Aftermarket HUs - if you did it - please give your feedback

I totaled my Prius, and next week will get a new one (brief side point - the car is low, we hit a median curb - at like 6", and it flipped and rolled us - 40 MPH - 1 adult, 3 kids - crazy smashed Prius - all airbags deployed - everyone fine - looking at the car, you'd think many fatalities).

I had a crazy Chinese HU - that I really liked. It had a few idiosyncrasies that would stop me from getting it again ( though I am on the fence ).

It seems now that the Scosche and Metra (soon) are here - there are many standard 2Din HUs going into the 2010 - we have many data points to look at...

So now I am thinking - what is the best of the random stuff out there. Really what I am looking for is people who have replaced the HU - and real world opinions - actually.

This means real negatives ( I had many over my time with the Chinese thing), along with the good. Let's just say sound is comparable (sorry -but x brand vs y brand really means nothing - unless you are talking 4 channel surround).

Looking at other blogs/forums, it seems most have no real observations - apart from "z sux" - it seems like this may be a good spot for real thoughts....

I'm looking at the Pioneer AVIC (Z3 used -- or Z110BT), and Kenwood (9140 or 9960). But also looking at anything else (JVC etc).

Issues I see with some of these:
Time to boot (rear view camera)
Ability to load other GPS systems (Garmin iGo etc)
GPS capabilities (voice commands etc)

 

This is why I posed this here - very nice rational opinions - please update as you play with the thing...

I read elsewhere about the street names - and that does seem like a bit of a pain...

Where'd you get it - seems you got a very good price...

TY!

 

I believe Rosen (which is now also Caska and Coagent) are the same makers as the thing I bought (review and long details here http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ust-installed-new-nav-dvd-head-unit-pics.html).

I still like it - and it looks far more *OEM*, but at the new prices for Pioneer etc, and standard 2DIN surrounds (Scoosche, Metra), it's priced too close for my tastes...

I bought the top-of-the-line Pioneer (AVIC-Z110BT - thanks to MrJeff for idea and costs) due to a crazy price decrease that seems to bring it in line with the aftermarket China deals ($680 +accessories, after rebate - brings it in around $730 for what is comparable to a $550 Chinese thing).

I'll post more of my opinions after the car and stereo arrives...

Next up - getting the rear cam, and parking sensors - they cost around $80 for the set last time around (the sensors put the distance in meters on the rear 'view' camera - so you see 1.5 meters etc along with camera image). The ones I bought matched perfectly for the silver Prius (they have different colors), and weren't that bad to install...

I do wish the Pioneer was already hackable - seems it may be in the near future, but not today...

I look forward to hearing about the other installs...

 

In the interest of keeping a good informative thread, I'm cross posting Frenchie's very relevant info from his Euro install of the Kenwood (equiv to the 9140), and Pioneer - thanks Frenchie!
original thread in totality:http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...hanged-out-head-unit-their-2010-prius-ii.html

Post:
I changed the radio for a Kenwood DNX 9240BT (US model is 9140).

Tecnically, it is not so difficult:
You need this part 55405-47080 to fill the place of the radio.

FYI , the steering control is standard on Prius 2010 (same as rav 4).

The sound is excellent, the Ipod works fine.

:angry: The BT sucks : frequent loss of adress book.

:angry::angry::angry: The Nav is buggy :
No tachymeter , so the Nav is blind when you are in a tunnel.
The Nav reboots irregularly but at least every hour.
The refresh of the map is slow and shaky.
No lane assist. you have this feature on very cheap GPS.
Functionnality to load POIs does not work.

A software update is planned for "end of summer". (dixit kenwood france this morning)



I installed a backup cam (1,5 hour to put it in place and pull the cable until the driver seat) and I will connect it in a few days.

Before buying this bad and expensive product, read completely this thread

Post 2:
Hello Chan
To replace the head-unit have a look there to get some inspiration.

Some pictures here and here.

Yes the part is OK for US gen III prius; it is OEM from Toy.
The opening a bit too wide, so I carefully handcrafted 2 wood parts to fill the gaps (width : 15 millimeters ) and I sprayed black paint.

It was necessary to use a dremel to "open" the fixing holes on the flanges because the new unit was too high for 5 millimeters.

I will replace next week the kenwood by a pioneer AVIC-Z110BT because the kenwood is really too buggy for my taste.
For instance , the reverse cam will not be activated before 40 seconds, the time for this unit to boot up :angry:.....

