JaxSully

The Grom units in the link below piggyback off the back of the head unit, which is the CD player unit and everything behind it, and there is also a "T" adapter into the back of the display where it is projected. It took a professional installer around 4.5 hours to do the installation. Please note there a lot of trim work that needs to be removed to just get to the head unit, from the left side door sill al the way to the center console and the trim-above the head unit. Per the installer the installation itself is fairly straight forward. The unit itself sits in the back of the glove bcx.

There are 2 units for the Lexus. The VL2 and VT2.

I got the VT2 which just enables wired and wireless carplay.

The VL2 is a full infotainment Android platform.

https://gromaudio.com/store/all-lex9_.html

fodalo

Need the tunes Jax, crank it up. Rust never sleeps. Njoy!!

gromaudio

Thank you for using GROM Audio product! We are happy to help with any questions you may have.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

very cool.

JaxSully

April 2024 GROM Unit Update

I have had the unit installed for about 2 months. I have had varying issues with connectivity and quality. When it works its wonderful and I like having the option of good wireless and wired connectivity. Important to note GROM Support has been excellent and they work to stand behind their product. The challenge with any unit like this is attempting to provide near OEM like functionality and satisfy the car owner. I think they have come close but there are a few areas that fall short:

• The unit can get 'lost at times' when interacting with the head unit. I would experience lock ups and/or the inability to easliy get back to the OEM factory screens without restarting the car.
• The main issues:
  • I was encountering long Apple Car Play UI load times when in wireless mode on a cold start. While the unit would connect after start within 10 seconds, it would take up to 2 minutes for the Car Play UI screen to load. This did not happen in wired mode.
  • I felt there was slight random clipping of audio when in wireless mode. I first attributed this to bad cell connection but I used the same saved locally playlist and there was a difference between wired and wireless.
  • The GROM unit would lose connectivity to the head unit. This was the big issue. I would just be driving and the head unit would revert back to the input screen and I could visually see the AUIX input blinking on and off like the GROM had intermittent connectivity. Once the AUX was solid I could select it again and the Car Play UI would load.
• Small quirks:
  • The center console seek and track wheels do not function when in carplay mode, you must use the steering wheel controls
  • HVAC changes do not appear on the screen when you make them - they work you just dont visually see the changes
  • When updating the volume level this only appears on the driver information dash screen and in the HUD, it doesnt appear on the main display

So what did GROM do:

• The provided a new firmware version which did fixed the unit locking up.
• They RMA'd the unit and sent a new one to ensure this was not a hardware issue.
• The final determination is that there is probably and issue with the GROM harness. While they are willing to send me a new one, replacing the harness requires removing alll the trim and associated dash to get the head unit out to replace it. While I could DIY this, I chose not to on the initial installation and used a GROM installer. They charge for shop time which is roughly $125 per hour, and to do this work it about 3.5 hours. If I want to replace the harness it will be about the same. GROM would not provide any assistance with the labor associated with the harness replacement. Which means I need to either take it on myself as a weekend project or have the shop do it. That would put me $1200 into this project. The reason I chose to go this route is because Lexus tried for 4 days to upgrade my car play eligible head unit and they couldn't get it done. They said I needed a replacement head unit at the cost of $1600 plus the $199 to add car play to it.

Right now I am just dealing with the disconnects as they occur randomly and waiting for a long weekend I can take my time to replace the harness once they send it.

This post is just meant to be an update as I know there are others that have the 2018 LC and are looking for Car Play options.

North1Star

Thanks @JaxSully for the feedback about the unit you have. I wonder if there is a better existing unit out there that someone might recommend us to try that doesn’t suffer from these issues

JaxSully

I did quite a bit of research prior to this purchase. There are other units but most I could find are out of country and primarily China. I am going to lead on the installer a bit for a discount because my possible connection issues with the AUX could also be installation related.

In the end I think the GROM units are top of the line. I don't think they make this specific for the LC but for many makes/models of Lexus - it would not be cost effective to do it another way. Its not perfect, but hits not horrible either. If my main issue is a harness issue and resolves it it will be a solid 8/10 for me.

JaxSully

So it comes to find out that none of the issues I am experiencing are with the GROM unit. It is a bad head unit. When I first went to the dealer and they tried the upgrade for several days to the head unit it wouldn't take. They told me the drive in my head unit had bad sectors on it which is non repairable and I needed a new headunit. The tech said the issues with the unit could get worse over time. They were correct.

JaxSully

Knowing that I needed a new head unit to avoid all the issues I have been having I went to Ebay and starting searching around. In doing my research at Lexus Parts lookup I found that there are 2 head unit model numbers that work in the 2018:

86120-11051 - This model was for 2018 and was manufactured in 2017. There are certain end of production units October 2017 and later which are upgradable for Apple Car Play.
86120-11510 - This model is compatible for 2018/2019 (Lexus Confirmed) model years. It was used at the beginning of the production run for 2019 but could include Apple Car Play already installed and requires a VIN look-up.

I scoured EBay for the 11510 model. All of these units (and there aren't many) are coming from cars which are being parted out. Typically vendors in the parts business especially Parts Box out of Tampa who I have used before, provide the VIN of the car the part came from. This way you can look up the auction damage photos, etc. to make a buying decision. The other benefit of having the VIN is if you have a My Lexus account you can take the VIN and add it as a vehicle and then get the build specs.

So I found a unit checked the VIN at My Lexus and voila it states it was Apple Car Play enabled. I did a Best Offer on the unit and they accepted it.

I received the unit yesterday and installed it today following the video below on how to remove all the inside components to get access. The install took me roughly 3 hours.

I am happy to report the unit is flawless and I have native Apple Car Play.

It seems the model 86120-11510 could be the holy grail for those who can't get their head unit upgraded. If you have followed my posts I did leave the after market Grom unit in place as it offer exceptional wireless Car Play - and I can also disable it if I want.

Video for inside trim removal:

housedogg

I'm about to pick up a 2018 LC 500h here in Hawaii. Thanks to the posts here, I gave the tech bulletin to the Lexus dealer for the Apple Carplay update. They knew nothing about it and are going to do it for free. The sales manager told the service manager to make sure that they follow the instructions to the letter so they don't brick the head unit. They are doing all this before I even purchase it so if they do brick it, then they either get a new one or I skip buying it. I hope they don't brick it though.

housedogg

Good news...service department did it correctly and got it working and it didn't cost my anything. They sent me a pic of it so I'm sharing it here.