RX350 CD changer

[Dr. Amdahl]

So, got into the car the other day and the CD player (Mark Levinson) had 'CD' on display. Was working fine the night before. Pushed 'play' - nothing, pushed 'eject'- nothing, pushed 'Radio' - nothing. Tried all the usual tips - even disconnected Battery and reconnected - nothing. Took the whole lump out and removed the lid of the CD player to reveal a mechanism reminiscent of a Grandfather Clock! Sent off the lump to Cartronics for repair (bear in mind this means - no rear view camera, SatNav or demister, heater, etc, etc). They replaced the CD changer (ordered from Japan - two weeks' lead time) - the cost?

£780.....

OUCH!

Apparently from Lexus it would have been north of £2K.....

[Herbie]

Surely it would have been cheaper to replace the CD unit with something like this - I mean, CDs are just SO yesterday anyway 😁

 

[Dr. Amdahl]

That looks like it would have done the job, thing is though would all the other functions that disappear when you remove that antiquated CD/cassette work with the replacement unit? Reversing camera, heating controls, satnav, etc are all connected to the back of it, I'd be surprised if the new unit supported all of them?

[Herbie]

47 minutes ago, Dr. Amdahl said:

That looks like it would have done the job, thing is though would all the other functions that disappear when you remove that antiquated CD/cassette work with the replacement unit? Reversing camera, heating controls, satnav, etc are all connected to the back of it, I'd be surprised if the new unit supported all of them?

Yes, everything works as it should. As you can see that's just a still grab from a Youtube video and it's been a while since I watched it but I'm sure the person doing it said that all things worked afterwards, including the steering wheel controls for volume etc.

[Dr. Amdahl]

I've been using one of these....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transmitter-SMBOX-Bluetooth-Handsfree-Wireless-Black/dp/B0792T86C4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Absolutely brilliant bargain, put a 32Gb memory card in the side with most of the music I want and can stream my favourite Barbados radio station, spotify, youtube, etc all for about a tenner! Sound quality through an unused radio frequency in my Mark Levinson is great too!

[Herbie]

Never used one myself but I believe they do work well. The only drawback is that a vacant frequency in your own area may be in use 10 miles down the road so there could be a need to constantly retune to an empty frequency as you travel up and down the country.

[BachelorDays]

3 hours ago, Herbie said:

Never used one myself but I believe they do work well. The only drawback is that a vacant frequency in your own area may be in use 10 miles down the road so there could be a need to constantly retune to an empty frequency as you travel up and down the country.

OK for local use since you can find an empty frequency and stick to it.  Too much of a hassle when travelling long distances.  Virtually forget it if hitting Central London.