Update of Rosen unit

Following all the instructions posted here (interior trim removal, rear bumper removal, camera install locations, etc.) I was able to pretty easily tear apart the back of the car, install everything and get it back together.

1) Rear camera installed very cleanly. I used a camera I purchased a while ago for my 2004 Prius but I could never figure out how to get it to work with the damn lockpick. I simply screwed the supplied mounting bracket to the black plastic fill plug and slipped the wire under. Easy. I ran all wires up the right side of the car, across behind the glove box to the Rosen unit and powered the camera with the red ACC wire off the Rosen harness. I ran a wire from the right rear backup light up to the Rosen unit to connect the blue reverse indicator wire...Never could fine an under-dash version of that wire but since I was already running a bunch of other wires up the right side, and everything was wide-open, this was a simple solution.

2) Installing the sensors involved removing the rear bumper and drilling four 1/2" holes. It was a little unnerving but I followed the Toyota sensor install instructions posted in this forum and everything went smoothly. I decided to NOT paint the sensors and I think they look fine. They would be a little less noticeable painted to match but black on red doesn't look bad in my opinion.
With the sensors connected, the Rosen unit reports distance quite accurately (within an inch or two). Two observations, it stops reporting at about 1.5 feet and simply says "Stop". I would prefer it kept reporting distance but at that point I can very clearly see how close I am in the camera. It also appears to have trouble detecting snow banks.

3) I also installed the GPS antenna on the roof (after getting an extension cable) and reception has improved significantly. When the antenna was under the dash, the unit would frequently take a while (10-15 minutes) to acquire satellites and even when it did I rarely had more than 4-5 green dots. Now with the antenna on the roof, acquisition is almost immediate and I usually have 8-9 green dots. Accuracy is always high.

I didn't take pictures during the install but one weekend after a carwash I'll try and post some pictures of the final job. Total install time probably about 4-5 hours but I wasn't really trying to go quickly.

Parts Installed:
GPS extension: $15 (from ebay seller hongkongsuperseller) Search for "GPS/Radio 195 Coax Cable SMA Male to SMA Female 5M"
Sensors: $51 (from RoadGiant.com) Rosen DP1030
Harness: $13 (From RoadGiant.com) Rosen DP1010
Camera: generic off-shelf...Any of the ones listed here should work fine.

 

Finally had a nice enough stretch of weather to clean the car up and take some pictures. Here's what the camera and back-up sensors look like installed. The distance shown is pretty accurate, displays the distance in green when nothing is close, yellow down to about 2 feet and then red. The unit also beeps quickly when under 2 feet.

With the sensors, I installed them just over 15 inches apart. The Toyota sensor install instructions (posted elsewhere) call for 420mm (16+ inches) and I wish I had seen that first. I don't quite get the side detection I think I could had the edge sensors wrapped around the bumper a little more.

 

Does the Rosen cutoff any song titles or artists' names on Sirius?

 

Was one of the factory connectors not used when you installed yours? I can't seem to figure out where it plugs into...almost like I'm missing a cable from Rosen.

Chris

 

Me too...the only thing I haven't figured out now is how to get the sirius to work?? But, I haven't looked at the manual yet either.

Chris

 

I just installed a Rosen yesterday and was puzzled by the remaining unattached factory harness after finishing the install. I read through some of these posts, and I think the extra harness is for satellite radio. I think you have to have a Rosen Sirius/XM radio kit to attach to the factory harness. I did some searching and found a combination Sirius/XM radio kit and iPod harness on the internet (Rosen DP-1055). It wasn't cheap though ($143 was the best price I saw). Maybe someone who's done this install can let us know if this it the best way to add Sirius/XM to the Nav unit. I'd also like to know if you need a separate antenna for Sirius/XM, or if the Rosen GPS antenna also picks up the satellite radio signals.

PS: Thanks to all those who posted their experience with Rosen installs on Priuschat. You gave me the nerve to do this. My husband was amazed when I pulled this off.

 

I have the Sirius iPod connection kit and that's definitely what you need for both to work.

Chris

 

Has anyone ever recieved a responce from Rosen? I have emailed them a couple times.

My goal is to use a XM box with the Rosen unit. I have a life time sub with my Prius now.

 

I haven't seen any vendor who lists an XM tuner for the Rosen unit. Rosen didn't respond to your email. I suspect you know the answer.

Prior to the merger Sirius was introducing adapters so you could use Sirius with an XM ready HU. No longer a reason for Sirius-XM producing such a product.

Buy a HU brand which accepts an XM tuner, pay full price for a Sirius subscription or connect a plug n play Sirius radio with the external input jack (does Rosen have one?).

