In-dash Navigation for Right Hand Drive Prius

I can confirm that the dash panels are different for the LHD and RHD Prius, which means that the Rosen, FlyAudio etc units won't easily fit.

However, Toyota do make two versions of the "almost 2 DIN" dash panel. I have the RHD version fitted to my Prius and it's a very good fit and match for the rest of the dash. The Toyota part number for this panel is 55405-47070, but it is very expensive for what it is (around £60, or about $90). The opening in the panel is slightly larger than 2 DIN, and needs the standard Toyota 2 DIN fitting kit used to convert other Toyota head unit apertures to 2 DIN. This extra kit is just two small spacers that fit either side of the head unit to fill the gap at the sides. The aperture is the right height for a 2 DIN unit. Metra and other aftermarket people make these Toyota adapter kits for 2 DIN. I fitted the Metra kit which was very cheap and did the job OK, others have just made small infill pieces, painted them black and fitted them.

Jeremy

 

That is interesting because FlyAudio in Thailand (also RHD) say the FlyAudio units fit the Prius. To get to the bottom of the problem, there is a FlyAudio unit on its way to the UK for a trial fit in my RHD Prius.

 

Well, I know for sure that the fascia panels are different, which is why Toyota make two different panels, one for RHD and one for LHD. The LHD 2 DIN panel is part number 55405-47080 whilst the LHD one is 55405-47070. I can't see Toyota going to the expense of making two different panels if the apertures are identical.

I've just pulled my old Prius radio out of the box to check for you and it's obvious that the panel isn't symmetrical, it has a gentle convex curve on the right hand edge (looking side on) and a gentle S shaped curve on the left edge. I think the actual cut out is pretty symmetrical, but if a LHD panel was fitted to a RHD car (assuming it will physically fit) then it will not fit flush to the existing dash. My guess is that it will stick out at the lower right corner by around 1/4" and stick in at the lower left corner by about the same amount, judging from the shape of my radio panel.

Jeremy

 

The critical thing to look for is the side profile view, as I think this is where the main difference is between the LHD and RHD units. Here are some photos, first a view from the right hand (drivers) side of the RHD radio:



Next, the view from the left hand side, note the way the fascia turns up at the right hand side, when compared to the other photo:


Finally, here's a photo from the underside, showing the way the fascia curves up in the lower left corner (the left of this photo):



Jeremy

 

Both the units I've tried have worked with the steering wheel controls OK. The Chinese unit was an exact fit to the Toyota dash panel (slightly wider than double DIN) and had all the right connectors to plug straight in to the Prius loom. All the steering wheel buttons worked properly, including the Bluetooth ones.

The Kenwood unit needed an aftermarket steering wheel adapter, and also a loom adapter, but again all the controls work properly.

None of the aftermarket units support the navigation display on the HUD, AFAIK. I suspect that the non-navigation models may not even have a navigation symbol capable HUD, just one that displays speed and the ECO bar.

The Chinese head unit I had for a while looks to have had exactly the same functionality as the FlyAudio/Rosen units, at a lower price. For example, this head unit fits the Toyota panel perfectly and looks like a factory fit unit: Toyota Navigation system - Aftermarket Toyota radio update - Universal Double Din headunit for Toyota - DVD GPS Navi stereo

These Chinese head units are internally very similar (most probably exactly the same) as those re-branded units sold as FlyAudio, Rosen, Caska, Coagent etc. They all seem to use the same core, with just minor changes to the firmware and interfaces.

Jeremy

 

That's interesting. The Chinese unit I had didn't have an output to connect to the HUD, AFAIK, and my car doesn't have the extra navi switch on the HUD controls, either.

The Chinese unit did have CANBUS connections, though, so maybe this is the way that the extra HUD commands are sent. I didn't look at this, because I didn't keep the unit long. It worked OK and fit and integration into the car was fantastic - it looked like a factory fitted unit -but the radio RDS performance was poor and I listen a lot to FM radio and rely heavily on the radio re-tuning using the RDS AF capability here. AF didn't work at all well on the Chinese unit I had, with the radio just dropping the signal when it faded and doing a complete band scan before retuning to the new frequency. In contrast, the Kenwood I have now just seamlessly retunes without any noticeable interuption to reception.

Jeremy

 

I couldn't find their claim anywhere, do you have a link?

 

Have just heard from the UK FlyAudio dealer that FlyAudio are are making a RHD version of the Prius head unit for the UK. Maybe you could get FlyAudio Malaysia to ask China for a RHD version as well?

 

That would be great, but i was thinking this morning it really needs DAB as well, since FM goes offline in 4 years time

 

I've been chasing down a DAB capable 2 DIN unit for a few weeks and have had responses from one or two HU manufacturers, all negative. The general consensus seems to be that the major HU manufacturers seem to have had general customer dissatisfaction with regard to DAB performance in vehicles, so pretty much all of them have now stopped making DAB compatible head units. The add-on DAB boxes made in the past by companies like JVC have now ceased production, as no new head units will work with them. None of the companies that replied to me said they had plans to release any DAB receivers in the short to medium term.

I'm going to hazard a guess that DAB may well just die, due to poor performance in vehicles, particularly the major technical challenge of getting adequate DAB coverage in rural areas. In-car FM is generally marginal to poor where I live, DAB is unusable due to the higher frequency it uses. The same seems true for most places away from big conurbations. It seems unlikely that DAB will have anywhere near enough coverage to allow the planned FM switch-off and I'm already hearing rumours that this will be delayed until around 2020 at the earliest. There are also rumours that the DAB system chosen for the UK is poor and that the encoding system used may be changed before too long, rendering some existing DAB receivers obsolete.

It's good news that Fly Audio are making RHD specific units. Is there any news on what the likely UK price might be? I could hazard a guess that they'll do what every other manufacturer does and double the price for units sold here.......................

Jeremy

 

Over in the USA they are $999 so we can guess the UK price

 

Hmmm........... What's the betting it'll be at least £999 (a mark-up of around 50% for our US readers).

One option for those who like the FlyAudio functionality and wish to fit one now to a RHD car would be to use the Toyota RHD surround together with the general Toyota fit FlyAudio unit: FLYAUDIO CORPORATION--Toyota general type This unit fits the 200mm x 100mm aperture in the Toyota panel and would look pretty good (in fact it looks very similar to the unit I bought from autodvdgps.com for around $350 : Autoradio for Toyota FJ Cruiser & Hilux & Previa & Vits & Vela & Alpha +GPS navigation/DVD Player + 6.2 HD Digital Panel BT RDS iPOD Toyota Previa DVD Player, Toyota Alpha DVD GPS ).

Jeremy

 

hey found one at klang oem fit

 

Do you have any details, please?

There are a few of us with RHD cars who are looking for a good audio/nav solution.

Jeremy