(All the usual workshop provisos apply: I can’t be held responsible for any damage – use guide at own risk).


First off a HUGE thank you to Sonnet for discovering the GromAudio Ipod adaptor: you can read about it here

Secondly thanks to Wozza for sending me through his comprehensive guide to removing the head unit a lot of which is copied here.

I take no credit for this guide – all the info I got from other LOC members.

This guide will seem pretty basic to those who have installed their own head units before and are confident with taking their dash apart but hopefully it will be helpful to those not quite so confident (as I was.)

Things you will need:

Masking tape
Pen
Philips Screwdriver
10mm Ratchet/Spanner
4th Gen Ipod or better
GromAudio ipod adaptor: Toyota / Scion / Lexus GROM for iPod interface(GROM-IPOD-TOY) (see Sonnet’s link for where to get these or find them on ebay.)

And a bin…. for throwing away your tape adapters and FM transmitters.


First off prepare your dash – getting the stereo out is VERY likely to scratch your dash so protect it with masking tape (you can slide it down the gaps between the stereo and dash to ensure maximum protection.) Also either mask or remove your gear knob.



Now to remove the top part of the console. My IS has Sat Nav – if you don’t have Sat Nav follow these instructions for removing the dash tray.

With the ignition on and the screen up – remove the panel in front of the screen (there’s a little gap in the front/middle where you can fit a flat headed screwdriver in and lever it up.)

Once it’s off you can turn off ignition and then remove the 2 philips screws that hold it in place.



The Sat nav and vents console just slides forward



There are three plugs in the sat nav – remove these (push down tab then pull cables out.)



Now remove the Sat console.

Now remove the lower panel with the heated seat and Trac control buttons. With both hands pull the tray towards you – it’s not fixed in with any screws. Once it’s out remove the three cables – label these with masking tape and pen so you remember which one is which.






Now you should be able to see the 10mm bolts that hold the stereo and AC panel (it’s all one panel) in place – two at the top, two at the bottom





With those gone you can just slide out the whole unit.


Now at this point I was able to fit the GromAudio cable without removing the AC/Headunit cables just by reaching behind and fitting it in. Feel for the connectors behind the stereo – one of them will be un-used (this is for external CD changers in boot or minidisk players). Work out which of the four connectors that comes with the Grom unit fits and fit it.

Connect the other end to the GromAudio unit and fit the Ipod cable to the other end of the grom unit.

Now it’s time to test that everything works. Plug in Ipod and turn on Ignition. Check that everything works.

Now find somewhere for the Grom unit to live – the cable from grom unit to head unit is pretty short – too short to fit the unit behind the glove compartment. However, there is perfect space right next to the stereo on the driver’s side – it fits snugly and doesn’t need any fixing.


I had chosen to have my ipod live in the little tray under the seat buttons for ease of access so choose the right length of the ipod cable you want exposed and furl/hide the rest somewhere else (on the passenger side next to stereo for me,)

Fit the stereo back in place and replace the bolts.

Reconnect the seat and Trac buttons – I put my ipod connector cable down the back of the button tray and the button tray was still able to slide/clunk back into place leaving the chosen length of ipod cable hanging loose.



Put your Sat Nav/dash tray back in place. Remove masking tape.




Done.

Now how does the unit work?

The Grom Audio unit “fools” the headunit into thinking an external CD changer has been fitted. It converts the headunit commands into ipod commands.

If you have no CD’s in the drive – hit the CD button on the stereo and it will go straight to Ipod (the display will show “CD1”) – if you have CD’s in the drive hit the CD button once to go to CD player (display shows “CD”) then push it again to go to Ipod mode (“CD1”).

In Ipod mode – when you select “Disc 1” – the ipod is in Manual Control – you can control volume/next-prev track on the headunit but that is all. Everything else is controlled from the ipod itself - track/album selection etc.
Choosing Disc 2-9 – puts the Ipod in disc mode – each Disc accesses a different playlist. So you can access your first eight playlists. In this mode you can control volume/prev-nxt track and the RAND button will randomise your current playlist. Using the SCAN button will allow you to move +/- 10 tracks for quick surfing.

Now’s a good time to organise your ipod too – I chose to create playlists based on genre and named them with numerals at the front.




So there you go – the whole job takes about an hour and the difference in sound versus tape/FM adapters is immense as is the increased convenience/safety of being able to control everything via the head unit.

great work there mate!!

now only if i knew if it worked on the bottom loader, may take the gamble and buy one, see if it does

Nice write up hando @Dan ive just this morning sent a picture of my bottom loading head unit to the grom support team (as requested) to check compatability, will let you know the outcome as soon as they respond

Cheers - Shahz.


I'm pretty sure it will work with a bottom-loader as long as it has the spare unused slot. The Grom unit comes with 4 different connectors - fingers crossed they confirm that for you.

much appreciated SHAHZ

Only problem is the waiting, with grom in the states their just waking up

Brilliant Hando, thanks for this.

I too, like Dan, am waiting for confirmation that it will work with a bottom loading unit.

Fingers crossed.