 

If you have a lifetime subscription, you can transfer the subscription to a new radio for a fee. You should be able to buy the Rosen Sirius/XM radio kit and iPod adapter, hook it up to a Rosen Nav HU, and pay Sirius/XM to transfer your sub from your existing radio to the new one. You can contact Sirius/XM first to confirm and obtain pricing.

 

This thread started with questions about the ability to update the Rosen unit...So far I haven't seen anything other than sending the unit back to Rosen for firmware updates.

I'm currently experiencing periodic hangs (twice now) of the unit. I believe this might be related to interacting with a phone since both hangs came within close proximity of phone usage. That's unproven at this point.

The hang is quite severe...Whatever the radio is playing (fm, ipod, etc.) continues to play at the current volume level. No buttons either on the unit, touch-screen or steering-wheel have any effect. Stopping and turning-off the car does not even clear this condition.

The only way I found was to reset the unit was to pull fuse #28 (blue 15A fuse in the fuse box under the hood on the drivers side). Once the fuse is replace and the car turned-on, all is fine.

This has only happened twice in four months but it sure feels like something that will require a firmware update to address. I have an ancient cell phone so maybe a new phone would "solve" this but that's just a shot in the dark.

Thoughts?

 

The poster was told that Sirius/XM won't let you transfer a XM lifetime subscription to a Sirus lifetime subscription, even for a fee.

 

Firmware updates of the Rosen are not customer installable. See my earlier post where Walt of ADC answered some question for me http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...cs/89042-update-rosen-unit-2.html#post1251458

 

Walt does not respond to emails either. I send this April 12th

From: Sean Havanas [mailto:seanh@####.###]
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 12:56 PM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: Rosen System for 2010 Prius IV

Walt,

I found your site from Prius Chat and you were recommended by a few people on the forum as knowledgeable dealer of the Rosen system. I have a few questions.

I currently have the OEM JBL system with XM satellite radio. I signed up for a lifetime package with the OEM XM satellite receiver. Is there any way to use the Rosen unit with the OEM satellite receiver?

In your video you show the steering wheel controls controlling the radio. The car in your video does not have the OEM Bluetooth controls. If I install the Rosen system will the OEM Bluetooth steering wheel controls still work or will the functionality move to the volume buttons like in your video?

I have Android phone that can be a wifi hotspot. Can the Rosen unit connect to a hot spot for traffic info?

A few people have installed Garmin software on the Rosen unit. Have you done this? What is involved?

Thanks,

Sean Havanas

 

You're asking too many questions. You're asking questions that probably the person you're emailing won't know the answer ( or won't share).

Ask if Rosen has an XM tuner you can purchase instead of Sirius. I don't think so but that's a question they should be able to answer.

Rosen doesn't sell Android phones. The Rosen unit doesn't support Wi-Fi. You should be able to use BT to make phone calls.

Rosen doesn't offer Garmin maps. I wouldn't expect any information regarding using hacked Garmin maps.

You can do a search on this forum. The on hook and off hock steering wheel buttons will work but push to talk won't. The Rosen unit doesn't have voice control.

You have the JBL stereo. The Rosen unit requires an adapter ($150?)

The Rosen doesn't really meet your needs. Some of the Kenwood units will work with XM. They have Garmin maps. Some of the units come with traffic.

 

I just installed a Rosen and sirusXM cancelled my 1 year subscrition, they gave me a credit towards my unused portion and i sign up for Sirius, which they found a promo price.

 

The PP paid for a lifetime XM subscription and was told there was no way to transfer service to a Sirius unit.

 

It seems clear the Rosen is a repackage of other 2DIN Chinese HUs.

That said, the Chinese stuff (almost without fail) has little/no real support. You are asking an American import company to get support from China - which probably should not be expected.

That said, the Chinese stuff does run a basic WinCE OS. It has a USB, and there *is* TCP/IP and WiFi support (USB WiFi) - and the IE browser (you could stream internet connectivity from your phone). You won't get them to help you (any more than they will help you change to iGo or...).

You need to look to WinCE /HU support forums for real support.

 

Rosen (and flyaudio) not only have face plates designed to fit without a kit but actually have controls and/or memory slots in the extra space. The guts on the unit may be the same as a generic Chinese HU but Rosen and flyaudio had some modifications made.

Rosen says an optional Sirius tuner is available. I have no doubt they'd tell us if a XM tuner is available.

You make a great point. People looking for support should consider other products.

If I was selling a product like Rosen and I received the email sent by a PP I might decide this is a customer I won't be able to satisfy. A customer looking for far more support then I'm willing or able to provide.