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Removing Rx330 Radio


blinder

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I purchased a VAISTECH interface for attaching an IPOD. It needs to attach in-line with the wiring harnass going into the back of the radio (I have NAV+6CD changer).

Anyone have advice/photos on how to do this ?

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  • 3 months later...
I purchased a VAISTECH interface for attaching an IPOD. It needs to attach in-line with the wiring harnass going into the back of the radio (I have NAV+6CD changer).

Anyone have advice/photos on how to do this ?

I am wondering the same thing. Has anyone attempted to pull the radio out of the RX330? If so, any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

My wife and I just bought a TC 330 and are loving it, and the forum. Thanks for all the info!

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I purchased a VAISTECH interface for attaching an IPOD. It needs to attach in-line with the wiring harnass going into the back of the radio (I have NAV+6CD changer).

Anyone have advice/photos on how to do this ?

I am wondering the same thing. Has anyone attempted to pull the radio out of the RX330? If so, any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

My wife and I just bought a TC 330 and are loving it, and the forum. Thanks for all the info!

I'm getting ready to do this tomorrow -- my VAIS AIC-100x (XM interface) is on its way! I'm looking forward to having XM again in my RX 400h (I had it in my RX 300 -- in a not-so-elegant installation).

Here's the link with pictures that I found before ordering from VAIS. I did a "dry run." I stopped short of removing the four screws on the radio. But, it is otherwise easy. I did go out and get an extender for my socket handle. By the way, the size of the bolts is 10mm.

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I purchased a VAISTECH interface for attaching an IPOD. It needs to attach in-line with the wiring harnass going into the back of the radio (I have NAV+6CD changer).

Anyone have advice/photos on how to do this ?

I am wondering the same thing. Has anyone attempted to pull the radio out of the RX330? If so, any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

My wife and I just bought a TC 330 and are loving it, and the forum. Thanks for all the info!

I'm getting ready to do this tomorrow -- my VAIS AIC-100x (XM interface) is on its way! I'm looking forward to having XM again in my RX 400h (I had it in my RX 300 -- in a not-so-elegant installation).

Here's the link with pictures that I found before ordering from VAIS. I did a "dry run." I stopped short of removing the four screws on the radio. But, it is otherwise easy. I did go out and get an extender for my socket handle. By the way, the size of the bolts is 10mm.

Awesome link - thanks so much. I am getting ready to order the VAISTECH adapter as well, I'd love to hear your thoughts on installation and quality after you install it. Thanks again!

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Awesome link - thanks so much.  I am getting ready to order the VAISTECH adapter as well, I'd love to hear your thoughts on installation and quality after you install it.  Thanks again!

It took about a month for me to get mine -- much longer than their web site led me to believe.

I hope to install tonight (it has arrived). I'll let you know what I think.

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I purchased a VAISTECH interface for attaching an IPOD. It needs to attach in-line with the wiring harnass going into the back of the radio (I have NAV+6CD changer).

Anyone have advice/photos on how to do this ?

I am wondering the same thing. Has anyone attempted to pull the radio out of the RX330? If so, any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

My wife and I just bought a TC 330 and are loving it, and the forum. Thanks for all the info!

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I purchased a VAISTECH interface for attaching an IPOD. It needs to attach in-line with the wiring harnass going into the back of the radio (I have NAV+6CD changer).

Anyone have advice/photos on how to do this ?

I am wondering the same thing. Has anyone attempted to pull the radio out of the RX330? If so, any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

My wife and I just bought a TC 330 and are loving it, and the forum. Thanks for all the info!

I'm getting ready to do this tomorrow -- my VAIS AIC-100x (XM interface) is on its way! I'm looking forward to having XM again in my RX 400h (I had it in my RX 300 -- in a not-so-elegant installation).

Here's the link with pictures that I found before ordering from VAIS. I did a "dry run." I stopped short of removing the four screws on the radio. But, it is otherwise easy. I did go out and get an extender for my socket handle. By the way, the size of the bolts is 10mm.

;What will you use a a reciever and where will you mount it? I am looking at Sirius satelliteand using the vais product with the audio inputs.

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I installed VAIS-AIC100x in my RX 400h today. It took longer than I expected, mainly due to XM's problem accepting my activation request. After waiting several hours after activating the additional receiver on my account on the XM web site, I called. The CSR said that the web request was not fully submitted. That was odd, given that I had a confirmation on the final screen. Anyway, that was the only hiccup.

My installation experience:

- This isn't for the faint of heart. I had to tear apart the car quite a bit. I like DIY projects. It isn't that difficult -- snaps or small screws hold the plastic trim pieces on. Be strong, but not careless with each piece.

- The RX 400h (and I assume the RX 330) is not as easy to take apart as my 1999 RX 300 (I installed an XM roady2 in it 6 months ago). For starters, the RX 300 had plastic trim around the rear door that made fishing the antenna wire a snap (literally). The RX 400h has the headliner tucked under the rubber seal. It is not as forgiving as the plastic (and I never figured out how to remove it, being afraid to destroy the headliner). I was able to pull it back just far enough to guide the antenna wire down from the top of the door to the side.

- The antenna wire wasn't long enough for me to route it the way I preferred. Therefore, I ended up taking a shortcut under the driver's seat and mat. I would have preferred to go behind the carpet under the brake pedal, but it wouldn't reach. This is likely due to my reluctance to get aggressive in tearing the rear interior of the vehicle out to shorten that part of the antenna wire's trip. I mounted the antenna directly behind the existing antenna. The wire enters the car through the left-most wire harness tubing.

- Pulling the head unit out is no problem. However, beware the two top screws -- don't let them fall into the center console!

- I put the two units (AIC 100x and XM Direct) beneath the radio, at the bottom of the center console. They barely fit. I'll probably check under there after a 30 minute drive to see how the heat is. I might need to relocate one of the units.

- I'm impressed with the integration of the unit with the factory radio. Mine came set for MD emulation. It needs to be set to CD changer emulation (instructions are there and a snap). Once it is, it works quite well.

- The display setting was also set for MD emulation, which initially made the channel numbers appear odd. Following the display setting instructions quickly got the display fixed. It now displays the channel number on the far right of the display, with no disc or track numbers showing. Hitting the text button brings up the channel title. Hitting text again brings up song and artist info (you have to press and hold the text button a second time to display the entire song/artist info).

- Sound quality seems better than my RX 300's configuration of using the Roady2 through the cassette adapter. My wife (who isn't usually picky about sound quality) could not tolerate the FM modulator approach on the RX 300 and demanded that she use the cassette adapter in her RX 300. So, the XM Direct in my RX 400h is even better (albeit with XM's still compressed/digitized sound).

- I have not used the Radio Shack ground isolator that VAIS recommends. I haven't had any miles on the RX 400h (just sat in my driveway after the install), so I'll see if I need one after driving it a bit.

- Had it not been for XM's activation snafu, I would have completed the install in about 2 hours.

In summary, the integration with the factory radio is great. I love XM and this VAIS unit makes it possible to have XM without any ugliness. No one would know that I've modded the car. The sound quality isn't up to CD standards, but is tolerable in a car. The direct connection seems noticeably better than the cassette-adapter setup I have in my RX 300.

I've now addressed my only complaint with the RX 400h. I hope Lexus starts integrating XM into future vehicles.

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