When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Finally took the plunge big thanks to Hzhao and others for information on the functionality and usablibity, the touch screen was the kicker. I had Beatsonic bypass and Beat sonic AV input that I used for HDMI and Chromecast/direct phone connect, which worked ok but not great. So Grom Vline. .
So install takes time, placement of vline is most time consuming. I mounted mine to top of glove box with screw mounts and 3m tape to reduce vibration.
Once installed make sure you have wifi or means of mobile hot spot and update away, if you do have a mobile hotspot or have unlimited data (OG verizon unlimited <--) you can really take advantage of the device.
I also have a portable hotspot that I use for camping and using it with the vline allows for tablet like experience and full integration with regular car function (such as auto front and side camera display at slow speed, i like this i have pets they sometimes run into my drive way)
Once installed updated ect, I found that my backup lines, and "wheel display" on dashboard display were not working correctly. I drove around a bit and the issue seemed to correct itself after driving.
When using androidAuto direct with cable to phone, the auto front camera at low speed seems to not work, however the back camera functions correctly. If i switch out of andorid auto (hit Setup button on center console) the cameras work correctly .
Google voice can allow text and calls if needed
If you want to tune audio you need to go to Audio Source select AV until you see Lexus default screen and click on screen Sound button , my defaults were really messed up so this was a necessity.
I had to install youtube, gboard (keyboard) ESPN, ect to get functionality
Also tested MTS and crawl control, both of which appear to work after install.
used only one bracket secured back side with 3m tape, used spade bit to make hole in removable plastic for wire pass through I already sacrificed the 12v for rear usb and used the space as USB pass through Closed nicely, but not sure how much I'll used besides for charging.
Overall very happy with this unit, if nothing else it cancels our the "Lexus black screen Warning" thats worth it right there.
Would you mind sharing your placement of the GPS antenna or routing? Thanks for the writeup btw. Very helpful.
Would you mind sharing your placement of the GPS antenna or routing? Thanks for the writeup btw. Very helpful.
Terrible photo but ran mine back out the passenger door and tucked it into the windshield weather stripping. Tons of space under the glovebox to run /tuck the wire GPS on roof and wire run along windshield
Terrible photo but ran mine back out the passenger door and tucked it into the windshield weather stripping. Tons of space under the glovebox to run /tuck the wire
GPS on roof and wire run along windshield
Thanks for the quick response! I am probably gonna go the dashboard mounting route. Any particular reason you choose to place it outside instead of on the passenger side dash?
Driving through mountainous areas and trying to optimize for quicker gps pickup. Had it in the glove box to begin with and that took a long time to get positioning . The dash should be fine as well but it was easier for me to run it out the passenger door
I mounted mine on the passenger side above the speaker cover. Since most of the trim was already removed it was quick and easy to route up there. Most of the time you'd never notice it. I did remove the speaker, but if i remember correctly its only held in by a couple of screws and just gave a little more room to fish the cable through.
Edited to add additional pictures. I bought a glove box organizer and USB extension on amazon to clean up some of the wires.
Although I am not using Grom Vline (instead of Lsailt), but they share the same principles. I had my GPS antenna behind the center display right above the center vent under the dash, it works perfectly.
I mount mine on the left of the right speaker grille similar to Otherone's picture and it works fine. If you have Car Free Launcher UI installed, the updated version also shows how many Sats that the GPS locked on.
Installing the Vline2 when it comes in tomorrow. The only doubt in my mind is the routing of the GPS antenna. Where did y'all place the GPS antenna and how did you route the wiring? Any help or pictures would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I put it right next to the speaker. You could run the wire in a way to not cut the grille but I opted to because I hate looking at wires. I routed the wires just above the glovebox door and then up the a-pillar.
Just finished the install! Everything went pretty well, except the one thing that is concerning me, is it was really hard to put the radio unit back in place because of all the additional wiring on the back. The trip piece is slightly not flush because of all the wires back there, and although everything works good right now, I am worried that being so crushed back there will ruin the wires. Should I be worried about this?
Did you put the unit behind the NAV too?
I had no issues stashing the wires back there and there is actually a lot of space for that. I would recheck again see if anything is in the way.
Did you put the unit behind the NAV too?
I had no issues stashing the wires back there and there is actually a lot of space for that. I would recheck again see if anything is in the way.
No the unit is in the glovebox, but there could be a difference in the wiring/radio box considering mine is a 2014 and it has the next-gen infotainment.
Alright after a second try to remove everything and rearrange the wires, I made it slightly worse lol. The wire is somewhat better in terms of placement and it is not stretched as tight, but the sliding piece at the base of the center stack (sliding wood piece that exposes the aux and usb ports) is getting stuck on something when all the way back. I have decided that rather than disassembling the dash AGAIN I will just never close this lid haha. Thanks for all the help fellas, all the pictures and advice proved to be very useful.
To everyone installing this in the future, here are some of the roadblocks I ran into.
1. Removing the OEM 59pin harness from the back of the head unit. You have to press a pin on the passenger side of the gray latch to remove this connector. I used a flathead screwdriver, if your nails are long enough, you could probably use those.
2. Not smashing the wires when placing the head unit back in. Make sure you do not stack up too many wires in one place. The head unit will not go back in properly.
3. Mounting the Vline2 in the glove box. Honestly, the best solution here is 3m double-sided tape. The brackets seemed to require drilling into the glove box, and I was not too eager to do that since I am not too sure what ECUs and other hardware are on the other side of what I would be drilling through.
4. Placing the GPS unit on top of the AC ducts in the top of the dashboard behind the screen is really the easiest and most convenient place. Hzhao has a good picture of his placement in a post above.
Everything else was surprisingly straightforward and easy.
My thoughts about the actual modification as a whole.
1. The vline2 is definitely a large upgrade over stock, with lots of added functionality.
2. The interface is good, especially in Apple Carplay where it feels almost OEM.
3. The greatest shortcoming of this upgrade is definitely the GX itself's poor touchscreen and screen resolution. Sometimes clicks are not accurately registered, swiping is a bit of a hit or miss thing, and certain screens on certain apps look less than stellar. Besides this, I have not yet experienced any issues or kinks (knock on wood).
4. I am happy because I don't have to fumble around with my phone trying to get it to mount properly on the dash to use Waze.
Overall, I feel like this has brought the GX a little bit further into the future, and although it's not perfect (because of the GX's screen) it is a hell of a lot closer than the OEM system. To me, it was well worth what I paid for it. Good luck to anyone undertaking this modification in the future!
05-02-21, 11:53 AM
