noves350

Hi,

I just want to know whether the manual nav hack suggested by Dreyfus allows to watch movies also while driving with Mark Levinson.It would ne nice for passenger seat person to watch some videos while we are driving on long journeys.I have a local car custom repair shop person whom i showed this post and he told he will do it(he did it for lot of previous year lexus models) but just want to confirm first from here whether this hack allows to watch dvds while driving also.Please let me know.

psp

Hi,

While I haven't done the hack I doubt that it would allow you to watch DVD's while in motion because Dreyfus' modification only bypasses the speed sensor and the DVD viewing requires engagement of the parking brake.

I am waiting because someone will eventually come up with a solution to this issue that will fix all of the problems. There is a company called Coastal Electronic Technologies in Fl. that looks like they are headed in the right direction. While they do not yet have an application for our car they do make an interesting device for other Toyota/Lexus products. I think that if enough inquiries come their way they might look into a solution for the ES350. Please see http://www.coastaletech.com.

noves350

I too looked at that site but so far they do not have anything available for es 350.so i was hoping this Dreyfus thing will work.In his first paragraph ofsticky thread he mentioned dont watch dvds while driving.I thought may be this hack plays dvds also after seeing that sentence.

Kaius88

i know i should vent in the other post on "how much you hate the restriction yadda yadda...", but since we are on topic here, I'll just express my opinion here.

No matter what the purpose is, if a safety restriction is so unreasonable that consumers are willing to pay extra $$ to hack it, then this safety restriction is merely a liability diversion that does not benefit the consumers at all. I find it hard to believe that the Nav DVD screen is more distracting than talking on a cell phone. I mean when I talk on my cell (hands free or not) I always miss the freeway exit. That's how distracting it is.... If they are going to put in some cumbersome restriction on the Nav DVD unit, why not jam the cell phone signals so people can't call from the car? BTW, you can scroll your NAV map while driving....and it is very distracting as well. My point is, it is silly to restrict some things and not others.... I think the NAV DVD is low priority safety issue compared to many other items.

dreyfus

I don't have the UL model so I don't have the DVD player. From what I understand the parking brake has to be deployed in order to watch DVDs, so just the nav hack as I've described won't be enough. I can't say that the nav hack and a parking brake hack will do the trick either, because I have no means of testing it.

The nav hack unlocks all the speed lockouts. You can display MP3 folders, files, details, etc.; you can use your phonebook to dial, make new entries, edit, etc; you can update the calendar; you can enter destinations, find POIs, etc.; everything is open.

While doing map based activities (only), like entering a destination, sometimes the screen will grey out in the middle of an operation. It's as if the software has compared an old gps signal to the current one and said, "Hey, I must be moving." and it reenables the lockouts.

If you just turn off the nav hack switch, count to three or four, and turn it back on the screen you were using will be reenabled without losing any data, so you can just continue where you left off. It's an annoyance, but then this is a hack, not a software rewrite.

I've had no difficulties and am very happy that I can now display and select MP3 files while driving (I have an iPod hooked up through the VaisTech controller). These lockouts are unwarranted and unnecessary, IMO. Remember, though, to drive responsibly and do not let this added distraction become a safety issue for you. Watching DVDs while driving would certainly be a safety issue.

So the short answer is no, the nav hack switch as described will not allow DVD display while driving. More work is needed.

noves350

Thanks for the reply.I saw in the IS forum they were able to watch dvds by performing nav. hack and by grounding the e-parking brake(red wire on J50 connector).Do you have any idea on what it might be for ES350 like colour of e-brake parking wire and where it is located.I think along with the nav. hack if we ground the e-park wire, it enables to play dvd's also.Again thanks for the reply and appreciate your insight on this.

dreyfus

The IS computer & software is different from ours, which is why the IS nav hack doesn't work on the ES350. Too bad because it's easier.

There's a push button switch on the top of the parking brake that you could simply tape down, thus mimicking the parking brake being set. That should tell you whether or not faking the parking brake as set will accomplish what you want. The down side to that is that your parking brake light on the instrument panel will be on. But it's a good test of functionality.

Anyway, the parking brake sensor wire is found in the same connector as the speed sensor wire (see the nav hack directions). The speed sensor wire is the second from the bottom right (viewed from the wire side of the connector). The parking brake wire is fourth from the bottom left of the same connector, right in the middle of a string of seven terminals. I think it's yellow, but I'm not certain.

The ground for it (and several other circuits) is the third wire from the upper left which is white and black.

You're blazing your own path with this one kiddo. Good luck!

noves350

sounds interesting.Thanks for the info.I have to show this to the guy and ask him if he can do this without damaging anything.If it is too complicated i will not do this.Thanks Dreyfus for u r inputs.I will probably go to the shop this weekend.Its snowing here for us today in Dallas.I will update all what happened after i meet this guy.