rear bumper protection

bu b · May 24, 2016

Hi everyone,

I picked up my first Lex at the weekend, an 08 plate 400h. Awesome car! Thanks to this forum - I spent an unhealthy amount of time on here before making my purchase!!

I've already fitted a Bluetooth connector thingy so I can stream music from my phone, and the connector also has AUX in. Took about 40 minutes, but can be done much quicker now I know how. If anyone needs, I can supply more info about what I used, plus a couple of useful tips if anyone needs to get access to the back of the cd/radio unit.

Now, I'm thinking about fitting a rear bumper guard. I really like the look of the carbon/aluminium one, but I can't find any that state they'd be suitable for the uk RX400h.

I've seen on some sites that the same guards fit the 300 and the 350, but I can't find the aluminium ones.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/rear-trunk-door-sill-scuff-plate-for-LEXUS-RX350-RX450h-rear-bumper-protector-interior-exterior-B/1450931940.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.125.cwydu4&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_7,searchweb201602_2_10017_10021_507_10022_10020_10009_10008_10018_10019_101,searchweb201603_6&btsid=8094d428-7c68-4dd4-a8dc-0675f8a69317

ali express site say the above is suitable for "RX350 RX450h RX270 2010-2011" , but I'm not sure if they are referring to non-uk market .

Does anyone know if they would be suitable for uk RX400h (08 plate) please?

If not, does anyone know where I can get hold of one?

Many thanks.

Bu

rayaans · May 24, 2016

Wont fit, bumpers have slightly different curvature.

You'd struggle to find an aluminium one as they arent that great - they scratch too much. Id get the plastic one TBH.

bu b · May 24, 2016

Thanks Rayaans, possibly just saved me a lot of money! I'll get the plastic one soon.

Cheers

Bu

robski · May 24, 2016

3 hours ago, bu b said:

Hi everyone,

I picked up my first Lex at the weekend, an 08 plate 400h. Awesome car! Thanks to this forum - I spent an unhealthy amount of time on here before making my purchase!!

I've already fitted a bluetooth connector thingy so I can stream music from my phone, and the connector also has AUX in. Took about 40 minutes, but can be done much quicker now I know how. If anyone needs, I can supply more info about what I used, plus a couple of useful tips if anyone needs to get access to the back of the cd/radio unit.

....

Congratulations on the new purchase!

Although I can't help you on the bumper protection I'd love to hear about the audio system upgrade! Which one did you go for? Any other information about it that you could pass on would be greatly appreciated.

Gliderpilot · May 24, 2016

2 minutes ago, robski said:

Congratulations on the new purchase!

Although I can't help you on the bumper protection I'd love to hear about the audio system upgrade! Which one did you go for? Any other information about it that you could pass on would be greatly appreciated.

Same here too!

is200 Newbie · May 24, 2016

On ‎22‎/‎03‎/‎2016 at 6:57 PM, is200 Newbie said:

Not a very good picture but found this on ebay as a generic protector - took the measurements and seemed to fit so bought one.

It came and it fitted very well. It does not cover all of the top of the bumper but it has covered a few scratches made when lifting bags out of the boot (not a big entrance to get big bags out of or in for that matter) It protected the bumper tonight when taking other bags out. If anything a bit too short - Car needs a clean also !!

Pictures below

Not a very good picture - put on 2 months ago and still on strong - found a suitable one on eBay, not OEM but I think it was advertised as for general use. Costs between £8 and £13 on eBay Search Black 35.8 inch Guard Car SUV Body Bumper Protector Trim Cover Protective Strip

rayaans · May 24, 2016

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-RX300-350-400h-Rear-Bumper-protector-/231939774199?fits=Car+Make%3ALexus|Model%3ARX&hash=item3600b016f7:m:m5LAaSeEmXJtX7SEt1eQQyw

Here you go - this one will fit.

bu b · May 25, 2016

hey guys, thanks for your help in this. I've just ordered the one that Rayaans' suggested.

regarding the audio update:

I went for the Yatour bluetooth/AUX system, as suggested by a member a while ago, £63 from amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B014R3340I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also got a Y splitter/adaptor cable, £10 from amazon but you can get these anywhere, probably a bit cheaper:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DJ3MHI8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The above items can be used for any Lex/Toyota that has the 6+6 pin setup (2 rows of 6 pins).

