I searched around for this topic and its pretty scattered and I had a couple of questions myself and thought opening up a new thread would be better than reviving an old one. First off I have a 2002 ES 300 with the Factory Premium Sound System 6 CD changer and have been looking for a navigation system of some sort that includes GPS and a way somehow to connect an ipod to the factory sound. I do not want the FM modulator or Cassette adapter, as the quality was incomparable to the CD audio and I think would bottleneck the Alpine Type S 6-1/2 speakers I've already bought from Best Buy to replace the stock pioneer speakers from all doors. Buying CDs and burning custom CDs has become pretty tedious and I would rather have an iPod to connect to listen to my songs instead of finding 20 songs to burn on a cd every time i get sick of hearing the same cd over and over.

I wanted to know what I would need to buy in order to fit the navigation screen, I asked the Best Buy guy in Bay Parkway, Brooklyn and he told me to go to 212 Motoring to get the piece b/c they do not carry the part, which I think would be kinda ridiculous b/c they are well known to attract celebrities and their expensive cars to custom fit their audio, electronics, ect. accessories and here I am, just looking to get a bracket\bezel from them which i am sure they will charge an arm and a leg for.

I've seen threads where I would have to buy the Double Din Stock Navigation bracket from Lexus, my question is is there anything else that I would need to buy? Or would I be able to replace the plate onto the existing bracket with the navigation bezel? (bolt,screws, etc) So far I haven't bought anything, I want to make sure I have every thing before I start splurging on things that I don't know will work. I want to be sure.

If factory is an option then would only a 2002 nav fit or would newer version of the ES navigation system fit?
Also, is the 2002-2006 ES Navigation Touchscreen an easy swap or would more things need to altered to make this possible or is this just impossible?

Im thinking in the long run, would a factory Nav be more attractive in the long run than an aftermarket?, I am weighing my options but I am envisioning the price of a 2002-2006 nav to be more pricier than an aftermarket (Pioneer, Alpine, Eclipse) so I'll weigh my options but so far this seems to be a big task.

I'd rather buy the Navigation myself at a fraction of the cost from ebay or something then have a shoddy custom audio place overcharge me a couple extra hundred and have best buy install it for me instead for 55 dollars + tax with warranty.

I dont find it strange that Best Buy wouldn't have a custom kit. Here in Ohio most custom jobs are done by a " shoddy custom audio place" as you so dubbed them. I know alot of the shops around here who their techs are actually from the big box stores and most of them were the install leads. Don't immediately assume because its a single location that they are unskilled. You will probably get better service from that small shop than from a big box. They will appreciate your business much more. I just had a customer that I did a standard radio install for that best buy had quoted them over 115.00 for just that. I am sure a double din nav unit would be much more. I just wanted to give you the opinion of a "shoddy custom audio place". Thanks again for taking the time to read this. I hope you find what your looking for.

the es330 retrofit would be best in my opinion. the system is 1 piece. no computer to go to trunk like the 2002 factory nav. also the computers are quite expensive in the 800.00 range just for the computer alone,so es330 factory nav is best. the bezel matching the 2002 es300 will work just fine. the es330 bezel is more silver than gray. i have done several of these es330 to es300 installs and live west of columbus ohio .it would take about 4 to 5 hours to install and would include the rear view camera. the es330 unit also is ipod readyand xm radio ready. es300 nav is not. after market requires a lot of work just to get the aftermarket radio to bypass the factory amp and it would take an expensive aftermarket unit to sound as good as the factory system.

Thanks for the replies. I do appreciate it.

BD Mobile Electronics, I might have worded my expressions incorrectly as I do believe there are audio shops that are dedicated in their work. It is only to explain my experience with the ones that I have dealt with in the past. They were pushy and quite presumptuous. I do believe small shops are more dedicated in their work but the prices do vary a lot from shop to shop.

