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I think upgrading 2013-2014 GS head unit to 2015+ might be possible.
Here are the pictures when I disassemble my head unit last year to fix a clicking fan.
Well the bottom half is related to the antenna's and the connection on the backside is the only thing that is different from 2013-2014, preventing someone from installing it.
Maybe I can take the bottom half of my 2013 and connect it to the upper half of a 2015+ head unit and Frankenstein a 2015+ head unit upgrade.
Left one is 2013, right one is 2015
2015+ Nav units have SD card slot for the maps, easy to upgrade maps, plus siri eyes free, full screen maps
I tried in the past to clone the hard drive to an ssd, but the 2015+ head units don't have the hard drive they load the maps from the sd card.
I just purchased a 2015 Head unit on eBay for $299 including shipping:
I have Mark Levinson sound system, but this unit doesn't have the logo in the middle, but according to jonathancl and twylie there is no difference in fidelity, quality, or volume.
Mark Levinson and non-ML head units are exactly the same except for the printed logo.
Worst case this doesn't work out I switch everything back and return the head unit for a refund.
Well...this is an exciting possibility. Best case, you will still need to adapt the antenna plugs: they will be different even with your frankenbusiness.
I would be extremely surprised if these radios are as modular as you are hoping. Integrated solutions are almost always developed as a whole with many components changing from build to build along with the embedded software.
Whatever happens, please take tons of pictures as you go.
Interesting, plugs on the back of the 2015 RX nav are exactly the same as the 2013 gs:
The 2015 RX nav is sd card based, gives me some hope for the mod
The power and ribbon cable that connect the upper and lower parts are exactly the same, but the sd card is connected to the lower section.
The lower section is for inputs and the upper section is outputs.
Also three connectors on the back are different. They look like they are for the same thing, lexus just changed the connection. I boxed it in red below.
Unless you can find an adapter for these connections, it's not going to work.
Stick the factory plug into the green end and the other part into the head unit.
The big green plug at the bottom connects to the back of the 12.3 display(blue part). I picked the part off a 2015 Lexus is dash harness, for cheap from a junkyard.
Stick the factory plug into the green end and the other part into the head unit.
The big green plug at the bottom connects to the back of the 12.3 display(blue part). I picked the part off a 2015 Lexus is dash harness, for cheap from a junkyard.
The thing with Toyota is they make connector changes so they don't screw up different year revisions on the manufacturing line. The wiring itself stays identical (in most cases).
The thing with Toyota is they make connector changes so they don't screw up different year revisions on the manufacturing line. The wiring itself stays identical (in most cases).
In this case it's two single antenna lines, wiring appears to be exactly the same. They changed the plugs from square to circle.
Also the plug for the display out. These changes apply for all the sd card based nav units across the entire Lexus and Toyota lineup.
The 2016+ head units is a different story because the mousepad interface changed and the usb in the front console is different plug. I posted to another thread some Russian guy installing the 2016+ nav and it was a lot of rewiring to get it to work.
In this case it's two single antenna lines, wiring appears to be exactly the same. They changed the plugs from square to circle.
Also the plug for the display out. These changes apply for all the sd card based nav units across the entire Lexus and Toyota lineup.
The 2016+ head units is a different story because the mousepad interface changed and the usb in the front console is different plug. I posted to another thread some Russian guy installing the 2016+ nav and it was a lot of rewiring to get it to work.
Fingers crossed this works out for me.
Yes, I saw that post from you. I am looking forward to you getting this to work. There are quite a few people who love their 2013's but want the 2015 unit. This is the answer.