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Cliff,

I have a 2008 RX350 with NAV.  The Nav is not very good. Although I was able to buy a used 'hardware hack' which allows me to enter a destination when the car is moving, I still find the system cumbersome. I do update the database every year.  Finding and selecting points of interest is a bit frustrating.  So, I keep my phone with Google maps or Waze running so I can actually find a gas station ahead on my route and add it to the trip. Waze seems particularly good about re-routing for heavy traffic or accidents.

What I am saying is that, having used the NAV system, I personally would not consider retrofitting the OEM system to my car. The phone works much better. On long trips I will enter the destination on the Lexus system with the volume off and also use the phone.  On a long complicated trip or one in areas with bad data connections I will use my Garmin with Lifetime Maps and Traffic. 

Sorry I am not answering your question directly. Having worked on many cars and aircraft avionics over the years,  I will say that my answer to your question is yes, you can add NAV to your RX350. You can do darn near anything if you have the time and money to invest. It will be invasive, complex, and very expensive to fully transplant a factory system into your car. My opinion is that you will have then made a significant investment in order to end up with a marginally acceptable NAV system. It is possible, but not practical.

I did a quick check at Crutchfield. It looks like you can buy a decent and up to date system for an RX350 for $600 to $700  which has many more features than my OEM set up. They have an accessory module which will allow you to keep your steering wheel controls. I like them because they have good installation gear and fantastic support  for you or your installation shop. You should call them and discuss what you are doing with a tech before buying anything. The electronics in our 2008 RX350s are getting a bit long in the tooth; the newer aftermarket systems have  a lot of features and capabilities which just weren't available in 2008. If the OEM system in my RX completely crapped out beyond repair I would probably say "good" and replace it with an aftermarket system. The biggest negative I see changing to an aftermarket system is losing the trip and diagnostic screens on the OEM system.

Jim

 

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