jrumball

So a quick update, after 18months and a few iOS updates the box and kit is still working the Apple CarPlay updates seem to of helped with the jog wheel control too. Honestly the only frustration is the lack of being able to have the DAB audio and Apple CarPlay Audio mixed like you would with a factory installation. This is solved by using the equivalent radio app ie BBC Sounds etc.

They have changed the page that link goes to the version I bought from AliExpress said CT compatible.... This should link to the one I bought on AliExpress ￡219.84 43％ Off | Carlinkit for Lexus NX ES US iS CT RX GS LS LX LC RC 2014-2019 Multimedia Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android auto Retrofit Kit https://a.aliexpress.com/_dZLKIl8

The Law is actually unclear, but the sentiment is clear.... I for one am not going to risk the points or fine or accident for that matter. The law is changing as people were using this idea as a loop hole.... https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/company-car-tax-and-legislation/2019/08/01/driving-phone-law-loophole-high-court

Mirroring and Apple CarPlay are two completely different things, mirroring quality (composite video) is terrible in comparison and no integration siri and control with the car buttons etc . The system is also safer to operate while driving which is important. A proper Apple CarPlay system is night and day, apps scale to the screen differently and in the UK it is illegal to touch the phone while driving, which you would have to do with the mirroring box. Each has different uses and cost, I for one think it was worth the money for my wife's safety, and continuity between the other cars we have 😃

Sorry just seen this I experimented until it worked ..... did you figure it out ?

If you mean can you connect a phone wirelessly as well as with a lightening cable then yes !

I have looked into a number of options for the wife's car and choose a piggyback type box that I have posted about here ... You don't say what audio system you have at the moment if it is Mark Levinson then this is the only way to keep the factory Amp working .... The stereo that you linked may not work and you could loose the functionality of the base Lexus system .... Also be aware that the system is running Android as its operating system it doesn't look like it will support android auto or Apple CarPlay , this can sometimes be added with a USB dongle . This means that you will have to have a USB dongle modem or use your phone as a hotspot to get Data into the stereo for Waze or streaming Audio etc.....

So I have successfully installed the system tonight . Initial impressions are very positive . It functions as well as the interface does in the Audi . It is miles better than the built in system from Lexus and will only get better as the phone software is upgraded as it is just an interface for the phone . The car is a 64 Plate CT200h Premier Pro with the Mark Levinson SD card based navigation (the first facelift) Installation The installation was simple plug and play with the cables. Once the centre console has been dismantled and the facia around the screen has been removed it is easy to plug everything up. There are plenty of instructions available to do this and the reassembly is as easy as disassembly with a screwdriver 10mm socket and some trim removal tools. There was some experimentation with getting the right combination of can links for my car, but it all seems to be working as expected now . The box is small and easy to hide. I choose to just poke the USB lead in the passenger foot well centre console trim, I may change this for something integrated habit better into the facia . Interface The boxes software is easy to navigate the system boots quickly and directly into CarPlay if you have a phone plugged in. It has it's own interface with will let you choose between various types of interface media input HDMI input and the various types of screen mirroring and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto My car has a joystick, it seems the hack to get it to work is treating it like a wheel (it navigates around the interface the same way my Audi does with factory Carplay) . It is not perfect but neither is any hardware interface for Carplay. Moving the joystick to the left and right jumps goes from a selected item to the next, up and sown seem to jump 5 items at a time in a list not 1 by 1, once you have your head around it it is easy to navigate. Pressing the home button is the back key and clicking the joystick selects. If you hold the joystick it activates Siri that seems to work accurately with the built in microphone in the car. Switching between the cars system and the box is done by holding down the home button, the steering wheel controls for volume work as do the keys to skip tracks and the call and drop call buttons work as expected . The keys on the right still control the screen in the dash and the voice control button only works for the cars system Audio/Display Quality (The display quality is much better than it looks in these photos the compression on this forum has done odd things to them ! ) The car has to be set to AUX or A/V input to output the audio from the box I choose to use A/V because it seemed to sound better to me no idea why..... The display is a limiting factor because it wasn't amazing in the first place that said the bright simple CarPlay interface works well and is easy to use on a screen of its size and resolution. There appears to be no degradation in audio quality I have done back to back comparisons between the stock head unit and it still sounds great The car has the mark Levinson and it still sounds great. Call quality is better than the stock Bluetooth ! There is no echo like with the stock unit and the call is clear at both ends. Wireless Apple CarPlay Seems to work well, you are instantly given the option to use it the first time you connect the phone . The only downside is the car doesn't have wireless charging so CarPlay will eat the battery of the phone. Parking reversing sensors etc The Car switches perfectly to the factory camera when it is put in reverse and the sensors can still be heard clearly. Bad points The use of the joystick will take some getting used to. The system needs to be used on its own you can't have audio from the car radio at the same time as the box which means if you want to use CarPlay and get navigation announcements from Waze etc and listen to the radio you will have to steam through an app this seems to work well with the BBC Sounds APP. I has also crashed once but this was when I was connecting phones 3 phones in quick succession testing and it was also connecting to a phone wirelessly ..... Time will tell how stable it is but so far so good . Conclusion I think it has really improved the usability of the car, with a modern Sat Nav using Waze and lots of audio options. It nearly works as well as a factory installation. Most importantly the wife is really happy with it 😃 Wiring and Dip switch settings for a 2014 FaceLift CT200h Premier Pro with the Mark Levinson audio system and an 8 inch monitor

