im not sure if i posted this in the wrong section, but fellow CL members don't flame me to hard lol....

this question beee on my brain for some time now.
CAN YOU REPLACE YOUR STOCK NAVIGATION FOR AN AFTERMARKET ONE??
i been looking to get an 01 Gs 430 for some time now, but it's hard to find one in the color combo that i want (triple black) in good condition. so i decided to step it up a year or two, now i have my eyes on the 03+Gs 430 but i've notice that pretty much if not all of the models come with stock navigation. As well all know the navi controls everything from the radio, right down the the climate control. well, im a big fan of systems and i was checking out the new alpine iva w505 for the Gs and maybe a nice set of 12" later down the line. if possible can i by the climate controls that come in the non-navi style gs and put it in stock navi gs?? I've been hesitant to buy this car right now because of the economy and the bank by outs and wouldnot, so i was gonna give it a few months to a year or once things fall back in order. thanks

 

it can be done. it will be very costly and time consuming. you will need a climate control unit from a non-nav car. You will need to work with the wiring extensively. I would advise against it, and just get a PAC connector to connect your aftermarket subs and amp. If you need to change out the factory speakers as well, go ahead, but you will need to replace the factory amp with an aftermarket one to get good performance out of them.

 

thanks for the feed back

lets say i wanted to get the work done by a pro, how much will it cost (ballpark). i also thought for good I.C.E. it starts off with a great headunit and the rest follows???

 

I have done EXTENSIVE research on this. My wife would say it's been way too much of my focus.

I can say clearly and without hesitation.... Unless you or a very close friend are an automotive wiring genius, don't even go down this path.

Yes, it truly hurts me to say that but after weeks of talking to installers, placing ads offering cash for help, reading a kajillion threads, talking to anyone who would even entertain my questions, I am left with no choice. It looks like me and my hard drive based GPS will be growing old together.

 

^^^ pay attention to what he's saying.

well, a ballpark figure:

you're probably gonna pay upwards of 1200 for the unit, but we'll use it as a reference.

1200 for the unit
250 for a climate control unit
100 for the double din dash kit
probably in the range of 750-1000 dollars for labor/installation

and you MIGHT be able to make back a good 700 selling your stock parts.

so, 1200+250+100+750 (or 1000)= between 2300 and 2550.

subtract the 700 that you MIGHT make back and you'd be looking between 1600 and 1850.

IMO, not worth it at all. A pac connector is like 50 bucks, and to replace the stock amp/speakers and add subs and an amp, would cost far less than replacing the stock unit, and runs the risk of not looking nice in the OEM dash. you could probably get it all done for around 1500 if you stayed away from the real top shelf brands.

 

My friend who owns an Audio/Performance mod shop did this very thing. A car came in with a broken nav screen. Cost to replace the broken screen would have been over $1200 for a new screen alone. What they did instead was install a NON navigation climate control which he informs me is plug and play for the climate control part. Now, for the audio part it is not plug and play, but if you go with the OEM double DIN Toyota Aristo face plate and install your choice of aftermarket double DIN navigation units yourself, it would be as easy as installing an aftermarket head unit in any other car. All you would need is to find the 12V constant power, the 12V ignition, the ground, and if that aftermarket navigation unit requires a VSS signal you would need to tap into that as well.

Truthfully, I thought it would be more involved than that, but my friend was able to do the entire swap in a few hours once he obtained the non navigation climate control which can be found on ebay for about $150. I plan on doing this myself since I have a navigation equipped GS but it doesn't have any maps for Hawaii so it is basically useless for me.


One thing I am not sure about though is if there is a major difference between the GS400 and the 01+ GS430. I myself have an 03 GS430, but the conversion that my friend did was on an earlier year GS400/300 with the older navigation unit. I take that back, looking back at this picture below it looks like a 2001+ as it has the silver trim around the dash cluster gauges.


PS. Here is the picture of the aftermarket navigation conversion that my friend did. As you can see, this car indeed had a stock OEM navigation unit as you can see the nav speaker on the top of the dash. You can use any double DIN aftermarket unit of your own choice.

 

My business partner has done this a few GS' it is a little more time consuming but if you really want to go the custom route its functional.

 

yes!!!!!! there is hope, thanks for the feedback guys. Jcat, you did make a very good point because the head unit alone runs about a grand, then u gotta pay for install, then gotta purchase the climate control unit, pay for install on that already u up in the 2G range. to be honest that (replacing the stock navi) kinda swayed me away from getting an 03+ Gs, well i've notice it's more common in those years. Thats a clean job the installer did on ur friend's car, if i go that route hopefully mines can come out just as good. well hopefully the economy gets betta, my 03 accord keeps vaule and maybe next summer i can be at the clublexus meets with the rest of y'all . once again thanks for your imput

 

Its not that hard...I did mine and it only took me about 1.5 hrs; however, I have been putting in car stereos since high school . You would need to find the wiring diagram for the stereo. You do have to take the glove box off. I got me control unit for $50 bucks shipped used on ebay.

 

Just remember anything can be done for these $$$$

 

I think these numbers are on the higher end.

You can get a headunit like this one for $800.
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...AVN6620&tp=144

A used climate control for $100-150.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...23&postcount=2

A double din dash kit for about $50.
http://www.l-tunedparts.com/product/?id=1726

Installation would probably be anywhere from $250-500 (guesstimate).

So you're looking at 800+(100 to 150)+50+(250 to 500)=(1200 to 1500)

Plus like jcat said you can sell your stock one and make some money back so it's probably not a bad investment.

 

EDIT: I see this is all based on 2001+ models, not the 2000 and older which is what I have been researching.

Whoa... I have searched and read and searched and read... everything said that you could NOT plug-and-play a climate control from a non-nav unit. There was a thread where one guy did it but had some issues.

I've posted three times in here asking about this and nobody ever mentioned knowing someone who did this. :-/

 

I'm getting ready to do this myself. All I need is the climate control as I have or easily can pick up everything else. Perhaps if nobody else posts a little how to I'll take a few picks and post up my install. Not sure when as I'm a bit busy these days so don't have time to work on the car. But, when I do tackle it I'll post up my thoughts.

 

wow, i was unaware it was that easy, plug n play as it were.

i guess i've got the tendency to err on the side of caution

 

i kinda thought the same thing, simple plug in and play. but you know i have to double check with the pros about this one. (you guys) well thats cool least i have something to look foward to this coming summer, i just hope the price drop down a litte bit more and it will be all good baby!!!!