Good news fella's, i received an email yesterday from Grom confirming that the device will work with my head unit (2000, bottom loading).....get ordering people

great stuff! going to order one later

SHAHZ, have you ordered via ebay or direct from their site?

i ordered via ebay, placed bid, ending tonight ......would be good if someone arranged a GB with them, however that would probably mean waiting a while to get the numbers together, i would loved to have arranged this but just havent got the time these days.....

ditto, im away alot over xmas, plus im too impatient and want it now!

have you got the ebay link mate?

i wont outbid you! hehe, ill do a buy it now if they have them

Here you go mate........i hate auctions....didnt spot the buy it now until after i bid on it .....my excuse is that iv got a flu

ordered mine today, would be nice if it arrives before xmas, fingers crossed it works!

one last question, once installed, do you lose the sound of the sat nav woman?

Hi congratulation!!!

Regarding you question I can say:

No you won't lose the sound of the sat nav woman, due to the reason, that the adapter activate a stock function of the OEM stereo. The stock headunit has a build in control for an optional (I think it was ony available in Japan) external cd or minidisc changer. So the radio satnav combination was designed to work together with this external device. GromAudio activate this build in function and replaces the changer with an iPod.

My Car has a 9 speaker Stereo with satnav and nav works with this solution a usual :-)) When beeing in iPod mode with satnav running, the driver side speaker fades out the music from time to time, so that you can hear the voice of the navigation lady as usual. After the orders were given the speaker switches back to the iPod music.

So I hold the finger crossed that you receive I before Xmas!!!

Best Regards

Sonnet

Just got my adaptor, will see if i can get it installed tomorrow

Nice one! - Let us know how you get on. Takes about an hour to do the install.

will do mate

Right, finaly got a chance this morning to install this, and as Hando said take around 40 odd minutes.....although i havent actually learned how to use it properly it works both in simple & advanced mode...so confirmation for all with the older bottom cd loader it does work i set it up in the same way, easier to connect/disconnect from the tray under the switches rather than in the glove box.....Hando, on your ipod did you set the eq to flat? I had it on acoustic and it sounded crap...Dan did you manage to get your working?

Thanks Hando for making up the instructions, fitted one of these kits to my IS200 today, no problems at all all done in 40 mins & works great.

Durrantie.


Click to view attachment

Great news, Shahz. And yeah I have my EQ set to flat - I reckon it's better to get the input unmolested from the ipod then muck around with bass/mid/treb on the HU to your liking.



Glad to hear it helped - Sonnet should get all the praise though for finding this bit of kit in the first place.

Fitted mine today...took about an hour and that included stripping down the cd unit to get the discs out that were jammed in there since i got the car...(thanks fatpieman69 i've gained a razorlight, keane and take that CDs).....thanks Sonnet for all the info, this piece of kit is well worth the money and no hastle to fit

Thanks Hando for the instructions...........

firstly, thanks hando for the detailed instructions!

I've been trying to replace the aftermarket headunit in my 1999 Altezza RS200. Looking at the different dash configurations mine has a felt tray above the a/c system and and already has an audioleads facia in place.

Looking at this post by hando it looks straight forward but I just cant get the audioleads fascia to come free in any way. I have tried gently lifting the felt tray and cant see any way to remove it, trying each of the methods in this post.

The previous installer has installed the aftermarket stereo without the metal mounting sleeve that usually quick-releases out a stereo, so without removing the audioleads fascia I'm not going to make any progress.

Has anyone had experience with taking out the fascia with this type of dash configuration or have any further tips on taking out the felt pad as I'm guessing this is the crucial part of the problem. Any help would be appreciated!

The felt tray is held in with two press clips one either side. you have to give it a good prod to release them.........I put a paint scraper to between the dash top and the lint tray to stop the plastic getting marked, then pushed a thin blade screw driver between the scraper and the lint tray and pushed it up......the clips are about 20mm in from the side.......

It does take a bit of a push to release them..........hope this helps

OK I got it sorted so thought I'd put the info up in case anyone else needs help with this.

It turns out that the top of the console form just below the centre air vents up to behind the felt tray all pulls out from the clips.

To remove
Hold the felt tray/air vents with your fingers on the air vents and pull toward the back of the car firmly, the clips will release the the vents and felt pad will come away. Note this part comes out not upwards but straight backwards.

Once this part is removed there are obvious mounting bolts to remove the remaining parts. Removing the stereo was nothing to do with popping out the felt pad as I have seen mentioned, as the felt pad is screwed into the console.

Phew. Good job I bookmarked this thread and noticed this extra post. Just taken delivery of one of these adapters and will be installing it very soon.... not that I have an iPod yet

Some two weeks ago, I bought a gromaudio device off the GROMaudio eBay shop for my Lexus. It got delivered earlier this week and I installed it tonight. Couldn't believe how easy it was. I took it very seriously and spent a lot of time looking how to remove the tray and buttoncovers (below radio). That's why it took me an hour and a half. The actual installation took less than an hour.

I have to say that Lexuses are built like a rock. Incredible how all bolts are turned in the exact same position and everything fits so tight. No difficulty taking the audio unit out nor putting it back in. Went like a dream... of course mainly due to the very good manual described here. Thank you!

What puzzled me a bit is where to put the iPod adapter. It wouldn't fit in the space behind the radio. I finally put it behind the glovebox in a narrow space where a cable holds it in place. That seems like a suitable place without too much temperature differences. Now I have to see that it stays put and doesn't start to make noises.

Any suggestions welcome!

Nice one mate, I was a bit apprehensive when I did mine too, but found it pretty straightforward in the end thanks to the guides and also the help of the fantastic members on here

With regard to stopping any rattles, I used a bit of felt padding and lots of cable ties to stop things moving about - about 6 months on it all seems fine