drgrant

Next week I'm picking up a 2005 ES330 with the std. stereo in it (not ML) and was wondering if there is an easy way to hook up a BT adapter to it so I can
stream music, etc, to the radio.... ?

-Mike

wmj259

I currently use a FM-Bluetooth radio transmitter. Relatively cheap, it has decent quality, and you don't have to remove the radio to install equipment.

Helius

Hi, I know of 4 (5) Bluetooth options that you can try:

1.Use an FM radio Bluetooth transmitter (as previously suggested and can be found almost everywhere). Easy to set up, simply plug it into your car power outlet and match the FM frequency of your radio and transmitter. The problem with this is that there is a lot of noise and interference in cities so you constantly have to change frequencies, however they work quite well on highways.

2. You should have a cassette player as I do in my 2005 ES330, so you can use a Bluetooth cassette adapter. Also very easy to set up, you insert the cassette adapter like any other cassette. I have not used this before but used an auxiliary cassette adapter instead. My auxiliary cassette adapter made this weird zumming sort of noise when I used it but that sound got masked as I started playing my music. So, it can happen with the Bluetooth cassette adapter, as well, but not really sure.

3. A lesser convenient way is to use a Bluetooth module/receiver connected to an auxiliary cassette adapter or FM radio auxiliary transmitter. Easy to set up, but require 2 devices. Also, be sure to get a good Bluetooth module that's a stereo, not mono, as it will provide better sound quality. The cassette adapter and FM transmitter come with the same issues mentioned above.

4. Lastly, my personal favorite, there are Bluetooth + auxiliary adapters that can be hooked up to your stereo directly. A little bit of effort to set up as you will need to pull out your stereo system to access the connection port at the back of it. This option is quite expensive but may be the best one in terms of sound quality and discretion. Be sure to get one that is compatible with the 2005 Lexus ES330 as the connection ports vary for other cars. Installation tutorials for this can be found on YouTube.

(5. Install the ML system.)

Hope this helps.