RAWRX

You and I are definitely different demographics. All the power to you. I didn't plan to sign up for a $500 subscription service.

PotOdds

LEXUS 2013-2018 VLine CarPlay Android Auto Infotainment System Navigation Upgrade

Interesting competition. Would be nice to see a comparison of both.

Bearcat

Chances are it will work well for a quite a few years, with possibly some features missing in the future. You aren't buying the farm. Seriously, it's $500, not $5000. Your next car will have CarPlay factory installed anyway. TBH I'm seriously getting bored from my RX. Great reliability but boring as hell.

RAWRX

I'd be willing to PayPal someone a coffee to do a side by side comparison.

On paper it looks like you're either paying for software (Grom - Silicon valley) or hardware (Lsailt - China). Only true user experience will know the difference.

PotOdds

When I was emailing with COSMOS, he mentioned I didn't need 3GB for CarPlay so I saved $25 and left it at 2GB. I think either solution is fine as long as CarPlay works. This is for people who went into this for CarPlay. Plus lsailt came with wireless.

zaldwaik

I have a 2019 non-nav version. I tried reaching out to Cosmo on wechat without success. Do you know which of the products on aliexpess you bought? I am having a hard time figuring out the right one for me.

PotOdds

I wanted to make sure I covered all my bases before my install, so I read through the entire thread. I like the idea of the extension for the USB cable to the hand rest bin. That will be next project after head unit is installed.

The USB cable I received had 3 USB heads, USB (smallest cable), USB1 (labeled as Update in diagram), USB2. For the extension, USB1, USB2 are the 2 longest so I assume they will be used for the extension.
- Is there a difference between USB (smallest cable), USB1 (Update), USB2?
- Should the wireless dongle be on USB1 or USB2?
- USB (smallest cable) doesn't seem to extend very far, so it will be hidden away unless I get an extension. Is there a special use for it?

RAWRX

^ also would like to know the usb differences if any.

Still waiting for my unit to come in. For those that have it installed, would you know if a Bluetooth obd2 dongle and a phone's Bluetooth can be connected to the unit at the same time?

PotOdds

So an update on the install. It hasn't gone as smoothly as I hope. Part bad luck, part my fault, part sticky issues. I basically followed the Grom step-by-step video. He did it so fast I thought it would be a breeze to do. But the difference was he probably had done a number of these installs previously. Plus also very important, he had the right tools. I tried to use what I had on hand. They weren't adequate. Made a few trips to Harbor Freight, Home Depot and Lowe's.

1. Sticky Issues
- detaching the connector to the start/stop button after pulling out the trim. Grom video, the guy seemed to just pull it out. It didn't budge when I tried. I was very leery of applying too much pressure. Finally I realized after inspecting the connector, that there is a little latch or hook. You need to take a thin, long object like a key and press against the latch/hook. It's then very easy to remove the connector from start/stop button. I can imagine someone getting frustrated and damaging the connector by using too much force.

male connector to the start/stop button


female connector behind the start/stop button. Push sharp thin key or object to unlatch the hook


Start/Stop button in case anyone doesn't know what that is

- the passenger side 10mm bolt (Sound/AC/DVD unit) is difficult to see. I could barely touch it with my finger. In this case, I didn't have right tool. I only had a 3 inch long extension for my torque wrench. Too short. I searched and found a 5 inch extension but it belonged on big unwieldy torque wrench. The other major concern I had was that since the bolt was so hidden, I could see how it can EASILY be lost. The only magnetic 10mm socket I could find was on Amazon. Lowe's, Harbor Freight, Home Depot and Walmart did not carry magnetic sockets. I ended up getting a 6" ratchet extension, a magnetic wand and a deep 10mm socket from Lowe's. It worked. I was impatient to get it done but since I now have to wait until I get the Go2 repair socket, I'm also going to order a magnetic 10mm socket. This one from Amazon looks good for $11. Grey Pneumatic (1010MDG) 3/8" Drive x 10mm Magnetic Deep Socket


Tools from Lowe's


too small 3 inch extension. 5 inch unwieldy torque wrench

deeply hidden 10mm bolt on passenger side

passenger side from a distance


Success. 10mm bolt is attached to magnetic wand from using 6" extension and deep 10mm socket.