PIONEERSUBY, Thanks your reply was very informative. ES 330 Nav sounds good, if the price is right I think this is ultimately where I'm headed towards if aftermarket is going to be a headache. Im just wondering about the rear view camera, can you elaborate more the process?

Thanks for the response. It just seems like a lot of people like to bad mouth the install industry. I dont know if i agree with the above post about spending a lot of money for a system that would sound as good as the factory system. I just quoted another job on a RX300 the factory nav setup was going to be around 3000.00. Also I have never put in an after market head unit that ever sounded worse than the factory it has always been better. If you buy a nice head unit with good EQ controls you can tune your stereo to your personal taste. You could purchase a kenwood system with nav in a car audio shop for the cost of just the factory computer. I dont know I guess its all a personal preference. Thanks a lot for your time. I really like this forum people are very knowledgeable and seem to care about helping each other.

Ok, so I just got back from a car audio shop that I haven't been in contact for a while. Seeing as they cannot find a facekit for my car, they could make a custom plate for me at a quote of around 400-500 extra. I figure that would be the last thing I did if I couldn't get the navigation faceplate.

So far the audio shop have a few models that I'm interested in,

The Avic D3
for $1500 (Custom) or $1050 (If I provide the Navigation Plate + Bracket)


and the Eclipse AVN 6620
for the same price.

Also, I never got to ask this question but would a single-din mounted head unit fit over my existing faceplate + bracket? (Which is, as I previously mentioning in the original post as the 6 CD Pioneer stock system looking like this,
Such as the Eclipse AVN 7000


Lastly, I am wondering if the Eclipse head units are the same units put in place by Lexus. If so, wouldn't I "kill two birds with one stone"(for lack of better word) if I went this route since Eclipse is the supplier of Toyota/Lexus of Navi units?
What do you guys think of the prices? I am still considering buying the head unit online and just finding another shop to install at a flat fee because I do not want to be limited by the options of the stock of the shop if they only install their own units. Thanks for the help, I do appreciate it greatly!

Most shops will install customer bring in head units. I would recommend buying it from the shop for warranty reasons. The pricing is actually really good especially if they are going to do custom work. I would doubt that the Eclipse aftermarket are the same unit put in at the factory level. I would be very surprised if it were the same. Thanks again for supporting your local car audio shop.

HI my name is joe and I have a 02 es with no nav and would like to do the es330 retrofit with back up camera that PIONEERSUBY was talking about but dont have any body qualified in the new york area. i don't mind traveling for quality work please advise

THE ES330 navigation UPGRADE TO ANY 2002 to 2006 es300 or es330 is a plug in and play install with the navigation retrofit kit. since the retrofit wiring harness and all the parts are included in the kit you just unplug 3 connectors , 20 pin radio large, 20 pin radio small and the 16 pin amp plug for the voice nav additiopn and plug them into the y connector harness and your in business. the voice amp has factory location place to install it behind the glove box. i would install the kit for free (4 hour install time all in the dash . 2 more hours for rear view camera option wiring to trunk takes a while. )if you drove to my ohio location but i think anyone could install it who has even done the most basic stereo install. the kit includes the navigation bezel , gray for 2002 to 2004 and silver for 2005 and 2006 es models. also new es330 factory touchscreen head unit with cd player and dvd map slots behind the flip down screen. the newest 8.1 4th gen nav map included. the retrofit harness with gps antenna and the voice nav amp without which you wont have any voice guidance lady telling you where to turn. no more getting lost and wasting gas. email me at pioneersuby@woh.rr.com for more info.

HI, MR.PIONEERSUBY
I call you that because I really don't know your real name. But anyway I am still thinking about the navigation and backup cam and i'm very interested but i just had gallballder surgery so i have to recover a little to make the trip to ohio and thats like 6 hours right? I was wondering if you can send me some pictures of the nav and camera?So anyway, in about 4 days i'll be able to respond, if you respond back. So try to write back if you can, thank you and have a wonderful evening.





From your buddy,
JOE aka JG1000