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I removed the VL2 from my LS couple weeks ago, before selling my car.
I assumed it wasn’t compatible for GSF, so was trying to sell, then yesterday I discovered the unit & harness work for both LS & GS models.
long story short, I installed everything & had car back together in 1.5hrs.
SOO much easier & less panels to pull to get access to the screen and stereo compared to the LS.
The GS doesn’t have the small access panel in glovebox like the LS does, so putting the main unit in glovebox would’ve been more time and labor intensive.
I routed all the wires down next to glovebox into the carpeted area next to passenger side foot area. The main unit was also stuffed down inside carpet. This wasn’t the easiest because there is not a lot of space to feed the wires down.
Anyhow, everything is installed & working as it should.
In hindsight, I should’ve taken pics throughout the process, but I had several Friday night beverages that had me rushing to the finish line.
IMO CarPlay is nothing short of DOPE! I absolutely love it. It really provides an elevated driving experience, totally hands free and wireless.
I hear many stories of audio issues when installing this, is this still an issue?
What type of issue are you referring to?
When it was in my LS, it would constantly freeze, reset, no sound, wireless connection issues etc. I updated the firmware after I installed in the GSF, and its been working perfectly.
This weekend i will plug a usb cord into the unit, so I can see if there's any advantages using the system wired opposed to the current wireless setup.
UPDATE: I chatted w/ the Grom tech support, and he confirmed that Iphone users will NOT get 100% lossless playback using wireless setting, however, Androids will get full 100% lossless playback w/ wireless connection.
Also added that wired setting has less interference from 5G, airports & other 2.4/5G sources.
Sounds like I'll be tackling this quick project later on today. I'll update again w/ my personal thoughts after a few days of testing.
I'll report back with results after trying the wired setup.
Last edited by XF40FSPORT; Feb 21, 2024 at 12:05 PM.
Reason: added updates.
When it was in my LS, it would constantly freeze, reset, no sound, wireless connection issues etc. I updated the firmware after I installed in the GSF, and its been working perfectly.
This weekend i will plug a usb cord into the unit, so I can see if there's any advantages using the system wired opposed to the current wireless setup.
UPDATE: I chatted w/ the Grom tech support, and he confirmed that Iphone users will NOT get 100% lossless playback using wireless setting, however, Androids will get full 100% lossless playback w/ wireless connection.
Also added that wired setting has less interference from 5G, airports & other 2.4/5G sources.
Sounds like I'll be tackling this quick project later on today. I'll update again w/ my personal thoughts after a few days of testing.
I'll report back with results after trying the wired setup.
Curious if you hear the difference between USB CarPlay and wireless CarPlay sound?
The difference exists, but it is not very noticeable. If the music file is already compressed, you cannot hear the difference.
Here are the photos of how CarPlay and Android Auto look on Lexus GS 2016+ (that support full screen nav).
Wireless CarPlay on the factory car stereo of Lexus GS 350 2016-2020, using GROM VLine VL2 system. Wireless Android Auto on the factory car stereo of Lexus GS 350 2016-2020, using GROM VLine VL2 system.
Curious if you hear the difference between USB CarPlay and wireless CarPlay sound?
The difference exists, but it is not very noticeable. If the music file is already compressed, you cannot hear the difference.
I really can't hear any improvement in sound quality.
I did just find out yesterday, after watching more of Grom audio youtube videos that I can finally adjust my sound settings by installing the factory UI app! This has been useful, as I installed a 10" sub recently, and can finally adjust the sound settings to my desire.
The only real improvement w/ wired v wireless is the boot up time. Wireless would occasionally boot up immediately (even after following all proper steps provided by Grom), and other times take up to a few minutes, which was pretty frustrating! Wired on the other hand is almost instant connection.
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Installed Grom Vline2
