Need some advice on bluetooth setup for 2003 ES300
 

I have searched the forums but I haven't come up with much but a post from 1-14-08 that wasn't too encouraging on the subject. I just basically need to know if the 03 ES300 with standard radio has a mute cable/connection (or prewired phone connection) to get the radio to mute when the phone rings. From what I read, it seems like there's an issue with Lexus wiring that keeps this from being plug and play. Ultimately I'd like to just have a hardwired kit that will mute the radio and preferrable play through the radio speakers but if that's not possible, I'd be fine with a separate speaker for the phone kit.

I'd like to hear other's solutions to add bluetooth to their ES300's as well. I'm looking for the simplest and cleanest solution. This is my wife's car and the only thing she wants to see is the little control module. Haven't decided on a Parrot or other kit. May go with an old simple Ericsson kit that comes with a speaker. Whatever will integrate best.

According to the model library on www.lexus.com, the Lexus dual mode phone was a dealer installed option in the 03 ES. I assume your ES was prewired for a phone system at the factory like the more expensive models.

I have not noticed a thread on the forums about using the prewire harness for the dual mode phone with an aftermarket phone kit. My 2000 LS400 was wired for the previous generation phone and I connected the mute wire from my Nokia car kit to the middle front terminal of the six pin connector on the drivers side under the armrest - just plunged the mute wire into the connector and secured it with a wire tie. I also found a mute connection in the trunk of my LS where the phone ECU would have been installed. For the 98-00 LS, there was a mute pin on the headunit or amp depending on whether the car had the std or Nak system.

After you searched for phone system connectors under the armrest? It is easy to find a mute pin by turning the radio on and probing the phone connectors with a non-powered ground testlight. When you hit the mute pin the radio with shut off. Be very careful if you try doing this on the head unit or amplifier - you could do damage if you don't know what you are doing.

Even in cars that were not prewired for phones, there are often mute connections or pins. I found a mute pin on the back of my wife's 98 Camry radio to connect her phone kit to but I had to buy a Soundgate aux/MP3 adapter cable to plug into the radio's 12-pin dataport so I would have a wire to connect the phone kit mute wire to.

Try downloading the wire diagram for your 03 ES from the ARRC website - there is a link on http://www.bedlib.org/ebsco.html I think the current "stealth" userid is "lib" and password is "access". If this doesn't work to access the site, search this forum for Bedford and you will probably find a userid and password. Or ... many public libraries have access to ARRC. I can normally access the ARRC website using the userid and password that came with my library card.

But ... As of right now, the ARRC website appears to be down.

I think I posted an audio system wiring diagram for the 03 ES on this forum fairly recently but I could be wrong. There may be different diagrams for the different audio systems.

Awesome reply! Thanx for all the info. But I think I'm going to bite the bullet and pay a good installer to do it. This is for my wife so there's no room for trial and error or mistakes. If it were plug and play, I'd do it. Plus I don't know what kind of BT system is best for these cars radios.

But if they give me some insane quote, I'd i may just be using this info while she's out of town.

PS, you mentioned a "prewire harness". Is there a factory plug & play option for a bluetooth kit for the ES300? If so, I'd be interested in that.

Glad to help.

By "prewire harness" I meant the phone system wiring that was installed at at the Lexus factory on most 1990 - 2003 Lexus cars.

All Lexus brand phones sold at Lexus dealers in the U.S. were installed by the dealer using the prewire phone harness installed at the factory.

There is no "plug and play" Bluetooth kit that will plug into the prewire harness.

Any Bluetooth phone kit can be easily installed in your ES. Or at least it seems easy to me since I have installed quite a few phone kits and know how to disassemble the interior of cars - it really is pretty easy. I learned to do phone kit installs after having some really poor work done by so called professionals.

The main goal when picking a Bluetooth kit is to pick one that works with your phone and that has the features you want. Any Bluetooth kit can be installed in your car.

Don't be afraid to do some disassembly of your interior and see what connections you have. It is easier than it looks. The "experts" that install Bluetooth kits are often minimum wage kids - they aren't brain surgeons. If you can read instructions - and I can guarantee you that many professional installers can not - you can do at least as good a job installing a phone kit.

An easy way to power a Bluetooth kit is to use a piggyback fuse connector sold at many auto parts stores -- keeps you from having to splice the Bluetooth kit wire into an ignition or cigarette lighter power source.

