Music Question....

Crowtree · July 29, 2015

Right i have a 2005 '55 plate' RX400H SE-L with the Mark Levinson hifi, I also have a Samsung Galaxy phone, is there a magic lead/ connection / Bluetooth type of witchcraft that will allow me to play music off my phone in the car ?

Thank you in advance

billgatesisaconman · July 30, 2015

Mine came fitted with a Lexus integrated Ipod adapter so I just bought a 60 gig Ipod for sole use in the car ,...(there's a lead in the glovebox which connects & charges an ipod, I would check to see if you have one of.these)

but If you don't have one ... I would seriously consider an integrated adapter as it's a lot safer than fiddling with your phone while on the move .. (I'm not saying you would do, but there would be no temptation)

mine integrates extremely well into the car stereo & you can select playlists, change tracks, volume etc using the stereo or the steering wheel controls, it also displays playlist, track name etc on the radio display ...

theres a recent thread with some other options ... Colin's post seems to sum it up ...> http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/96926-android-phone-music-streaming/

Parrot of Doom · July 30, 2015

You need this:

http://gromaudio.co.uk/toyota-lexus-usb-android-integration-kit-310.html

I don't have one but only this week I emailed Grom and they said yes, it's compatible with the 400h with the ML stereo. Grom do another one that has Bluetooth too.

billgatesisaconman · July 30, 2015

Colin reckoned the Grom ones can be glitchy

ColinBarber

"There are other manufacturers too, Grom for example, but these don't seem to be that reliable. You end up having to turn the ignition system off/on sometimes to get the unit to be recognised by the vehicle" ...

... "I had a Vaistech in my GS430. Then in my RX400h I had a Grom for a few months before throwing it out and getting another Vais unit" ....

I personally would get some advice from people who have had one before forking out £150 for one of these ...

ColinBarber · July 31, 2015

That is a newer unit that the one I used to have, hopefully it has improved. I certainly wouldn't recommend that older models.

rahoulb · August 2, 2015

Sorry to butt in, but I've got a similar question ...

I had a wonderful 2001 Saab 9-3 Aero HOT that had been refurbished by a couple of enthusiasts - I bought it with the idea of keeping it till it died. Well that day has now come and the scrapper is coming for it this week.

One issue with a car that old was the audio system had no Aux in and nothing like an iPod adapter or Bluetooth - so I bought a DAB/Bluetooth/iPhone 1 DIN Kenwood head unit and fitted that instead. It meant missing out on the steering wheel controls, but it was worth it.

Now I'm looking at a 2005 RX400H SE (if all goes according to plan should be picking it up later in the week).

But again, I'm in the situation of no Aux in, no Bluetooth and no iPod adapter. Well, it has a Bury handset cradle fitted, but that's Bluetooth calls only, no music.

So my question is - do I get a DIN adapter, replace the head unit and stick my Kenwood unit in? I guess that would mean losing the steering wheel controls again (any other side effects?) and I can't find any adapters on sale (although there are a few articles mentioning them).

Or do I shell out for a Vaistech, or something like the GTA Bluetooth adapter?

In the short term, I guess I'm going to be digging out my old tape adapter :hocus-pokus:

ColinBarber · August 3, 2015

Unlike a lot of other Lexus vehicles the series II RX stereo is separate from the other controls so you can replace it without too many issues, other than as you say losing the steering wheel controls. Something like the GS is much more challenging because the climate controls are all integrated with the stereo, certainly on the Nav versions.

Adapters should be available, the Grom units for example use standard Toyota adapters - I think there are two types though so you need to make sure you get the correct one.

billgatesisaconman · August 3, 2015

Quick question Colin, Do you know who manufactures the Lexus ipod interface that they fit, I've checked through the "Ipod intergration Unit" manual all it says is Lexus PZ420 on the back cover... it is a 3rd party unit isn't it ?

ColinBarber · August 3, 2015

PZ420...... is just part of the Toyota/Lexus part code, it doesn't give any clues as to who the OEM is. I don't know who they used, Pioneer make the actual stereo so maybe they also do the adapter but it could be somebody else. I don't think these official products work any better than a good third party one.

billgatesisaconman · August 3, 2015

PZ420...... is just part of the Toyota/Lexus part code, it doesn't give any clues as to who the OEM is. I don't know who they used, Pioneer make the actual stereo so maybe they also do the adapter but it could be somebody else. I don't think these official products work any better than a good third party one.

Your right ...I can't find any info as to who makes it, PZ420 is the Lexus part number for the manual .... it works flawlessly.

rahoulb · August 9, 2015

Just in case anyone is interested - I went with the Dension Gateway Lite, with a Lightening cable adapter (bought both off Amazon).

It was really easy to fit - I used this video (which is for a different adapter box) for removing the head unit although I did lose two bolts inside the centre console (no suitable magnet I'm afraid)

An iPod 30-pin cable plugs directly into the unit, but for a Lightning cable (as on the Iphone 5 and newer) you need the Lightning adapter (which plugs into the USB port and then you plug your own Lightning cable into the adapter). If you have an Android phone or your music on a USB device you can plug them directly into the Gateway box as well. It's only the newer iPhones that need this extra adapter.

