so I bought an 09 RX350, great price, some obvious problems...this one was a surprise...I pulled out the HVAC controls from the dash & discovered that it was not connected at all (photos here)...so from the dash there are multiple connectors but from the control unit itself only one and none of them match up...so what is my next step? I'm on a fixed income and must do any/all of the work myself if at all doable so any help would be so appreciated.

HVAC

 

It appears that vehicle originally came with a navigation unit.

 

I kinda suspected that...so it looks like I'll be buying a navigation unit to fit there...can't do Houston without AC. Thank you for the info...I'm sure it won't be the last time I send out a distress signal

 

quick question...looking at the nav units on Ebay some are indicating that radio may have to be programmed...does anyone know if this is something I would have to take to dealership to have done? or is this something I could do myself?

 

I am not aware of any radio programming required, the radio is not included. That sounds like general information that does not apply to every make/model vehicle.
HVAC calibration might be necessary but in most cases that is not a concern.
After installation, make basic selections for the Nav unit: search area, time zone and daylight-saving time on/off.

 

make sure you have the NAV unit in the cargo area. Who knows..

 

wait- what? there's another part to this...? what if I really don't care about the navigation...? My main goal here is just to get the a/c going...would the a/c controls work w/o nav in the cargo? Sorry to sound like such a newb

 

There are a few parts to the nav system.
The part in the trunk is for the nav maps, you may get a black screen on the nav page if it's not hooked up.

Don't quote me because it's been a few years but from what I remember, the AC controls page worked with the maps dvd player unplugged.

PS, I did a nav delete on my car and rewired it for the standard info display like you have. Anyone wanting to try it, make sure you buy one that has the mating plugs from the harness on it so you can easy splice.

The eBay unit I bought came with the mating plus and wires, they just cut the harness when it was yanked.

Also, my car is a 2004 Rx330 so wiring might be slightly different.

>> I did a thread on this and posted my work, I'll find the link when I have time.