Using an external speaker can simplify the the installation. An external speaker can be used with just about any Bluetooth kit and removes the stress of having to tap into a door speaker wire. We have external speakers for the phone kits in all our cars and they sound great. Some of the newer external speakers are small and powerful and easy to hide under the dash.

Also, take a look at the Howard phone forums -- a great source of information about phone kits.

If you can not find a phone connector with a mute phone connector under the center console look at the wiring diagrams on ARRC at the link I previously supplied. The ARRC website is back up and I see that the 03 ES had lots of audio options. The wire color of the phone mute wire (labeled TLMT) is clearly labeled on the diagrams.

OK. You talked me into it. Also, I found this vendor that sells a prewired harness that will make the whole process about 95% plug & play:

http://www.quickconnectproducts.com/Find/find.php

The cable is the QCJBL-1. The only thing you have to do is splice a door speaker or add an external speaker. My only problem with the external speaker (in the past) is trying to find a place to install it. I'm used to working on Audi's and VW's. My wife had a Passat and I got the Audi and there was nowhere to install an additional speaker where it would sound good on either car. May not be an issue on the ES300 but having a stock speaker is just ideal to me.

I'm looking to install the Parrot since this seems like the closest to plug & play and I know how it works and that it's compatible with our PPC phones. So that just leaves me to worry about how to pull the radio and the trim and not potential wiring mistakes. I'm going to look through this site for the interior removal instructions you posted the link to. Thanx again. I'll let you know how it goes.

I can't access the libray with the user id & password you posted. Is there another reference on this site or other?

I just now accessed ARRC on http://www.bedlib.org/ebsco.html using "lib" and "access" as the user and password - don't use the quotation marks - only lib & access

If you still can't get to the ARRC, tell me which audio system you have (I think there were six different diagrams) and I will post the diagram to this thread.

Great you found a wiring kit for the Parrot - they have certainly expanded the vehicles they have kits for since I checked a few years back.

Instructions on how to splice into a wire leading to a door speaker has been posted on this forum in the past. You might try searching this forum for "Parrot". I'll do a search later when I have more time.

I found it pretty easy to find a place under the dash for an external speaker on both our 00 LS and 98 Camry but I agree that it would be nice to use a door speaker.

Many people used to use Nokia speakers with the Parrot kits but I notice recently that Parrot now sells an optional speaker which looks very similar to the little Nokia ones.

I finally got into the website and downloaded the wiring diagram. Thanx. Also, I've just purchased the wiring harness from quickconnect for $69.90 with shipping and a Parrot CK3000 cellularaccessory.com for $85.90 shipped. I thought the prices were pretty good. I already have an external speaker for back up from an ericsson kit.

Now I just need to find directions on how to remove the radio and trim in the ES300. Know of any? Wasn't able to find anything online. I guess I'll just go into an Autoparts Store and glance at the a Chiltons manual.

Thanx for the help. You reminded me why I started doing my own work on my cars in the first place. So called professionals screwing up your stuff. I'll try to do a good write-up with pics when I do this for the next person.

I got it all installed
 

Sorry, but I didn't get a chance to take pictures. But I was able to figure out how to remove the trim from around the shifter, pull the AC controls and remove the 4 bolts for the radio. I then removed the lower drivers side kick panel so I could route the mic wire. The parrot control box was mounted with velcro below and in front of the shifter on a AC duct. The wires were stuffed on the side of the duct.

The wiring harness that I bought from quickconnect was great! I didn't have to cut a single wire in the car. I quickly disconneced the plug from the radio and then conneced the harness to the car and then the radio. When I turned the radio on, it didn't go into SAFE mode and I didn't have to reset the stations. (sweet!) I just had to add a speaker (I had one left over from an old Ericsson kit). Mounted the speaker in between the AC vents in the dash with velcro.

Then I finished the mic wire routing through the drivers side pillar, up and around the window, slightly tucked in the roof. A small section of the wire is exposed where the mike attaches to the sun visor with a clip with a swivel mount. A small piece of tape holds the wire at the point of exit from the roof on the dark section of the glass. You can't see it.

Finally the Parrot controler (with the talk and hang-up buttons) I mounted on the wood trim with the wire in-between the wood trim and center console molding.