2. My Fault
- the driver side 10mm bolt for the (Sound/AC/DVD unit), I mistakenly took out the wrong bolt. When I went to pull the Sound/AC/DVD unit, it wouldn't budge. Eventually realized I took out the wrong 10mm bolt.


Wrong 10mm bolt


Correct driver side 10mm bolt

- btw, don't skimp out on auto trim removal tool. I used what I had on hand, painter's trim tool and an Instant Pot plastic spoon. Lol, they didn't work well. Got the following trim tool from Harbor Freight for $10.



Auto trim removal tool. $10


3. Bad Luck
- currently I'm stuck as I have a stripped 10mm bolt on the 12.3" screen. It's the front one, nearest the driver side. I've ordered Go2 Socket (https://www.go2socket.com/) which is supposedly very good with stripped bolts. So now I have to wait 3-7 days before I get the socket. There is a newer 2019 version so I didn't go with the Amazon's version, 2018 which would have gotten to me in 2 days.


left one is stripped. right one came out after just a few turns with torque wrench


I will update once I've gotten Go2 Socket and hopefully I should be done with the installation after that fixes the stripped bolt. Hopefully.

PotOdds

After realizing that there are only 2 connections to the 12.3 screen, 1. LVDS cable and 2. screen cable. Only the LVDS cable has to go to the head unit. I went ahead and just connected both the cables. It was a bit difficult since the stripped bolt held the 12.3 screen in place so I basically had to "feel" the location of the screen cable and undo the connection without actually seeing it. The LVDS cable had to be snaked down into the climate control space. That wasn't too difficult. And voila, success!


SUCCESS!

So when I went to replace all the trims, I accidentally dropped the 10mm bolt on the driver side into the area under the steering wheel. ***********CK! I'm planning to find it. Will have to figure out how to remove the driver side steering wheel covering.

zaldwaik

Thanks for the detailed posts, where you able to figure out the questions above?

PotOdds

I haven't gotten an answer yet to the different USB cables. I'm pretty sure they all provide basic USB function.
The main questions,
1. does one charge better than others, as several people have said how poor the charging capabilities are.
2. Is USB1 (Update) supposed to be used for updating purposes.

As of now, I have the wireless Carplay dongle, on USB2. I have a basic Apple cable on USB1. I think it's looks better if the female connectors are hidden behind the trims. I had them pulled out to the little area where the fake cigarette lighter is located.

Planning to move the head unit to the passenger well as mossytrees has done. I didn't like jamming all the cables into the space behind the DVD/AC/Media unit aka Receiver. Plus the passenger well has the benefits of being exposed if you want to access the head unit.

Some additional tools I plan to get to make life easier.
1. 5.5mm endoscope ( ) to snake peek at things I can easily see, like fallen 10mm bolts and LVDS cables hidden by rigid 12.3 screens.
2. Socket adapter ( ) so I can use my power drill just like the guy in the Grom video.
3. Flexible extension bar ( ). Found the rigid extension bar was a bit of a hassle in tight places.

RAWRX

Any bugs with performance? Everything working flawlessly? Can't wait for mines to get here.

PotOdds

Some of the notes by qvtruong are outdated as his first install was 6.0 Android. I have the 7.1 Android version with wireless Carplay. I haven't done extensive testing but everything looks good so far.
- 3 sec hold on the hangup button gets you into the Android
- setting AutoPlay as default will automatically switch to CarPlay after the 3 sec hangup press.
- hitting map twice doesn't seem to work for me. One of the contributors to the forum had said hitting it twice was an alternative to 3 sec hangup press.
- audio is going through bluetooth. Music sounds fine. Calls using Apple Phone is using the OEM Lexus BT settings. Need to figure out how to make it use the Auto2(?) bluetooth connection.
- wireless CarPlay is awesome. Need to figure out to enable Siri so I can keep my phone in my pocket.
- I think doing that complete BT reset as outlined in earlier posts may be a cleanup/refresh.

zaldwaik

I contacted Cosmo and he sent me an invoice for Andriod 6.1 version. Is there a benefit to asking for the 7.1 version?