Lexion CarPlay Install Review — 2015 Lexus GS350 F Sport (with upgraded rear camera + added front camera)
Installed my Lexion CarPlay unit in my GS350 F Sport this past Saturday, with both the upgraded rear camera and an added front camera. Total install time was about 5 hours with a friend helping.
The install process:
We started by prepping everything, pulling the old rear camera, mounting the new one, and running the cable up to the front, then doing the same for the front camera, before finally tackling the main head unit (since everything has to plug into the back of it).
The worst part, hands down, was the truck removal, more specifically mounting the new rear camera onto the factory bracket/trunk, that alone probably took 2.5 hours. Once we moved to the front, it was genuinely plug-and-play like they advertised, and smooth sailing from there. The front camera was by far the easiest part, just pushed it into the grille, ran the cable along the side of the car, and that was it. No drilling needed.
Issues I ran into + fixes:
• Rear camera guidelines moving opposite of my steering input → Fixed by turning off “Mirror Mode” in Settings → Camera Setting.
• Front/AHD camera not displaying correctly → Had to manually set the camera format to AHD1080@25 in the camera settings.
• AHD camera power wire (orange, 12V) → Needs the rubber sleeve fully covering the terminal, then secured with electrical tape to avoid exposure.
• Slight static hum during music playback → Fixed by toggling on “OEM Bluetooth Audio Output” in the factory settings menu.
• Next/previous steering wheel buttons not working after programming → Had to program them through one of the settings menus (there’s a specific setup step for this, I’ll update with the exact path).
• Dash leather got scratched up a bit trying to fit the trim/border back around the screen. A towel might’ve helped protect it, but honestly, I don’t think it would’ve fit in the gap with the trim there, just something to be careful of.
• Watch your 10mm bolts; we ended up losing one while putting everything back together. It fell down the side of the dash, and we eventually found it, so it worked out, but it’s easy to lose track of small hardware during reassembly.
Since installing, I’ve done a full drive from PA to DE, and everything held up perfectly fine; no issues with the screen, cameras, or connections on a real road trip.
My thoughts after using it:
Honestly, I don’t think the front camera was totally necessary, but the high-resolution rear camera has been genuinely nice to have. There’s a small ~2-second delay before it switches to the camera view in reverse, but it’s a non-issue in practice. You can easily switch back to the OEM screen if you want, but I really haven’t found a need to. The one thing I do miss from the factory screen is the animation when switching to Sport or Sport+ mode — that’s the only thing I wish Lexion had integrated.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely.
I seriously considered Beat-Sonic since it’s officially recognized by Lexus, and Hamilton because of how much I’d heard about it, but Hamilton was pretty expensive, and honestly, the Lexion unit (Linux-based OS) looked really good for the price. Support was great; they answered every question, including my repetitive ones, fast, and were super flexible throughout the whole install, even helping me troubleshoot problems in real time during the actual install (5-10 min response times). Shipping took about 3-5 days once it officially shipped out.
If something’s been holding you back from pulling the trigger — just do it.
P.S. When installing and your driveway is on a hill, DON’T front park; reverse instead. Would’ve saved us about an hour, maybe more, if we didn’t have to scoot up every other second, haha.