Grom Vline - Android/CarPlay Infotainment Upgrade

[rossf87]

As the new owner of a RX400 literally the only thing that I did not like about the car with the ageing headunit/infotainment system, particularly missing the Bluetooth streaming and DAB radio I had in my previous car. A few searches online lead me to the Grom Vline (http://gromaudio.co.uk/products/vl1-infotainment-upgrade/lexus-toyota-2006-2009-grom-vline-infotainment-system-upgrade-video-interface.html) by coincidence I seem to have been looking just at the point this launched, so think I may be one of the first to install this in a UK car. Therefore I thought a few people may be interested in some thoughts:

What is it?

Essentially it's an upgrade to the infotainment system that adds a full Android system all controllable through your touchscreen, without any visible alterations. It comes with some custom apps but you can also add anything from the Play Store (Google Maps, Spotify, YouTube etc) and also has CarPlay build in if you have an Iphone. 

 

Installation

 

Much like other Bluetooth units that are out there for the RX the vline imitates an external CD changer to play through the headunit. Therefore other than the moment when you realise you have a gaping hole in the center console of a car you've only owned for a week... it's all pretty straight forward. Installation is all plug and play, 1 connection to your head unit, 1 connection to the screen. I followed this YouTube video to get the headunit out:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEf91Z0RuCA

 

Then there are just 2 more bolts for the screen which were very obvious once you had removed the head unit, then it unclips and slides out in the same way. It was then just a case of plugging everything together using the 2 supplied harnesses. As you can see from the video everything is also clipped in as well as bolted, so I'd have is make sure to get some cheap trim tools (mine were 1.99 from ebay) as they make life easier. The only other tool you need is a 10mm socket.

 

The Good Bits

 

Once up and running I was genuinely blown away by how impressive it is, when you start up Spotify or Google Maps it puts most brand new cars to shame. It's all very intuitive, particularly if you have used Android in the past. The vline is accessed by pressing the DISC button twice. You don't lose your existing DVD changer in the dash, it just appears as an additional CD changer after this. 

 

You can easily customise your homescreen with any app you download. I currently have Google Maps, Spotify, Bluetooth Streaming, PocketCast (podcasts) and TuneIn Radio (dab/internet radio stations) which pretty much covers me for anything audio related I ever listen to. With regard to the apps themselves these are the full android versions of the apps, so essentially anything you can do on your phone, you can do here. 

 

If you have an Iphone it can also run CarPlay, which seems even better as it's designed for in car use (big buttons/simplified menus etc). However I'm an Android user, so beyond a quick 2 min test using someone else's phone I haven't tried with the vline extensively.

 

The Not So Good

 

- It's £430. For me it's worth it, but I can imagine others will think it's overly expensive.

- It is still buggy at times. I ran into some issues after I first installed where it would not boot up properly the first time I started the car. Turning the ignition on and off would sort the problem each time, but it was very frustrating. There was an update to the system on the 23rd of December which seems to have solved this issue and beyond that I've had absolutely no issues with it once up and running. However I know others on Club Lexus forum have had issues. For what it's worth Grom support do seem very good if you have to deal with them.

- In order to use any of the apps I'm runnig you need an internet connection therefore you will need to use the wireless hotspot functionality in your phone to run it.

- It only runs CarPlay over a lightening/USB cable, where as I think some headunits can now do this over Bluetooth. 

- Android Auto is still not available yet, I believe this was tested in beta but when I spoke to Grom support they had no date for this going live.

 

Overall 

 

Despite some bugs and the cost, as a tech and music enthusiast I think it is a great system and Grom seem committed to regular updates so I think it will continue to progress. I've attached some quick pictures, but if anyone is interested in any more specifics just fire away! There is a huge thread on the vline ClubLexus forum in the US so would be good to start something similar for us in the UK here. 

[goodfella1]

Excellent review. I am considering VLine for my 2008 IS250. Your review is extremely helpful. Thanks.

[bobmc]

I'm giving this serious consideration for my 2007 IS250. Cost is a big factor though.

[Bowserman]

Hi,

 

Considering this for my 400h when I eventually get a working touchscreen!

Where did you mount the grom unit?

 

thanks. 

[sorcerer]

I've not got an RX400h but I'm assuming that the touch display is the same as in my RX300, ie, it shows navigation, it controls heating and ventilation, it does the Bluetooth phone stuff, onboard computer and a host of other things. If so, now that you've lost your original screen, how does the Grom unit interface with all that?