Microphone was at the same place than on the above toy's doc.
I did not use the Voice button ...
Post 3:
Hello Greg
the working interface is CA-R-PI.201 Pioneer Accessoire - Electronique embarquée

The response to a click is immediate.
It is a bit tricky to install because it is necessary to clip on 3 very thin wires.
post4:
Bonsoir,
Pioneer Z110 (F10)
I took some (bad) pictures today.
They are here .
This unit is IMO definitely much better than the kenwood:

• radio, Ipod and backup_camera are almost imediately operational when starting the car.
• ALG (Advanced Lane Guidance) is there.
• Post Code Search is present (in europe).
• dead reckoning is present.
• I like the possibility to arrange my shortcuts.

​

The maps are less sexy (see pictures) but the guidance is good.

Installing a NavUnit in a gen3 prius is really tricky because there are no standards kits, but it is much easier than in a gen2 because, at least, there is a lot of room behind the radio to arrange all the loom of cables...

 

Here's my previous foray into the random Chinese market... It's a long thread, and I've tried to post the relevant parts: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ust-installed-new-nav-dvd-head-unit-pics.html

Current prices are in the $400-$450 range (costs have dropped) - so in the real budget arena, this isn't half bad... You do need the crazy 200mm x 100mm surround which costs $80 on Ebay...

Review and gory details follow...

First off, I have the stock Prius stereo (6 speakers no nav, no JBL) - I bought it this way to add my own nav/stereo - and here it is...

Finally got the plastic bezel today P/N 55405-47080 surround for Head Unit, it turns out it fits very nicely with the HU I bought - this bezel looks like it will work with most aftermarket HUs - many are on EBay (RAV4, Camry, Hiighlander etc). The HU came with cables et al for the Toyota (this one said it was for a RAV4).

Installation was REMARKABLY easy - nay - almost silly easy. Frenchie was the first i've seen to go aftermarket (thanks for his pioneering efforts, and identifying the bezel) Frenchie's thread:Has Anyone Changed out the Head Unit on their 2010 Prius II?, and details on dash dis-assembly here (you do not need to do this - but thought it's good to have in the thread): Has Anyone Changed out the Head Unit on their 2010 Prius II?, and finally Head Unit removal here: http://www.toyota-tech.eu/legacy/Toy/aimuploads/%7B7A3F19FB-FA9E-676C-23D3-6F6C01ACFA9E%7D/Prius_TNS510_LHD_PZ445_00333_00_AIM_001_664_1.pdf .

The suggested location for the GPS antenna is under the dash, and requires dash removal. Since I already had my A pillar out, and the front tweeter/squaker exposed, I found what I think is an even better location for the antenna (see pics). I placed the antenna right under the speaker cover on the drivers side. You need to remove the speaker, then you can send the antenna cable down - it will drop to the floor with help, then route it as you like to the HU.

Removing the old HU took around 10 minutes to remove the trim, and 2 minutes to remove the 10mm bolts (4) in the HU - it then just pulls out, disconnect the wires, and your done.

My replacement HU took the *exact same* mounting hardware - so you move the bracket from the old, and put it on the new. All the cables supplied plugged directly into the existing Prius wiring (I did not need to do anything for this install). Plug in the cables, secure and tuck them, screw in the HU, pop on the new bezel, then pop the rest of the plastic back on. The thing fired up right away (and nice touch - comes up with the Toyota logo as the car comes on). Even the speakers need no wire changes.

Total time to swap that old stock HU to a nice new NAV - 30 minutes.

Sound is VERY clearly better than the stock setup I had. DVD and nav work while u drive (no flames please - it's for the passengers).

I will need to pull it out in a week when my backup camera arrives (I have the distance sensors that plug inline to the backup cam - so you will get both an image, and how far away you are), and my antenna for DTV (got my nice small DTV converter yesterday - still have no idea where I'll mount it, and need a IR repeater for its remote control).

I'm not changing speakers or adding an amp until I've logged many hours on the thing...

It came with Route66 nav (for 800x480 resolution screens), and while that's supposed to be good, I'll probably change to the 3D iGO nav (you just change the files on a SD card).

It will take me a long while before I can really review or report on the things performance - there are a CRAZY number of things it does (PIP for DVD and nav at the same time - or PIP for DVD and DTV at the same time - or...)

I like the general look of it (the real buttons on the face) - looks more natural to me - more like our Lexus nav... The general user interface does not seem clunky like some have said about older generation units from China).

All in cost (bezel, HU, camera, parking distance sensor, DTV, DTV antenna) was around $680... Attached Thumbnails










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Originally Posted by kawita
How long does it take to boot up when you turn the car on?

