crew

haven't come across any instructions. It is pretty simple when it comes to interior pieces of a car, either there is a screw or fastener you can see, or there are clips behind the piece. if you take it slowly, make sure you remove ALL visible screws and fastners, then pull gently in different areas and in different directions, you can usually remove just about anything on the interior of the car. To remove get to what you need do the following: 1) take a average sized flathead screwdriver, and cover the tip with somthing to protect the plastic pieces in your car. I usually use the blue painters tape and wrap it over the tip. 2) take the screwdriver and pry gently on the bottom most part of the wood trim (the big piece shaped basically like a big "U" that starts up by your hazard lights and goes all the way down to below the gear shift) You should place the tip between the bottom of the wood trim and the plastic of the console that goes all the way down to the carpet. Pry the piece up, by pushing the screwdriver down (gently!) 3) Once you get it up enough to squeeze your fingers in there, use your hands to gently pull as you work your way up the outside of the "U" wood trim. Notice that the black plastic surrounding the gear shift, that holds the heated seats (if you have that option) and the cigarette lighter, should be coming up with the trim (as they are screwed togeather. You should feel the clips "pop" out as you are pulling. 4) Once all clips are released you need to turn the ignition on and put it in gear (engine still off). this is just to give you enough room to remove the whole piece. 5) remove plugs/wires to heated seats and cigarette lighter and remove the piece and set it aside. 6)once the piece is removed you will see four gold bolts holding in the rest of the upper center console ( screen, radio, etc) . if my memory serves me correctly they are 10mm. remove these, and the entire upper console should pop out with some gental pulling towards the rear of the car to release a few clips that help hold it in. 7)once you get it released, pull it towards you until you can get to the wiring behind the stereo. remove the four plugs, and the antenna wires. 8)remove the whole upper console from the vehicle and set it face down on a soft surface. 9) Notice the main box that all the wires were plugged into. This is the stereo brain, as well as the tape player. i believe it is four screws that fasten it to the front fascia of the stereo. remove those and vola, you got what you need. Good luck. Let me know how it goes. Everything comes out pretty easy, just take it slow, and remove what seems obvious. I wrote this all from memory of what i did a few months ago, so no guarantees on the directions, but i should give you the general idea of what needs to be done. Crew

give this a try. Its expensive, but should do what you want. http://www.lextasy.com/nav_converter_1160_prd1.htm Crew

i recently did the alarm/ remote start install myself. Shoot me an email and i will send you all the info I acquired that will give you the exact info on what you're looking for and everything else you need to know. crew_f@hotmail.com good luck. Crew

Before I got my RX, my friend had one, and he wanted a 1/8" jack for his ipod as well. What we managed to do was get to the wires coming out of the back of the cd changer, and track down which ones were the audio output from the changer. We then cut the wires and spliced in a 1/8" headphone extension cable (like one you buy from radio shack) with the female end cut off to expose the wires. We figured out right/ left channels with the wiring, and vola, a direct input to the existing stereo. The only downfall is you lose your cd changer. But, you should have all your cd's on your ipod already, right! I will take a look at his car the next chance i get to find out exact wire colors. Mabey I'll even do a how-to with some pics once i get exact info (just going off of what i can remember from about a year and a half ago right now). I know this doesn't help since i dont have any particulars, but at least for the moment people can know that it is VERY possible. crew

It may sound dumb, in all seriousness, have you checked all your fuses? During the install of my stereo, I blew a fuse that downed quite a few things in the car including door triggered courtesy lights, and remote door locks etc. Just makin' a simple suggestion before you have to spend a bundle on an ECU. A few minutes of checking fuses, could save you a few hundred dollars...and curses. Good luck. Keep us informed as to what the problem was. crew

you can probably just replace the "brain" part of the radio. once you remove the center console, it unscrews with just four screws. Ask your local lexus dealer about the part. then you wont have to replace the entire console, wich would be very expensive! good luck, send me an email at crew_f@hotmail.com if you have any questions. check this post i just made for directions on how to get to it: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=13390

Rexus01- The site is not allowing me to PM currently for some reason. Please get in touch with me through e-mail crew_f@hotmail.com and I will try and answer any questions you have. I also have quite a few pictures I could share. It is quite a task to complete, but it is worth it in the end! Crew

make sure that you turn your keys ALL THE WAY counter clockwise when you turn the vehicle off. I have had the same thing occur. The ignition allows you to pull the keys out of the ignition before you have completely turned the key counter clockwise, tricking the car into thinking the keys are still there, hence the chime. Hope this helps. Good Luck

Thanks everyone for the encouraging comments. '99RX300- Unfourtunately, I dont believe that the adapter you are looking at will work. I had that exact same adapter in my last vehicle, I really only works with the "after market" head units that pioneer makes. I believe that the connector on the back of the CD changer is different. I'm not a hundred percent sure on that one, as I have not had the CD changer out...yet. That is the future location of the Kenwood navigation unit that I plan on installing. So I will have to get back to you on that one. I can tell you that connector is nowhere to be found on the back of the stock stereo of the RX with the Pioneer stock system. Hope this helps. liqrsicc- After having first hand experience of how much work it really is to do, I would have to say that price really is fair. The price is not so much in the materials, but in the countless hours of sanding! Good luck. BrandonF- Good choice of vehicles. I love mine, only having had it for a few months. As far as a system goes on a limited budget, I'd say just get yourself some subs and leave the stock system alone for the mids and highs. Two things to consider when shopping around, be sure to get an Amp with a remote bass knob, so you have a quick way to adjust ONLY your bass and not lose the "lows" that you would trying to control it through the stock stereo. As far a getting a signal to the amp, just get yourself a good line level converter, which splices into door speaker wires and gives you an RCA output for the amp. Also consider buying cheap "Bass Blockers" which go inline to your + speaker wire and essentially block all low frequencies that your subs should be playing. This will allow you to turn your stereo up loud, without the distortion that occurs when your door speakers try to play bass. Any stereo shop could do this for you easily at a reasonable price. strmrdr23- In all seriousness, It pounds like you wouldn't believe! ; )

Hello All! I have been working on my 1999 Rx300 Slowly over about the past 2 months and would like to share a few pictures of the progress. I am a college student so I really only get to work on it on the weekends when I get a chance to go home. Please remember that I by no means claim to be an expert, or would ever claim that any of the work I have done is anywhere near perfection. I am simply an avid car audio do-it-yourselfer. Anyone who knows how the RX300's center console looks factory will see how much work really had to be done. Just about all fabrication of trim panels were made using the "frame" of existing trim panels and then built up with fiberglass strand bondo, then bondo ultimate, then sanded for countless hours. Just about everything is a work in progress, with myself never being satisfied. I updated the entire sound system first with a Kenwood DDX-7017 DVD/CD double din head unit, then with two sets of JL Audio XR series components. For the front set of components I managed to squeeze them into the stock location on the dash for a really clean look. I also built a custom subwoofer box for three JL Audio 12w3v2's and 2 JL Audio amps and a soon to be hidden Sony X-Plod amp. Please take a look and feel free to give any feedback, good or....well you know. Thanks