Lexus came to CarPlay late, and the Remote Touch is why
Lexus built its cabins around the Remote Touch controller — the mouse, then the trackpad — with a wide screen set deep in the dash that is not a touchscreen at all. That design is exactly why CarPlay arrived only around 2020, and why the right retrofit is a box rather than a screen swap: the factory display is well integrated with the climate page, the reverse camera and the drive-mode screens, and replacing it costs more than it gains.
So on an RX, NX, IS, ES or GS the answer is a CarPlay box behind the dash, driven by the same Remote Touch. The one Lexus that goes the other way is the CT 200h, which we see constantly as a Japanese import: there the factory unit is small and often in Japanese, so a car-specific Android screen solves the language, the FM band and CarPlay at once.
Lexus models we work on
| Model | Years | What we fit |
|---|---|---|
| CT 200h | 2011–2016 | Android screen for CT 200h — see the install |
| IS 200 / 220 | 2005–2007 | Android screen for IS |
| IS 250 / 300h | 2013–2019 | CarPlay box behind the factory screen |
| RX | 2019–2022 | CarPlay box — see the RX install |
| RX | 2009–2018 | CarPlay box behind the factory screen |
| NX | 2014–2021 | CarPlay box behind the factory screen |
| ES | 2018 on | CarPlay box, or factory CarPlay on 2020-on cars |
| GS | 2012–2020 | CarPlay box behind the factory screen |
| UX | 2019 on | Factory CarPlay from 2020 — wireless adapter |
Japanese-import Lexus of any of these models is welcome — the language and the FM band are handled in the same visit.
What changes on the dash
With a CarPlay box, nothing you can see: the box hides behind the trim, one USB lead runs to the console, and the Remote Touch keeps doing what it did. The Lexus menus, the climate page, the reverse camera and the premium audio are untouched, and the work is reversible without a trace — which matters on a car that holds its value. On the CT 200h screen swap the display changes, but the fascia is moulded for the dash and the steering-wheel buttons keep working through a CAN adapter.
Prices
- CarPlay box behind the factory screen — box from €400, fitting booked at checkout, two to four hours.
- IS 2005–2007 Android screen — €290 supply-only.
- CT 200h Android screen — €700 supply-only.
- Japanese import — English menus and the Irish FM band in the same visit; see the Japanese conversion pages.
Why Radio King
Lexus is a make where the wrong retrofit is expensive, so we quote from the VIN and a photo of the screen before anything is ordered. The CT 200h and RX installs on the case pages below are ours. Rosemount Business Park, Dublin 11, one-year warranty on the work, 4.8 stars on Google.