Thanks for all the info.
Takes maybe 3-5 seconds - that was one of my criteria (for backup cam) - it comes up faster than our '05 Lexus - no backup cam yet to see that side... Guess it makes sense - WincE devices turn on quickly, and this is running a 400Mhz Samsung processor (we used a similar one in an embedded design a few years back - running Linux though). I still can't really relate much about the thing - it's too new, and the hours I've logged were driving, so I still have at best limited knowledge of ANYTHING. I was able to program AM and a few FM stations today . Funny thing - I have no idea what the model number/part number/identifying (???) is - and the support to date is nothing short of nothing..
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Azi,

When I say "no instructions" I mean nothing that helps much. It's like 34 pages - and should be 100+ with good details (this is more a computer than radio).

For installation, it was as I mentioned - silly easy. All the wires just plug into the Prius (and they only go to specific connectors - so it's impossible to mess up). There is a male connector "brake" wire out of the back of the unit (to connect to your brake wire on the Prius - from features on other HUs, I correctly guessed that I don't want this). There is also a female connector ground wire - I correctly guessed that you put the male wire in the female - and viola...

The mounting brackets come off the old head unit, and just mount straight back on this HU.

You pull the dash pieces out, unscrew the 4 10mm bolts on the HU, put in the new, connect wires, replace the bolts, and pop on all the trim.

Frenchie is correct that once you've done this, you could probably do it in 3 minutes (not including mounting the GPS - which I highly recommend putting under the drivers "tweeter" - I get great GPS reception, and it locks in pretty quickly... I believe this could be done by any competent 12 yr old...

It looks as good or better than the EBay pictures. The interface is very nice looking, That said, you gotta know what your doing - for instance, it's simple and straight forward - but when you get into changing things like the key beep tone, or the GPS volume or (whatever), it takes time to figure out where the stuff is - keep in mind though - some of it is specific programs - the GPS for example is its own program. When I put in Nav a GO (iGO for 800-x480 in 3D) in place of ROute 66, everything will change. Cool note - with this iGo you're supposed to be able to customize everything in it - from your own icons - or I even already found Homer Simpons voice for the software THumbs up on the interface thus far...

The screen is TFT - you can see from the EBay pictures, it's *clear* - so no worries about side views... I will say it's hard to see when the sun is at the right angle (but that is true in our Lexus also).

I'm still not sure what the USB cable does (?????????) - but I plan to run them through the "center bridge", by the shifter, and into the center console.

To date:
DVD is nice - works as expected. I would like the screen to be "brighter" but that's likely a setup issue.

Nav works great - locks in a signal within 20 secs, can even find a signal in my garage (???) - but I need to swap it out for iGO. I still can't figure out how to listen/watch NAV while listening to radio (again - a setup issue)

PIP works - but I can't figure out how to move the windows around, and set it up easily - again - a setup issue.

AM works great - with the exception of choosing stations - as an example, our most powerful station - 640 - when the radio "seeks", it stops at 638 (??????). Same with other stations - when you enter the station (took me a day to figure this out), it gets better/perfect reception. You can then store your 8 stations, and you are fine. I'm guessing there is some setup thing for this????

FM - my area does not have great coverage - so I'd rate my FM happiness in my Xterra/Lexus as a 8. The reception in this I would rate a 5. It is not as good - I get the stations, but in my area, they aren't as clear (remember, they weren't clear before either - it's just worse -- others have talked about antenna issues in the Prius. I think this has worse reception than the stock HU. That said, it may be setup (???)

iPOD does not charge my iPhone, and in fact, my iPhone goes into Airplane mode. I am sure there is a setup for this, but it goes back to the whole documentation support box... The interface works nicely, and looks good for listening to music etc. Didn't try videos, and only played with this for a few minutes...

USB - have no idea what you would use this for... Maybe iPhone USB to iPhone cord???????

SD cards - I believe it can support 8GB for MP3 and the like - you can make virtual CDs and other cool stuff - there's an interface for it I haven't played with - why bother with an iTouch/phone. Cool plug ins on the front for the 2 cards - 1 for GPS, the other for ..... Not really any docs on building your virtual CDs etc - but that's a setup issue

CD/MP3 - didn't try one - just DVD.

Remote - it has one, but didn't play with it.

Bluetooth - works nicely - easy interface - can stream music, and picks up incoming calls etc - just as you would expect. Didn't try changing tracks - there's an iPhone bug that prevents that - I think it was fixed in the iPhone 3.1 release, but I'm jailbroken - so I have to wait for the 3.1 jailbreak.