If you've got a spare port on the back of the stereo unit, you might not need the Y splitter. Basically the Y splitter allows you to connect 2 devices to 1 port on the back on the original stereo.

My car didn't have the ipod connection, (look in the glove box to see if you've got one).

Removing the stereo unit is quite simple, some good youtube vids out there. You'll need a dash trim remover tool and a socket wrench with a 10mm bit. Probably the best bit of advice I can give anyone on this is, when removing the top 2 hidden bolts, put loads of blue-tac into the 10mm bit, and squeeze it hard onto the bolt. That way you hopefully won't drop the bolt behind the dash, which can be a nightmare to retrieve.

Once the stereo is out, I removed the original stereo connection (6+6 pin), and put the single end of the Y cable in it's place. In the other 2 slots of the Y cable, I plugged in the original stereo connection and the Yatour BT connection.

(there are loads of wires connected to the back of the unit, and you might have to take some out for ease of access. It's easy to do, and because all the connections are different, you'll know where to re-connect - you can't get it wrong! All simple clip in/out.)

Once installed, BT connection/pairing was a doddle, and my phone automatically connects to the Yatour device every time I'm in my car.

You probably know this already, but with the BT streaming from your phone, you can use the car's steering wheel controls and CD unit controls to, er, control the music (track up / down), but you can't with just the AUX in - you can only use the car's volume controls. I've yet to experiment with playlists.

I have to press the "CD" function once to get to the standard CD player, twice to get to the new AUX/BT connection, so I still have use of the original CD player as well.

You don't get the track info (title/album/artist) on the CD screen (boo!) when using the AUX/BT connection - it just says "cd 1 - track 1" all the time, (i don't know if that's a limitation of my cheap Y splitter cable, or because I needed a mp3/cdc switch cable instead of the y-cable, or a limitation of the stereo unit or the Yatour device - if anyone knows, please let us know). And also, you can't connect to the car's original BT at the same time as the Yatour BT - you can only have one or the other at any one time. (this is a limitation of BT in general). If you make lots of calls from your car, then that could be an issue for you, as you can't use the car's large screen display or phonebook contacts. However you can receive/end calls using the car's steering wheel controls if connected to Yatour BT, so it is still hands free, and comes with a microphone.

Hope this helps. It's not a recommendation/endorsement of the Yatour system over any others - it's just one that met my needs at a pretty reasonable cost (£80 all in including the dash removal tools), and, 2 days in, it's still working...

cheers

Bu

robski · May 25, 2016

Thanks for this Bu. Very informative. I've been very close to pulling the trigger on the Yatour system for a few days now. The only thing that has held me back is what seems like a limited music / track navigation facility.

Last night I found this review for a Yatour system installed in a Volvo although I suspect it will be similar for the Lexus:

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/165890-my-review-of-the-yatour-media-changer-yt-m06-android-version/

I have an iPod connection installed in the RX but I don't use iPods so as an interim measure I've ordered a 3.5mm jack adapter for it. I'll attach a xDuoo X3 Music Player to this when it arrives and see how I go from there. It will be playing play lists so I won't need to fiddle with controls while driving. It would have been really handy if the car had an AUX IN but such is life!

I may yet buy the Yatour kit for the USB / SD / AUX features it provides.

Thanks again for the update and sorry for taking the thread off topic!

bu b · May 25, 2016

Cheers Rob, and no worries!

Just wanted to point out that my adapter doesn't have the USB or SD in, it's got Bluetooth and AUX in instead. The USB port that I have for mine is just for charging other devices only, which might come in useful when the kids' DVD players are attached to the cigarette lighter.

