chickenslut

Actually it's you that's lucky. The amount of times that we use the override is significantly less that that amount of times I have to hit the 'I Agree' button on the screen. Either one works for me since I both gain and lose something. Still haven't found an 8.1 online anywhere but if there was an unlocked official version I would be the first one at my deal with cash.

Well that would only be viable if they switched to a new drive manufacturer or there was a new firmware (for the drive that is, not the unit we touch) in place. If that is true I could see DVD-R DL working, but that likely means a new manufacturer since the DVD war split the camp into 2 divisions. I found a 5.1 LOADING file online somewhere, like you, it burned without success. I found a completed 5.1/7.1 that I burned and that was a successful install. As of this post I only know of Step Hen that was successful getting a 5.1/8.1 hybrid working but don't know about on an 09 RX.

I agree. You already have roadside assistance so the main benefit of AAA is just what 1990LS400 said: savings in other areas. Back in the day AAA gave you stuff like free maps and other goodies, they still do, but who needs maps when you have a GPS? Check the cost to join and see what benefits outside of roadside assistance they would provide you and see if those savings are more than the cost to join. I think the answer will be pretty clear.

Thanks Billy. Yeah the burn was likely an issue which didn't really matter too much to me since I took your advice and just put the original disc in. Then I burned the 5.1/7.1 disc at 2x (the lowest mine will go) and bought myself a fresh 25 pack of Verbatim DVD+R -DL figuring that I would need more than a few spares. Maybe down the road I'll be down with snipping some wires and do that when I muster up the courage to do a VAIS install. Thankfully my wife can stop heckling me since it all works again. As a side note I thought she would be grateful since the end result was newer maps and an override to the problems she had, but she didn't feel as proud as I did. Oh well. EDIT: To clarify a bit as to what happened and how I fixed it, I know I was a bit vague. Originally I burned a 5.1/6.1 hybrid disc to use in my Gen 5 system. Upon inserting, I drove around to make sure the maps worked, they did. Pull the RADIO1 (15amp) fuse for 5 minutes. Reinsert after the appropriate time. Turn the car on and reinsert the 5.1/6.1 hybrid disc. After a few minutes of driving around I realized the disc was a bad burn in that the GPS would drop connection, the car would skip around on the screen coming on and off the maps and most importantly there was significant lag when moving around anything on the touchscreen. :cries: So I parked and ejected the disc. To undo my work I turned the car off and pulled the RADIO1 fuse again for 5 minutes. Reinserted after the appropriate time. Turn the car on and in reinserted the disc from the dealer. All was well and honor was restored to the kingdom and this restored my NAV, maps, and firmware to a state as though I never started this process. This is key folks, if it worked before, clearing the memory and using the factory disc will make it work again assuming you haven't cut wires or pressed buttons with complete disregard for your vehicle. But I wasn't done yet. I burned a 5.1/7.1 hybrid disc using a Verbatim DVD+R -DL disc at THE LOWEST SPEED POSSIBLE on my burner and verified the burn (takes time but recommended). I turned the car on, ejected the disc and turned the car off. I pulled the RADIO1 fuse for 5 minutes. Reinserted after the appropriate time. I turned the car on, without the disc mind you, and was greeted with the Eng/Jap screen asking me to "please contact your dealer, blah blah blah". Now I reinserted the burned 5.1/7/1 hybrid disc and waited for the unit to load. Once done I drove around for a few minutes and tested the override feature and it was successful. My NAV was now in my control.

Oddly enough the 5.1/6.1 disc caused some serious issues with performance. There were lags when accessing features and such problems keeping GPS signals. However, when I used a 5.1/7.1 disc there were no problems whatsoever. The override worked well, however sadly I still can't dial numbers while in motion or change MP3 folders, but that's small stuff since I just spent some time loading in my phonebook and know how to structure my discs when I burn them from now on.

While I have not installed this myself word on their site is that video will work while in motion making any for an ML DVD system gone. However, as with many others, requires you to take apart the dash, but that's just a means to an end IMO.

Yes please. I have an 07 RX350 AWD and would really like to get familiar before I due next. Thanks in advance. And no it's not a waste IMO since the engine and filter stuff have been reconfigured since the 06-->07 years.

Thanks Billy. I think I will try making a 5.1/6.1 hybrid for now to ease myself into all this and down the road if we need the upgrade to the 8.1 I will buy it, or see if one falls off a truck and lands online somewhere. The "I Agree" screen isn't that bad since we got used to it, but who knows, since in like 3 months I might be itching to muck with something else.

Noob question here: will this downgrade the remaining touchscreen stuff like themes, icons, etc when making and loading a hybrid disc (5.1loading/6.1maps)? I ask because my wife gets really frustrated when things like that change (she does humor me and let me hack stuff), but we want to be able to change MP3 folders while driving and make destination changes and the utilize the override. Thanks in advance.

I don't know about the Toyota kit, but VAIS does have a kit that does video out to the nav screen. It's the SL2Vi and you can read more about it here: http://www.vaistech.com/sl2vi.php

I burned my first disc today and used Roxio and I burned it as an ISO 9660 (DATA) disc (ISO standard for interoperability across many many different operating systems) at a low speed with folders and it worked flawlessly. If you don't have this option, fear not, just choose regular data disc and it will be fine. Just make sure to either fill the disc completely or close the session, otherwise you might run into issues playing the disc in dash.