Hi everyone,

I now have a 2012 TL with the tech package and (as you know) if you just put in a new head unit you lose your HVAC display. No thanks! Still trying to figure out how to get CarPlay or at the very least have the ability for me to activate Siri via the steering wheel.

I saw a user on here post a lovely step-by-step on installing a tablet that covers where the nav screen is. I messaged him with a few questions but haven't heard back and am not surprised given that it was some time ago that he posted.

Which leads me to this - has anyone else done a successful upgrade with the tech package either with a creative tablet solution or with Grom? And if anyone on here has gone the Grom direction, how painful is it to have to use the selection knob on the existing HU to make your choices on the screen?

Either way I go isn't going to be cheap so I want to make sure I'm doing appropriate research beforehand. Thanks!

 

Some folks have gone with the navtool with not so great results, GROM I've seen a lot of happy lexus/toyota folks. MDX folks love the grom as it uses the factory dial wheel too. Check out MDXers forums for grom and carplay for the 2010-2013 MDX.

 

Many thanks! I suppose I was limiting myself too much by just looking within this forum.

The guy who was going to install the Grom for me said that he still has some Navtools sitting on his shelf and refuses to install them for anyone as he got burned by their customer service and doesn't want anyone else to suffer!

 

I installed a GROM in my 2013 TL and love it. I also have a GROM in my Lexus.
I tried navtool once a decade ago on my parents Mercedes. I could not get it to turn on and their customer support was absolutely atrocious. I lost $600 on that endeavor. I personally would avoid them at all cost.

 

Thanks for your response!

I ended up getting a Grom installed by an authorized dealer, however it took them 3 tries and I’m not sure what I’m now experiencing is down to their ineptitude or is expected.

When I put the car into reverse the yellow ladder that you normally see often turns black and flickers across the screen. The nav screen sometimes goes into sleep mode as if it isn’t in use - I have to get it to turn back on by hitting the audio button.

And then when I’m trying to talk to someone on the phone hands-free they can’t hear me very well.

Have you had any of these issues? There is another authorized installer in my region that I’m tempted to take it to for a fix but if there are known quirky things then for obvious reasons I’m hesitant to throw yet more money at this.

 

Mine has the flicker in reverse too. I think it’s because the reverse wire for the GROM is not spliced into the correct wire on the harness. I didn’t splice mine in because I wasn’t sure which wire to use. I did at some point find a pdf of a wiring diagram online for the Acura TL advanced system which had the reverse wire labeled (pretty sure it was different from what the instructions stated) but didn’t want to take everything apart for what I thought was a small inconvenience.
In terms of the screen going blank/sleep after 30 seconds, it’s because you didn’t press “ok” for Acuras initial warning message. To access that, press the brightness button on the bottom left and press ok when the message pops up. It won’t go to sleep after that. I couldn’t find an automatic work around for that.

 

I didn’t see the third question. The phone audio for calls on my Acura is hit or miss. Overall 7/10 for quality.
My Lexus on the other hand has absolutely awful phone calls with its grom 1.5/10. I have to use a Bluetooth/speakerphone. Not sure what I did wrong there. The microphones are placed in similar positions.

 

Thank you a million times over for not only reading and understanding my (perhaps poorly described) issues but also in responding!

You definitely saved me $ now that I know that what I’m experiencing is just something I have to put up with. Don’t get me wrong - it is far better than not having it but having read mainly positive reviews of the system without many specifics on the negatives I was wondering if I had a poorly installed system as I definitely didn’t have a great experience with the installer.

One last question, if you don’t mind - I had thought that you could use the steering wheel controls to make a hands-free call via Grom’s Apple CarPlay or to connect with Siri. The steering wheel controls only work for adjusting the audio volume and skipping a track back and forth. I don’t really have a hands-free method to summon Siri. Same with yours?

Thanks again!!!

 

Thank you a million times over for not only reading and understanding my (perhaps poorly described) issues but also in responding!

You definitely saved me $ now that I know that what I’m experiencing is just something I have to put up with. Don’t get me wrong - it is far better than not having it but having read mainly positive reviews of the system without many specifics on the negatives I was wondering if I had a poorly installed system as I definitely didn’t have a great experience with the installer.

Just say “hey siri” and it should work fine. I haven’t tried to use the steering wheel controls to summon Siri, but I know the end call button on the steering wheel doesn’t work to end calls…maybe it would if I programmed my phone to connect to the native Acura system as well, but I have tried.
I can say “hey siri, open spotify” and it works great. For text messages, or phone calls, the voice recognition is not as good.