The wife has a Late 2014 CT with the updated Mark Levison Audio and Sat nav system. While the Audio is amazing the sat nav is diabolically bad for a car that is really high quality everywhere else ! I have been looking for the last year for a way of adding Apple CarPlay to the CT and watching the evolution of various systems . Last week I finally took the plunge and bought one for about £210 delivered by DHL, it took 3 days to arrive from China. It came from a company called Carlinkit and so far my initial impressions are good. I haven't installed it yet but, but it looks to be good quality. I will detail the installation once its completed , here are some initial pictures Product Page http://www.carlinkit.com/productinfo/378755.html Manual Link (click it it will open a PDF in a new tab, the forum doesn't like the link...)

Anyone managed to update the Gracenote database so it recognises new CDs ? I have found a link to instructions as a PDF, but not found where to download the file from. There is reference to a .up file on this Toyota page but the download link is dead. http://toyota-en-us.visteoninfotainment.com/how-to-update-gracenote There is also .up file available here for Mazda/Fiat but it doesn't seem to load .... The website seems to be badge engineered version of the Toyota....... http://infotainment.mazdahandsfree.com/howto-updategracenote?language=en-NA I tried phoning the Lexus technical support line and all they said was book it into the Garage and you may have pay, really backwards an update should be easy to do.....

The car has a TPMS system with individual valves . Just wanted to know how to display the pressures as there is only a symbol on the dash that lights up when a tyre loses pressure

So I can Partially answer my own questions seems like the SD Card may of been corrupt, the seller sent me a new one that worked and updated correctly . My software version is now VD12105C, I haven't noticed any changes....

I updated my CT200h with Premium Navigation Gen 1 to VD12104B. The update installed without errors. This seems to be an option for firmware when you look at the bluetooth compatibility on the Lexus website. This may of been a mistake and probably should of gone to VD12103A after finding service documents on the portal....... I ordered a Nav Update SD card to update too PZ445 US335 0R and this fails to load the update I'm fairly sure it fails on the firmware update part as I have extracted the firmware and tried to update it without the Nav data and it fails in the same way, asks me to contact service . Has anyone had any issues like this ? Is it possible to downgrade firmware ? Thanks

Thanks, have just used a carista to double check there are no settings to enable . I have seen the TapTurn are there any other options ?

Thats annoying because to be an Active TPMS it has to measure the individual pressures ....