I am trying to find a decently priced yet functional aftermarket head unit (with CarPlay support) for a 2010 Lexus RX 350. The car in question has a monochrome display with a passenger airbag warning underneath as shown here and here. Does anyone have any suggestions, preferably from a reasonably reputable seller and/or site?
Crutchfield.com
I looked there, but it says that the head unit and stereo cannot be replaced (“You can’t replace the radio in your vehicle because of dash configuration, safety issues, or electrical compatibility.”)
You need to look to Lexus forums. Crutchfield is just saying that there’s no drop in replacement that doesn’t require some small modifications. It’s a liability thing.
If critical vehicle controls are governed by the stock head unit, then you have to go a further step and integrate idatalink Maestro or equivalent or some other work around. I’m not familiar with your car but it could just be that the faceplate doesn’t play nicely with the stock dash. There are always custom options, but you’re unlikely to find it here.
If I get some time later I’ll look, but I suggest you find the largest forum covering your specific model and start digging. I guarantee you’re not the only one who has had this issue.
After digging, I found this, this, and this. However, I am fairly sure that the first two are not the original sellers of their respective products, and I am not confident about the compatibility of the third one (I contacted the seller for the third, but they gave vague and poorly worded responses). Do you know how I could find where these originated from (I reverse image searched the first one from another site, and came across several Alibaba and Aliexpress listings ranging between $400 and $1,200), and proof of them working / being used in someone’s car?
I would never blindly trust anything from alibaba or the US version (Amazon).
You need to find the largest active forums for your car and start there. The biggest issue is that there’s usually a smaller following for cars that are not exactly an enthusiast car.
Check out clublexus.com… look at offerings from Grom audio. Their VLine series for your specific model. I’ll be honest, I haven’t looked closely at it but your options are limited.
You could just get a CarPlay module that is remote mounted or something of that nature. Not ideal but just a thought.
Looking at GromAudio, I selected my car, but the units they provide appear to be unsupported with my car, from looking at the photos on their website. About the CarPlay module, I would prefer a module that would be well integrated Into the car; otherwise, I could simply get a mount for my phone that would display information (I used to do this, but I accidentally broke a vent in my other car using said mount).
I just looked at an example of your dash and see the apparent difficulties here.
My approach would either be to just use your phone like you mentioned, however, I’d definitely go the cd player slot mounting option or suction cup arm off the windshield… or, if you’re savvy enough, make a custom mount for where the nav screen currently sits and drop a double din CarPlay unit there. It’s more work, but honestly wouldn’t be that bad. The hardest part for most people would be if this was their only car. It’s much easier to pause a project and order the right materials/design stuff, if you don’t have to drive it to work on Monday…
For example one of my cars is stripped down in my shop currently. I’m replacing all the speakers, adding sound damping and deadening materials, rewiring signal lines to a new smart amp, rewiring my trailer lights, and building a new custom dual relay board to control a front facing cam and reverse cam with a 3way switch. There’s other stuff because this snowballed but you get the point.
All of this is attainable because I don’t have to rely on it as my only means of transportation. If you only have one vehicle, just use your phone for now and be more mindful during the next vehicle search. Either ensure it comes with CarPlay or at least a double din head unit (unfortunately dying off in newer cars).
Lastly, as a final side note to this novel, you could consider an old iPad mini that you set up to use as a dedicated infotainment. There’s more to it than simply slapping it into your car, as you’d need it jailbroken or with all the proper shortcuts to make it seamless. Just a thought.
I found that a certain unit by T’eyes which seems to be the most recommended on clublexus. Think I’m gonna go with that after I get confirmation that all of the required wiring harnesses would be present. Otherwise, the newest iPad I have is an iPad 2, so the infotainment option won’t really work (unless there’s a tweak which turns it into a Carplay receiver). Also, I don’t think the double dinn would work, as I saw teardowns, where it appears that the control unit is separately located (under the glovebox) from the screen.
Edit: And the screen appears to be too thin to accomodate a full double dinn head unit (which is why these aftermarket ones seem to push the display a fair bit forward)
Well, make sure you come back and update what you did. It’s this very niche info that really deserves preservation.
Someone will end up here in the future and will be appreciative.