I was looking at this video for ideas when money allows 

 

[Bowserman]

The Grom displays on the original screen.

[sorcerer]

20 minutes ago, Bowserman said:

The Grom displays on the original screen.

Ah right, I didn't know that, cheers.

[Bowserman]

 

[Bowserman]

 

[rossf87]

On 03/09/2017 at 2:01 PM, Bowserman said:

Hi,

 

Considering this for my 400h when I eventually get a working touchscreen!

Where did you mount the grom unit?

 

thanks. 

Sorry not been on here for a while but to answer your question, the unit and all the related gubbins just went in the glovebox. At the time when I installed it that was to be a temporary solution incase it was buggy and I wanted to get it out and returned easily. However, I've ended up just leaving it in there as I never use it anyway and the car has plenty of other storage.

Since my original review the unit has had a number of software updates and runs better than ever. Yes it's an expensive outlay but I cannot recommend it highly enough if you do a reasonable amount of miles or long journeys. I've also properly tried out carplay and it is fantastic, if your are an Iphone user I think it would be even better but I'm perfectly happy using the native android apps. 

[Odysseus]

Looks cool and thanks for taking the time to update us all how it’s working in practice. I had a GROM USB thing in my old Volvo S80 and it was a very high quality bit of kit.

I’m curious though how the Bluetooth bits work? So you can stream audio from your phone into the GROM for playing on the stereo, but are voice calls handled by the native Lexus Bluetooth app or via the GROM? If the latter, did you have to route the cable with mic into an appropriate location in the car?

Personally I’m very intrigued/tempted by the GROM in terms of capability and apps, but am actually quite happy with the integration of the Lexus Bluetooth for voice calls.

Thanks again.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Bowserman]

On 04/10/2017 at 3:50 PM, rossf87 said:

Sorry not been on here for a while but to answer your question, the unit and all the related gubbins just went in the glovebox. At the time when I installed it that was to be a temporary solution incase it was buggy and I wanted to get it out and returned easily. However, I've ended up just leaving it in there as I never use it anyway and the car has plenty of other storage.

Since my original review the unit has had a number of software updates and runs better than ever. Yes it's an expensive outlay but I cannot recommend it highly enough if you do a reasonable amount of miles or long journeys. I've also properly tried out carplay and it is fantastic, if your are an iphone user I think it would be even better but I'm perfectly happy using the native android apps. 

Cheers for that. Its on my Christmas list.

[rossf87]

On 04/10/2017 at 3:56 PM, Odysseus said:

Looks cool and thanks for taking the time to update us all how it’s working in practice. I had a GROM USB thing in my old Volvo S80 and it was a very high quality bit of kit.

I’m curious though how the Bluetooth bits work? So you can stream audio from your phone into the GROM for playing on the stereo, but are voice calls handled by the native Lexus Bluetooth app or via the GROM? If the latter, did you have to route the cable with mic into an appropriate location in the car?

Personally I’m very intrigued/tempted by the GROM in terms of capability and apps, but am actually quite happy with the integration of the Lexus Bluetooth for voice calls.

Thanks again.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

All your calls are still handled by the standard Lexus phone integration, the only thing the vline uses Bluetooth for is music.

Having said that I think I’ve only ever used the Bluetooth streaming a handful of times, as CarPlay or android auto use either usb cable or WiFi streaming and for me offer the best user experience

[juicestop]

Looks good, but out of stock 

[jmcc42uk]

Any more news on this? Thinking of getting it when I get a 2009 ls460.

[rossf87]

Having just traded in my old RX for a brand new one, this is now up for sale in the classified section of the forum. If anyone is considering either buying mine or a brand new one, I can't recommend it highly enough... I'm just trying to work out if I'm brave enough to take apart the dash of my new car before ordering another!

 

[Edgy]

Hi, anyone else selling a vline system for rx400h?

[RXAndy]

Hi all. I've just fitted a Grom VLine LITE (VT1) in my RX300 (after literally months of faffing about trying to source the right display cable!) and it's great with my wife's Iphone as apple play works a treat. However with my android phone it is beyond hopeless as I only seem to be able to connect it via Bluetooth or WiFi tethering using the DashLinQ app which seems to me to be really quite rubbish. No Bluetooth calling or nav app at all. I thought I'd be able to use android auto, does anyone know if its possible?