Has anyone tried these generic units from ebay? If so, how is it? Did you retain the rest of the system, amp, speakers, etc? How does it handle the climate control?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-16G-Android-10-1-DVD-Player-GPS-Navi-Radio-Stereo-Wifi-For-Lexus-LS430-2001-06-/293944532003?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

Several people on reddit have installed what appears to be this same unit from Rhino Radios https://rhinoradios.com/collections/...-android-radio

 

Not familiar with reddit. Could you direct me to where this is discussed?

 

Search in YouTube. you will find many videos for ls430 with this unit.

 

There are a couple threads in here. https://www.reddit.com/r/ls430

 

I have installed it, from Ebay. Seems to work pretty good, you do need to get an extra dongle for carplay if you use an iPhone. The AC works but may annoy, on mine the direct fan controls don't increase or decrease the fan speed I just use the temp up/down to have it automatically raise or lower fan speed. if you have a 2004-2006 apparently this is not as much of an issue. Overall I am happy with the unit, but I have been building custom cars for some time and don't mind figuring out little things here and there.

It is plug and play, was pretty easy to install in about 20 minutes but again I am familiar with this type of installation. If your AC controls are not working you will need to flip the small black box that is the interface. There are two sides, one for the older model and one for the newer model.

If this is your first time, I recommend using the prying tool on the AC buttons on the side of the dash, shove them in at the top until it pops out and then the bottom to safely release them without damage to the dash. It is made a a flexible material that will go back as long as you use a soft tool. See photos below when I installed the Carplay dongle.

 

just bought a ATOTO S8 premium .
After considerable research I decided to go with this unit. I do not need a DVD player any more. I can download all CD and DVD on a USB stick. Using a Metra interface it will look stock. (btw I do not have a navi) by using the phone I can have Google Maps if I wanted although I use a Garmin with Life updates which sits on top of the dash for better view. The unit has all the upgraded features, by deleting the CD/DVD player I have less to worry with mechanical failures.The Metra interface works with ML