The Parrot paired with my wife's phone on the first try. Calling with it via voice activation works perfectly (just like mine) and voices are clear and distortion free. The radio doesn't show "Phone" across the screen or dash, but it does mute the radio perfectly. The speaker also sounds pretty good in the dash. It could be a little louder but it seems to be loud enough to overcome road noise. I'm very happy with the install and I'd suggest Parrot kits to anyone. It's my 2nd one and it's just very reliable, works well, and simple to install. And the CK3000 is just so stealth, it doesn't mess up or busy your interior.

I'll try to post some pics later.

shawndh, I'm glad it worked out for you.

I'd sure like to see photos if you have time to upload them.

I'm at a crossroads on whether to convert our old Nokia CARK-91 car kits to work with newer Nokia phones (using CA-55 converter cables and new cradles) or giving up on them and installing Bluetooth kits like Parrot so we wouldn't be tied to using Nokia phones.

With your Parrot kit, do you have to keep the handsets away from the radio to prevent interference? Do you use a charging cradle? An external antenna?

I guess we've gotten our moneys worth out of our old Nokia car kits (8 and 10 years) but I'm having a hard time with the idea of giving up their features.

I have been using the parrot 3100 for a couple of years. They are a nice unit and its nice having the caller come through the speakers in the car. One tip on the parrot units. Get a sock from a earbud for the mic. It cleans up the sound and allows the caller on the other side to hear you much better. Kills all the noise picked up in the car from wind and the road.

Kansas: I have never seen them pick up interference so you don't have to worry about the phone location. I have installed a dozen of them without this problem. Seen it on the myron & davis unit though. Its not like the older in car units specific to your phone. You just leave the phone in your pocket and control it through the BT unit. No antenna or cradle to deal with. Its nice to be able to pair up any phone you want without the need for a specific kit.

Thanks for the information. The problem is that we frequently drive in rural areas where, without an external antenna, this is little or no phone service with our current multiple mode (GSM/AMPS/TDMA) Nokia phones. Once AMPS and TDMA are withdrawn this year, service in rural areas will likely be far worse. I have actually been told by a Cingular/ATT representative that they have no plans to improve service in some of the areas in northern Missouri where we spend a lot of time.

So, even with Bluetooth kits, we would need antenna couplers for our phones so we could connect them with external antennas. And of course the easiest way to use an antenna coupler is to use a handset cradle that has one built in. And a big benefit of using a handset cradle is that it can also charge the phone so you never have to remember to plug a charging cord into a wall outlet or cig lighter/aux power port.

I find it interesting that Lexus dealers in some other countries provided "convenience kits" for a variety of Bluetooth phones. The convenience kit included an easily replaceable charging cradle with an antenna connection. The phone still connects to the car's Bluetooth system wirelessly - all the cradle does is provide an external antenna and charging.

Another thing about phone cradles is that some (including the ones we currently have) disable the phone's internal antenna so there can be absolutely no interference with the car radio. I guess I am more than a little obsessive about this stuff!

I know what your saying. I used to install them for cellone before verizon bought them many years ago. The booster kits do work well.

I know what you mean. I was married to an Ericsson phone kit a few years back. I used to be able to just change the cradle to the new phone. But later I wanted other phones so I took the plunge and got a BT Kit. 1st one was an Ericsson kit and it was pretty good. 2nd one was the Parrot CK3000 and I fell in love with it. My fears of the system not working well were totally forgoten. It's just reliable and works everytime, very well. There's no interference no matter where the phone is. Not having to pull your phone out everytime you get in the car and making phone calls withouth looking at anything just makes it so much more enjoyable. This is my 2nd Parrot and installation is always easy and it just works from the jump! You will not be disappointed.

I don't even charge my phone in the car much. I usually keep it in my pocket unless I'm using it for GPS. Fortunately for me, my cup holder slides out from the radio and fits my phone just fine at eye site so I can charge it when using GPS. I have a car charger just for backup or GPS. My wife keeps her's in her purse or in that little pouch haning from the vent in the pics.

As far as the antenna thing goes, you could get one of those cell signal boosters like this one: http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?...ories-_-633510 But they get pricey but it seems like a need if you're living in an area like you described.

The site is giving me a hard time about posting pics. So here's some links:

http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/4...icture_001.jpg

http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/4...icture_004.jpg

http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/4...icture_002.jpg

http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/4...icture_009.jpg

http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/4...icture_010.jpg

I took your tip with the sock thing from an old ear piece. I'll see how my wife sounds tomorrow. Thanx.