I plugged the Gateway box into the head unit (dead simple - unplug the CD changer, plug it into the supplied cable and plug the cable into the head unit and Gateway box), then fed the box through into the glove box. From there I ran my Iphone cable under the console and stuck my cradle (which I took out of my old car) by the gear stick with velcro. Nice and neat with all the wires hidden out of view.

At first it worked fine - I plugged it all in, switch the head unit to the CD Changer and then started Spotify on my phone. Then on the second day the Gateway unit stopped responding to the next/previous track buttons on the steering wheel. I checked the Dension website and they had a firmware update. Download the zip file, copy the firmware file to a USB stick, then plug the USB stick into the Gateway box. 2 minutes later, the Gateway box had restarted, and so far, everything is working perfectly.

And as the Gateway box charges the Iphone and I've got the phone paired with the navigation unit over Bluetooth, when I say "Hey Siri" I can even get the phone to read out text messages and reply, or initiate calls, totally hands-free (bypassing the rather crappy voice commands built into the navigation unit. ("Hey Siri" is set in Settings/General/Siri - when you say it, the audio stops, the Bluetooth unit acts as if a call is incoming and the microphone becomes active so you can tell your phone what to do).

So I'm really pleased with things at the moment.

Hope that helps someone.

sylm_2000 · August 13, 2015

Samsung Galaxy (i have S5) can be connected as a Bluetooth device using BlueDUN app from play store. It is a paid app but works like magic with the ML music system. This app also enables internet search feature if you have google search on my car.

All you need is Bluetooth enabled (set auto start app with Bluetooth settings) and you can connect every time you step in.

Haven't cracked with Iphone as apple doesn't support DUN interface required to connect.

maurice1 · March 15, 2016

Hi sylm_2000

i have S5 too.

Did your bluedun stream to an 2008 RX400H SE-L with the Mark Levinson hifi

Arnasx · March 16, 2016

On 8/13/2015 at 9:46 PM, sylm_2000 said:

Samsung Galaxy (i have S5) can be connected as a bluetooth device using BlueDUN app from play store. It is a paid app but works like magic with the ML music system. This app also enables internet search feature if you have google search on my car.

All you need is bluetooth enabled (set auto start app with Bluetooth settings) and you can connect every time you step in.

Haven't cracked with iPhone as apple doesn't support DUN interface required to connect.

How did you managed that? Is there tutorial on how to do it? It didn't work for me. Saying waiting for device....

Thanks

Assa1974 · March 16, 2016

On 13/08/2015 at 9:46 PM, sylm_2000 said:

Samsung Galaxy (i have S5) can be connected as a bluetooth device using BlueDUN app from play store. It is a paid app but works like magic with the ML music system. This app also enables internet search feature if you have google search on my car.

All you need is bluetooth enabled (set auto start app with Bluetooth settings) and you can connect every time you step in.

Haven't cracked with iPhone as apple doesn't support DUN interface required to connect.

I'm not sure how this would work? The App seems to be a way to tether devices for to your phone using BT for data connection where they don't have WiFi, not to allow something like BT music streaming. It might work well on a later model like your 2015 450H but on a 400H I doubt there'd be any use.

sylm_2000 · March 16, 2016

On 15 March 2016 at 0:02 PM, maurice1 said:

Hi sylm_2000

i have S5 too.

Did your bluedun stream to an 2008 RX400H SE-L with the Mark Levinson hifi

Sorry I have 2015 RX450H so not sure if the DUN (Dial-up-networking) feature is active on 400H.

In my case it was simply a question of installing DUN protocol which is not normally installed on Samsung on Android phones. TBH this is really primitive technology which should have been discarded years ago however continues to be used my car companies.

sylm_2000 · March 16, 2016

6 hours ago, Assa1974 said:

I'm not sure how this would work? The App seems to be a way to tether devices for to your phone using BT for data connection where they don't have WiFi, not to allow something like BT music streaming. It might work well on a later model like your 2015 450H but on a 400H I doubt there'd be any use.

BT DUN Works with music, navigation, contacts, messages, email and google search.

As I commented above my config is 450H (2015) so worth checking for compatibility.

Assa1974 · March 17, 2016

Well when I finally get my car (hopefully this weekend) I'll have a play with the trial version. It would certainly be the perfect solution so while I'll be surprised if it works I'd be a fool not to give it a go with the potential of saving £hundreds.

Assa1974 · April 7, 2016

Yeah, it didn't work. I've also tried a couple of other connection options in the hope of avoiding the big payout. I have the iPod cable so I started with a Bluetooth adapter from Kingston Sound. Sadly that didn't work - the stereo couldn't detect any connection through the cable. Next I tried a 3.5mm cable adapter that uses the ext. CD changer port. This sort of worked but the ridiculous cabling into the head unit meant I lost the audio screen on the satnav and the climate control stopped operating. The iPod adapter has an extra socket to integrate these into it's wiring which is missing from the 3.5mm adapter. So lastly I'm going to try for a 3.5mm to iPod port connector. Hopefully that will do the trick.

I was surprised how easy it was to remove the fascia and get the stereo out but the wiring seems to be a complex mess to my layman's eyes.