Any update for the availability of the cable for the navi?
Ben r I know you were trying to get one before so that we can do the nav hack then later re-stock our system- or anyone?

 

i'd love one of these too....its a shame someone hasnt been able to make some sort of pre-modded cable that plugs in the harness on one end and the head unit on the other...would be great

 

The problem is the male and female connectors. They may be proprietary, they may not be. No one can really identify them. Maybe if we had some good pictures of both connectors someone might look up the part in the digikey or newark in one catalogs.

 

You won't find them in Digikey or Newark. You'll find them direct from AMP or Sumitomo - if they'll sell in quantities under 10k. They don't like to.

 

There would be a huge market for this. My question being, is there only one way to wire it or are there different ways to wire it to get different features?

 

Why is that? Are they that special? There's literally a hundred pages of connectors that are similar to them in those catalogs, and they don't mind selling 1, 2, or 3 of something, at least I've never had a problem ordering such small quantities. I've just never been able to see what the shape/body of the connector is, as I'm sure the pin spacing wouldn't be hard to match. I've had my car for a week now, and I really don't mind the restrictions because I'm spending my time driving and not fiddling with the navigation unit.

 

there's a guy named lexusaudio which has some expertise with the nav,he might know something, just search the forum and check him out!

 

I think if they made an aftermarket adaptor like that it would sell like crazy. This is a mod that everyone who drives an IS can enjoy the benefits of. Not like springs or exhausts where preferences get in the way. This would cater to ever owner of the IS.

 

why can't we just identify the cable and order it from Sewell or Carson's? will they not sell one to us?

 

Product liability insurance. You will have to have it to sell this item. It defeats a safety interlock imposed by Lexus. There will be an idiot somewhere who will order one, put it in his car, have an accident because he is too stupid to manage his attention appropriately and he will sue the manufacturer of the cable for defeating the safety interlock and causing his accident.

For example - when I started riding motorcycles in 1979, I could buy a good helmet by a reputable manufacturer for $65. Comparable quality helmets now cost $250. It isn't the cost of materials, labor, or engineering that makes the price so high. It's the cost of litigation. Some helmets have as much as 60% of their cost going to legal fees because idiots (and their heirs) sue the manufacturers when they get hurt or killed in an event for which no helmet could possibly provide adequate protection.

I have thought about doing exactly this. I know where to get the bits and pieces, but I would not want to take the risk of some bonehead suing me for everything I'm worth because he drove into a school bus full of kids while he was inappropriately tinkering with the nav in his car.

 

Lexusaudio aka egusman should have this cable. I think he gets them from Japan.

 

You can't actually buy the cable, because there is no such thing. The only cables that currently exist are the ones part of the wire harness that terminate at the back of the navigation unit. What some want is a small cable, maybe a few inches long with a male and female connector on either end to sit between the wire harness and navigation unit. So you'd have to buy the two connectors, the pins, and of course the wire is easily had.

 

Whats your definition of 'huge'? Sure, maybe there would be a few hundred sold on here and the other lexus forums... But outside of that, i can't see them selling like hotcakes.

 

Exactly. I for one would be afraid to rip apart my dash to put it in, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. That and the fact that they only sell about 50,000 ISes per year, so how many actually care about fixing this "problem"?

 

I should add I just don't care to enter destinations while driving. All you have to do is slow down to under 5 mph, and around here I get that chance at almost every block when stopping for traffic, a stop sign, or red light every 500 feet.