR3100 and usa spec USA PA15TOY (Ipod interface for toyota/lexus) installed. They both worked perfectly with the existing factory stereo system. Mine didn't have factory nav but I suspect they use the same kit. It works off the CD changer.

I would not have Best Buy do it. Go to somewhere like CarToys or the like and get an install price in advance. I specifically chose the USA spec as it had the best sound of all the ones I looked at. Be sure to ask if they have installed one before on a Lexus and if the answer is no then go to another dealer.

CJG

Thanks both.

RX330inFL, I'll definitely read through those threads. Thanks for the links.

I'd like more than just bluetooth. I'd like the ability to plug the iPhone in, and play audio from it. If that has to be done via bluetooth streaming, that's fine too, but I'd want a way to charge the phone while that's happening.

My wife's minivan, which the RX330 replaces, had a Kenwood in it that charged the phone via USB and played audio off of it via that same USB.

Unfortunate about the fact that the car has Nav to begin with. The maps are old, from what I can tell, and will cost $170 to update. Meanwhile our phones have free GPS apps with up-to-date maps. I suppose I could update the nav itself, but the climate controls being part of the touchscreen seem to be the big issue.

*sigh* Will read thru the threads first tho and hopefully gain some knowledge about what options exist

Packrat1

The USA Spec Toyota piece will play itunes, pandora, ect via the hard wire for best sound. It also will charge the phone too. I wouldn't use bluetooth for streaming audio unless you are willing to sacrifice audio quality at least in my opinion.

RX330inFL

Looks like this URL does not pull up what I had hoped it would. USA Spec has a PA20-TOY connection kit. No Bluetooth, rather, it is a physical connection. Gives you charging capabilities as well.

http://usaspec.com/product.php?Produ...eShowProduct=1

Unfortunately for you, there are no Car Toys shops in AZ.

RX330iPad

Yes, I did it. My example is way more complex, but it shows that it is possible:

CJG

Unfortunately not. I did some browsing on Yelp and I think on Monday morning I'm going to take it over to Sun Valley Stereo (http://www.yelp.com/biz/sun-valley-stereo-phoenix) just to get some ideas.

Fortunately, there's no big rush on any of this. Personally, I'm an impatient man and want to get things done. But luckily my wife is just thrilled to have the car. While she'd certainly like to be able to play music off of her phone on it, she's happy to wait and get it done right.

Still need to read thru the previous threads that were linked here. Apologies for not having done that yet, it's just been a busy weekend.

Will post back with whatever I find out tomorrow regarding options and ways to move forward.

RX330iPad: That definitely looks like a sweet setup. Yes, probably a bit more complex than I'm looking to go, but _very_ cool! In my situation, if there was an iPad mini in the car, it would likely be in use by one of the 3 kids.

Ron57

I put a Pioneer X940BT in my 04 RX 330 last year. It worked great with the iPhone and provided me with an additional nav system as well.

CJG

Hey all...

Just wanted to follow up on this. As of today, my wife's 2004 RX330 has an Alpine CDE-147BT aftermarket radio in it, and the existing factory nav touch screen (and corresponding controls for climate, etc) still work.

Using the same kit that the Best Buy installer tried to use, and in half the time it took the Best Buy installer.

It's nothing fancy, but I wasn't really going for fancy. Just wanted something that my wife could play her iPhone music thru as well as send/receive calls via bluetooth. After the Best Buy experience, I wasn't sure that it could be done. After reading thru these posts, I was pretty sure that it could be. Now that it is, I'm very happy

EDIT:

Htang089

Hi Charlie. Can you tell me what kit did you buy from amazon? I would like to get the same set up as you. As I also have the navi system. My head unit has failed on me again. And I don't feel like dropping another 700 to get it fixed again from Lexus. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

RX330iPad

This is the one we need.

Htang089

Thanks. But I was actually wanting to know what adapter kit that was used. So I can still use the oem Navi and controls. Just want to get a aftermarket radio to work with the built in navigation system.

RX330iPad

This is my list of components used in my install and I was able to keep the Navigation and full use of the screen and backup camera:

Clarion XC1410
Alpine MRP-M500
Polk Audio dxi6500
Polk Audio 651S
Infinity Reference Amp Bass ****
Sony MEX-GS600BT
Axxes steering wheel controls
JL Audio 12W0v3-4 12"
Sirius XM sxv200v1
Dynamat
StreetWires ZeroNoise 5 Single Amp Kit
EFX Amplifier Wiring Kit 10-gauge 250-watt w/Patch Cord

Hope that helps out a little more. Also, you can just omit the iPad and use something else via bluetooth or audio cable, like this: