I'm looking at getting a 13 EX37 with ridiculous low mileage off the original owner. I'm talking 10,000 ORIGINAL miles from 2013. All service records and literally 2 oil changes a year religiously since new (even though there was a virtually no miles put on!). It's literally a BRAND NEW 2013 EX37 :-)

That said, the car has the BOSE, but not NAV package. I'm wanting to add one of those carplay units to the OEM screen.

From what I can gather, the Non-NAV package has a SD-Screen and the NAV has a HD-Screen

Non-Navi: 480x320
Navi: 800x480

I'm assuming carplay on a 480x320 would look like absolute garbage.

I know dropping in the entire NAV system is not a plug and play...but is it possible to swap over JUST the screen from the NAV to non-NAV models to get the higher resolution?

 

Doubtful. I suggest going to an online source such as Crutchfields and ask whether a swap from SD to HD is possible. Be sure to post an update here on what you find.

 

The nav and non-nav screens use a different video format and are not compatible.
The high-res nav screen requires the av/nav module.

 

Poop. Ok. That sucks.

Converting a Non-Nav car to a Nav is not a plug and play either from what I recall. Simply getting a nav unit off ebay requires a super expensive specialty harness that cost if I recall north of $400 for the harness only! Does that sound about right?

 

The "specialty harness" just makes the OEM swap "plug and play." Convenience always commands a premium. For anyone with moderate skills in electronics the actual swap is not as hard or daunting as it seems. I did it over 10 years ago and IIRC it took me less than 2 days and I wasn't "in a rush."

However, ten+ years ago the swap made sense. Today, not so much.

Whilst I am not a "fan" of those aftermarket "Tesla-style" (or equiv.) things I did install something similar in my BMW and it suits my needs perfectly. Unfortunately, I do not like the styles of what is available (for the G) which is why I haven't bit the bullet but, that is my own personal taste. I would recommend you look into some of those offerings as they will offer a upgraded screen, CarPlay (or that Android Auto thing), and a host of other features that you may/ may not need for a fraction of the cost of swapping in 10+ year-old OEM hardware that you will still have to "upgrade" with the CarPlay box.

Just search "G37 (or EX37) Android" on eBay and options will pop up.

 

I came to ask almost exactly this. There are a few parts cars near me with NAV. Mine doesn't. But it seems like buying everything I need from the parts car will cost similarly to a Grom or similar CarPlay unit. And probably be an easier installation?

 

Ok now I want to know what you paid! Sweet find! I picked up my first this weekend, an '09 G37x with 45k miles. I considered it a steal.