First off - Thanks for everyone on this thread and supporting the GROM VL2 product. @jdpdata @c2fordy5

I installed the VL2 on my 2014 RXh which took about 2 hours for installation. Anyone with an RX and is local to north NJ i have a guy (BrakeBoss) that knows what he's doing if you don't want to go to a shop! I was able to stick the unit deep within the center storage unit (thank god the RX's come with deep storage there) and was able to route the GPS unit seamlessly so its up by the rain sensor. I primarily purchased GROM to use Apple CarPlay and its been working 95% of the time - few minor hiccups but I've been able to work through it. I shut off all signals (Bluetooth & WiFi) from both my car and the GROM unit and use the USB connection for Apple CarPlay (no i'm not fanboying - just enjoy the seamless apple integration). I do appreciate the GROM UI so when i want something a little extra I can tether my phone and its up and running (YouTube & AirPlay)! So far its been amazing. I waited to post until i resolved an issue with GROM in which the car was not switching on the camera when in reverse (annoying but with a new firmware freshly installed it works!). They are supporting the unit but seems on an ad hoc basis based on the numerous issues here on the forum but I'd have to say support is great and quick.

Anyone on the fence of purchasing this unit - absolutely do it. Its worth it to give the car a fresh new look especially on the media side. This enhancement guarantees that i'll keep my car for the foreseeable future and I actually enjoy being in it now! No longer do I feel like I'm stuck in the 90's with the Lexus UI. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has. Its been installed for about a week and been 90% using apple carplay. I would say that the GROM UI Google Maps is better than the Apple CarPlay version for whats it worth.

Thanks again to this forum for being AWESOME!

 

@xvimalx Welcome to the GROM club and thank you for taking your time to post your thoughts. I came to the same conclusion as you did. I like that VL2 extend the usefulness of my Lexus infotainment, much better now than the crappy Lexus OE system. Will keep my car more updated for the foreseeable future. I was seriously considering selling my GS a few months ago, because I was so bored with it. But now with VL2 installed and all the mods I've done so far, I really enjoy the car much more and will keep it indefinitely. It's always amazed me how GROM is able to quickly release a patch to fix almost any issues you will encounter. I hear a lot of complaints over at the ISF forum, but here we're all almost happy with our experiences so far. Now if I can track down the root cause of my two BSOD so far, I would be 100% satisfied and happy.

BTW @xvimalx you should hook up with @eddie420 He's in NJ area too, not sure if he's anywhere close to you. He got a RX too and is the King of Mods as far as I'm concerned. Good guy and very knowledgeable with Lexus cars in general.

 

Welp, I might as well tell you guys why i think the screen is glitching....

see pics of the GROM cable that connects the GROM headunit to the NAV unit...

 

So heres my short writeup:First, the shield is not connected on all the GVIF cables to the DP connector shell. Second, the soldering job is very poor and has solder bridges and solder over places where there is no connection. And third, GVIF requires 100 ohm STP coaxial cable, this is PVC 2 pair. You guys need to fix this, this is really unacceptable for a $600 unit.I have made cables for high speed Serial video before, if you can't find twinax 100 ohm cable use CAT7A; it will work fine if you can solder....

 

I'm not an electrician but that sounds like something grom should stand up and fix for free. Part of the reason I went with grom was they are US based and supposedly have better quality hardware than other companies. Pretty disappointing to see otherwise.

 

Who soldered that? Stevie Wonder?

 

Hey Bob, do you think this is unsafe/fire hazard/etc?

 

I dont know how something this bad was made in silicon valley, given how many custom harness manufacturers there are.. Maybe just my cable was bad, or they had a bad run from a sub who obviously lied about their quality of work.

 

Looks like a short waiting to happen, if it does could damage something. Looks like absolute crap solder job.

 

Bob, where did you find those pictures? Are they of your own cable that GROM sent as replacement, why is the timestamp in 2012? Those soldering points does look **** poor. I'd be very upset too if my cable looks like that and would demand GROM send a better replacement.

 

its low voltage so not necessarily; I posted this because i was more worried about the MAIN harness connected to the radio; the are pulling power from the radio harness somewhere, probably the USB portion of the harness. i might have to return this , sorry grom but unless you can prove the rest of the harness is top flight i'm not sure i want to risk my car for something that 90% done.

 

I work at a tech company with a rework lab, so we have a inspection camera and other utilities i can use to test and inspect cables. these pictures are of my cable that came in the box when i bought my grom unit. The date on the camera is wrong, these were taken today.

 

I guess the Happy Grom Ban Wagon is over until they are willing to replace the units/cable for sloppy soldering jobs. Glad Bob was able to find this.
I can only imagine how the internal electronics look.

 

I emailed grom support linking this thread. Let's see what happens...

 

Yeah,


i wasnt trying to start an argument or throw mud at GROM , but it only felt right to tell other members since they had the SAME issues i was experiencing.... i want to like the unit but with soldering that bad it not making it easy.... if it had no glitching issue and just the bugs and little weirdnesses since you cant see the OEM screen from the aux, i wouldnt have given anything a second thought....