Yatour make all different adapters, in any combo of AUX / SD card / USB / BT, so do look around as to what types of music in you would want. The AUX in only costs around £25. Agree completely, if only the RX had an AUX in, I'd be more than content. (I think they came fitted as standard from the 2009 model?).

Regarding the "limited music / track navigation facility", with AUX in, you can only control the volume using the car's controls; with BT, you can play/pause/move tracks up/down as well.

I too saw the review for the Volvo adapter, but was put off by having to format the SD card and put songs in a particular order. (edit: and also not being able to play internet/streamed music to it, like spotify or amazon music or internet radio).

Good luck with the jack adapter / X3 player!

cheers

Haken8 · May 26, 2016

Hi

Just in case this helps anyone I was faced with the audio problem when I first got my RX450. I tried an MP3 player with no success. I then thought why not try a USB drive so I bought an 8 GB USB drive and tried that. Played first time/showed all the tracks/Titles/Artists and worked from the steering wheel. I then thought what is the maximum capacity I could use. I went from a 32GB with no problems and I am now using a 128 GB USB Drive. I haven't gone bigger at this stage as the 256 GB are still pricey and really you can get a lot of music on 128 GB.

So all in all this is a very cheap option and works.

Hope this helps someone

ISJason · May 28, 2016

Thank you for posting

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

robski · May 28, 2016

On 5/25/2016 at 4:35 PM, bu b said:

Cheers Rob, and no worries!

Just wanted to point out that my adapter doesn't have the USB or SD in, it's got bluetooth and AUX in instead. The USB port that I have for mine is just for charging other devices only, which might come in useful when the kids' DVD players are attached to the cigarette lighter.

Yatour make all different adapters, in any combo of AUX / SD card / USB / BT, so do look around as to what types of music in you would want. The AUX in only costs around £25. Agree completely, if only the RX had an AUX in, I'd be more than content. (I think they came fitted as standard from the 2009 model?).

Regarding the "limited music / track navigation facility", with AUX in, you can only control the volume using the car's controls; with BT, you can play/pause/move tracks up/down as well.

I too saw the review for the Volvo adapter, but was put off by having to format the SD card and put songs in a particular order. (edit: and also not being able to play internet/streamed music to it, like spotify or amazon music or internet radio).

Good luck with the jack adapter / X3 player!

cheers

Sadly the iPod 30 pin to AUX connector wasn't recognised by the system :-(

However, I had a little dig around behind the stereo and found that the iPod adapter fitted (Connects2 CTATYIPOD 002) has a 3.5mm AUX socket. Very happy indeed!

The iPod connection cable had also become detached but I forgot to try the adaptor again. Doh! I'm more than happy with the performance from the 3.5mm AUX link. Obviously no steering wheel controls but I can live with that as I've got lots of long playlists!

Hopefully this info might help others in a similar situation and I promise not to take the thread off topic again! :-)

Rich74 · July 6, 2018

hi all I have just got a 2007 rx 400h sel with the mark levinson sound system in with the 6 disc cd changer built into the front head unit. i sooooo want to be able to stream music from my Iphone 7. from speaking to several stereo shops all are saying its not possible to achieve unless i get a parrot mk kit but ive had one of those before and the sound quality is poor.

bu seems to think that the yatour kit will work but my stereo shop says his car must be an import as the built in 6 disc head unit doesnt have any ports on it to connect anything to

is the case? or does anyone out there have a solution that they have fitted to a 2007 rx 400h

many thanks inadvance :)

rich1068 · July 6, 2018

Have a look at the GROM website https://gromaudio.co.uk/ They're also very helpful if you call them. I bought an AUX kit off them last year for my IS 300 because I'm not keep on streamed audio. I'll probably get around to putting it in my RX at some point but in the meantime I'm using one of these. Everyone poo poos it but for BT audio it's fine.

Note: It's a Bluetooth adapter, not one of those FM jobbies.