cleblanc

Is anyone familiar with this product? I have been looking into it as a means of controlling the Ipod in the ES350. I know there is an MP3 Aux input jack but this does not pause the ipod when switching inputs or if the car is turned off. I would also like to see the info displayed on the Nav screen.
The product can be found at www.vaistech.com.

I called the dealer and they don't install it so I want to make sure it would not mess up anything that is factory installed or void any warranties.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

wizhill

There are many discussions of their products in the other forums. Try searching for "vais" in the "seach the forums" box... I found close to 100 hits.

Here's an example. It shows screen captures from the nav screen while using the SLI: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...highlight=vais

Hope this helps.

cleblanc

Thanks...I've been searching for a lot of info on this and have now found a lot. But I think there is a new unit available that handles MP3 playback. So there may not be too much info out there. Since the Nav and MP3 input is new in the ES350, I'm sure it will be different than past installations. So I'm wondering if anyone else is interested in doing the same thing and I'd also like to know if installing this unit affects the warranty in any way. I called my Lexus dealer and they don't install it. So I'm a little nervous about it.
I'd also like some real-life reviews on the product since it is pricey ($299) without installation.

wizhill

Check out this thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...on#post1530987 , specifically post #126. I'm fairly certain the navigation on the second generation IS is the same as the new ES. Perhaps a person more familiar with the Lexus nav can confirm this?

If this is true, I would think anyone with a '06 IS with experience with vais would be applicable to us in a ES350. I am just as interested in this as you are. I think it's a shame that we have to seek external devices to get functionality that lesser cars are building in from the factory, but it's not enough to stop me from buying... But I am looking for a solution to the problem, as you are.

It appears the installation is straight forward - you use the same factory connectors, and the vais unit just gets inserted in between the vehicle wiring and the head unit. Worst case, if you were really worried about warranty, you could remove the vais unit before taking the car in for service. They would have no idea it was ever installed. If installed under the driver seat or somewhere else out of the way, I have a hard time believing they would notice it, anyway.

My two cents...

cleblanc

Today I created my first MP3 CD which held about 100 songs on it. That seems a good alternative to the Ipod and allows full radio controls.
I thought it would work great and allow me to see all the detail information such as album name, artist name, song title, etc.
But I don't really like how this worked. Since I credated the CD from an Itunes playlist, it created 24 folders and on the display it showed only a truncated folder name and file name.
However when the car was stopped, I was able to press a button called 'Folder List' which was grayed out while the car was in motion, and then from there I can bring up all the files under the folder and then hit a detail button which displayed very nicely the Song name, artist name, album name and Genre.
Why wasn't this information available while I was driving? This does not seem very user friendly to me at all. This is one more example of information that is not available while the car is in motion.
Also, I don't think the Random button was working or that it only played the songs in random order within the folder. That would be pretty useless since I only had a few songs per folder.

Anyone else use an MP3 CD in the car? The SoundLinQ for the Ipod is a great idea but it would cost about $500 w/installation. Six MP3 CDs if I can get it working would suffice most of the time and then I can use the Aux input for the Ipod only when I want to play something else.

kmmcgra

The graying out of information is a safety feature. Mine does the same thing. I imagine when using a SoundLinQ setup it will do the same thing because it uses the same functionality the MP3 discs use ( you can see a pic of it on the SoundLinQ web page). There was another thread on how to get in the Nav hidden setup screen to disable some of the safety features there. I wonder if there is some option there to disable this stuff too.
Can you tell me where you got the price of $500 installed for the SoundLinQ. They have a $300 special now. Does that mean there is a $200 install fee? And who would do it? Someone noted Lexus won't/can't do it.

cleblanc

After researching this some more, I see that the Folder List is greyed out as a safety feature. I don't know if there is a way to enable it like there is with the Navigation. I know Bluetooth Phone features can't be activated. But that's not as much of a problem since I use the SpeedDial.
After reading the manual, I see there is a text button if you don't have the navigation system that allows you to go to the detail screen. But there doesn't seem to be any such button with the navigation system. I only see the Text button on the LCD for the Sat function. So I don't know of any way to bring up the detail MP3 info while the car is in motion. But yet the manual implies that you can with the non-Nav.
The $500 price I got includes installation. I know that it sells for $299. I called my Lexus dealer and they will not install it. They referred me to an audio place that does this. That is where I got the price from. It is not the type of thing I would want to do myself.
I thought maybe I could get around the whole Ipod issue by just making some MP3 CDs. I did see in the manual though that the Random feature will work for all folders on the disc if you hold it down til it beeps. So that is good and I'll try that later.

evoyard

emailed with one of the guys at Vais Tech and he mentioned they might be doing a group buy soon - if anyone notices it posted, please mention it on the forums. . trying to make sure i don't miss out.