RX400h SE-L Stereo head unit change?

Farnham Dave · November 9, 2018

Hello there.

Well, I've got my 2006 RX400h (SE-L trim), and am mightily impressed so far.

I'm currently working through my to-do list, two new tyres, wiper blades and so on.

I've tried hooking my phone up via Bluetooth, but I can't 'see' the car from the phone, so I am a little puzzled because the car does have Bluetooth. I'm now also a little miffed because I've seen it said that the Bluetooth that's there doesn't support music playback.

Incidentally, I've found some sort of dongle dangling around that appears to be wired into the car, but also looks like an FM transmitter. Why that's there I'm not sure (I'll get some pictures).

I was pleased to see that getting to the head unit is easy, and a new surround to adapt to ISO fitting seems easy to get. I've also seen these adapters that use the CD multichanger connector to hook up a Bluetooth/ aux in adapter.

But I'm also rather distressed by the posts I see here and there saying "I replaced the head unit, and now XXX has just stopped working"... Where XXX is just about any random component you can imagine.

So, has anyone here worked out if the existing Bluetooth is able to play music, or managed to fit the Bluetooth adapter into the rear of the head unit, or even managed to fit a whole new head unit whilst preserving the rest of the car's functions?

Sorry this has gone on a bit!

Herbie · November 9, 2018

Your phone will connect to the car via Bluetooth for hands-free calls but the car hasn't got the A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) sub-set of Bluetooth that is necessary for audio streaming. You'll need to either replace the head unit or use a suitable dongle/adapter/converter.

welland · November 9, 2018

1 hour ago, Farnham Dave said:

I've tried hooking my phone up via Bluetooth, but I can't 'see' the car from the phone, so I am a little puzzled because the car does have Bluetooth.

My car is the same model and age. It can be a bit fiddly getting the Bluetooth set up, but once working is good for phone calls. When i changed my phone recently, I had the same problem as you. I tried repeatedly for about 15 mins and couldn't see the car, but then it just started to work. I cant remember if the solution was to turn the radio on first, then phone Bluetooth, or the other way around.

Now it's paired, the car and phone connect quickly and easily when I start up. But if my wife uses the car and wants to connect her phone instead, she has to go into the settings to select her phone in the list - the car cannot auto connect to any paired phone, only the selected phone.

Prepare yourself for transferring the phone book from phone to car........... 😕

Farnham Dave · November 10, 2018

1 hour ago, welland said:

My car is the same model and age. It can be a bit fiddly getting the Bluetooth set up, but once working is good for phone calls. When i changed my phone recently, I had the same problem as you. I tried repeatedly for about 15 mins and couldn't see the car, but then it just started to work. I cant remember if the solution was to turn the radio on first, then phone Bluetooth, or the other way around.

Now it's paired, the car and phone connect quickly and easily when I start up. But if my wife uses the car and wants to connect her phone instead, she has to go into the settings to select her phone in the list - the car cannot auto connect to any paired phone, only the selected phone.

Prepare yourself for transferring the phone book from phone to car........... 😕

Yeah, I just quietly deleted the previous owners address book. 🙂

Farnham Dave · November 10, 2018

There are numerous head units out there that do the full Bluetooth experience... Music and calls. And a lot of them aren't too pricey. I'm just wary that something else will stop working if I change it?

Also, how am I going to play all my cassette tapes? 😂

welland · November 10, 2018

8 hours ago, Farnham Dave said:

Yeah, I just quietly deleted the previous owners address book. 🙂

I had to do that too. ☺

That was the easy bit. Copying your own address book is the fun bit. 😣

BachelorDays · November 10, 2018

When I bought mine I just assumed it had an Aux In. Oh well..

I haven't done anything about it (just burned a few MP3 CDs) but I have read up on it. Quite a few people added an Aux In in the US. The reference below, as an option, might be useful.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/For-Lexus-RX-MP3-SD-USB-CD-AUX-Input-Audio-Adapter-Digital-CD-Changer-Module-6-6-/131807867421

What I do know (a member here recently changed their Nav LCD) is that getting access is pretty straightforward (just don't drop the screws as you undo them - the guy used a tea towel as a base to catch them in case they fell).

Farnham Dave · November 10, 2018

7 hours ago, BachelorDays said:

When I bought mine I just assumed it had an Aux In. Oh well..

I haven't done anything about it (just burned a few MP3 CDs) but I have read up on it. Quite a few people added an Aux In in the US. The reference below, as an option, might be useful.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/For-Lexus-RX-MP3-SD-USB-CD-AUX-Input-Audio-Adapter-Digital-CD-Changer-Module-6-6-/131807867421

What I do know (a member here recently changed their Nav LCD) is that getting access is pretty straightforward (just don't drop the screws as you undo them - the guy used a tea towel as a base to catch them in case they fell).

I've seen a few of these things that hook up to the cd changer socket, but this one does look like the neatest I've seen.

Farnham Dave · November 15, 2018

I've got myself a Bluetooth to FM thing, which avoids pulling anything apart. Idea was as a stop-gap, but have to say it seems to do the job pretty well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07DFF34H5

mikesands · November 17, 2018

Yes - I've done the same as Dave. I think it cost me £12 and provides 2 charging sockets as well as Bluetooth audio connection. I previously had the cassette tape thing with trailing jackplug but then I still needed another cable to keep the phone charged. Once set up the FM thing works very well, allowing me to skip forwards and backwards through tracks by pushing a button on the unit. The only downside is quite a lot of background white noise on the channel I have chosen (88.2) so if anyone has found a more silent frequency please shout up. I can tune the white noise right down by judicious fiddling with the 3 volume controls I now have (the car stereo, the phone side buttons and the volume dial on the FM thing). By the way - I wondered whether it would complicate things that the FM Bluetooth unit had call answering built in, but everything seems OK and I THINK the car system is still handling that.

Mike

Farnham Dave · November 17, 2018

Not a perfect solution... I drove down the M3 yesterday, and there's a couple of radio masts along the way, which introduced quite a lot of noise.

I haven't experimented much with the frequency... Just choose one that seemed quiet.

Herbie · November 17, 2018

Don't forget also that as you drive around, a frequency that's quiet and free in one area may have a radio station operating on it in a different area so you may end up constantly retuning.

Farnham Dave · November 20, 2018

According to https://bestradios.co.uk/best-frequency-for-fm-transmitter-uk/ the best chance for a clear frequency is 87.5 or 108. Although they seem to imply that this is questionable in London (I suspect other large cities might be a problem, too)

rich1068 · November 20, 2018

The worse interference I seem to get is from other vehicles. Not sure how that works but pull up behind some and the buzzing starts, as they move away it stops.

mikesands · November 20, 2018

1 hour ago, Farnham Dave said:

According to https://bestradios.co.uk/best-frequency-for-fm-transmitter-uk/ the best chance for a clear frequency is 87.5 or 108. Although they seem to imply that this is questionable in London (I suspect other large cities might be a problem, too)

Thanks Dave - that's useful, and I will try both of those

Mike