Haven't installed my backup cam or parking sensors (this will be the nicest thing about the unit - i HATE the rear visibility).

Initial impressions: It's really cool, has gobs and gobs of features, but it takes time to learn how to use them all - and documentation effectively does not exist. Tech support is also somewhere on the other side of the world. 2 days of emails, and nothing. That said, I really need to call them - they are supposed to have a user forum. This would fix all my woes (but I can live with the minimal woes I have)... I'd love to have a compatriot to help navigate this thing

One more thing - it has a MIC jack on the back, but also a mic on the front. It does not ship with an external mic, so I placed in one from my PC (on top of the steering column - hot-melted on). To date, I have no idea if the external or internal one - or both are working (again - maybe setup). I just plugged it in cause it made sense (????????????????)

EDIT: I ordered the parking sensor kit for $40 from them. You need it to match your paint color!!! They also have a "Camry" camera that appears plug and play for the Prius. As it doesn't have night vision, and was expensive (like $45), I chose one from a different spot with better specs. It looks like it will fit - and was cheap...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350125551920&ssPageNam e=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123

I think for the money, you can't go wrong...
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We went on a nice 2 hr trip to 6 Flags today, so had some time tooling around to at least clear the steering issue - they are programmable, and work - now figuring out what to associate with what... Volume works as you'd expect, Ch+ Ch- work fine with track changes, but on FM, they just scan up or down - they don't cycle through your programmed channels (again likely a setup issue). Mode can be set to move through sources - but I think you have to then select the source - which means touching the display (again maybe a setup issue - you can program these buttons to many things).

Bluetooth sound is not great - sounds like a car speakerphone - even when streaming audio (???) - the workaround was plugging iPhone direct to iPod interface - the phone went into "airplane" mode, but then you turn it "on" and it goes on. The iPod streaming is nice, you can cycle through track, volume etc through steering functions...

DVD audio is real surround, but I htink I am missing the center channel - so voice is quiet sometimes - not sure how to set it into phantom mode. I know that THX sound thing that comes on at the beginning of a movie sounds real good... With there was a center speaker out..

I still have no contact from support - of course it's their weekend. I have pointedly asked that they explain how their support works...

I won't work on FM until I get the DTV antenna and backup cam (Frenchie pointed out I believe correctly that you must power the antenna). Though FM reception is pretty fine - not a deal breaker...

GPS: I am able to run iGO Amigo - but once I get it going, if I turn off the car, and start it again, I get a Win error regarding screen resolution, and it stops working, and makes me restart the software. So good news, I can run it, and play with it - bad news, I don't have it setup correctly for the 800x480 screen. I've read about drivers and skins, but don't have the time to figure it out... One of these days - it looks like it will be a killer app once it's running (Route66 is fine in the mean time) - it has many voice modules, 3d landmarks, 3d stuff, even game modules - there's like 1GB of add-ons (I bought a 4G micro SD to play with - it comes with a 2G.....

Still haven't touched the USB interface...
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OK - so I've had some time to play and learn - I did RTFM - which helped a *very small amount*.

On the support front, sadly, I have learned there is not much - only emails to China - which get answered a day later, then the wrong answer, and I have to restate the question, then finally a real answer - 4-5 day turn around. Thankfully, I've figured most everything out - so that isn't a big issue...

On the GPS front, I got iGO 8 running yesterday - in 3D - with all the bells and whistles... Wow - a very nice nav package - nay - amazing. It has more crazy features than anyone would really need or want - but it is fun, useful, and easy to use! The 3D images are cool (driving by Disneyland, the airport, ...). Nav N Go - Software Development for Mobile Devices
It is supposed to warn about red light cams (haven't been through one), and warns when you speed (has gobs of POI stuff). It did warn me about speeding on my drive today

DVD works like a charm - at night the picture (800x480 resolution) is stunning.

iPod interface works fine - *except* with iPhone OS 3.0, I get a warning when I first plug it in - I have to press a button on the iPhone to ignore it - then the car has full control.

Steering functions work fine, and are programmable. There is no Bluetooth/call answer button on my stock package II car - so I have to answer the call on the iPhone, by the remote control, or by pressing the display.

AM works fine - 8 presets

FM works - but not perfect. I have not yet put power to the antenna yet - this should fix any reception issues.

Haven't played with the USB - but I'm sure it's fine - same with CDs and MP3s.

Bluetooth works seamlessly - with the exception of sound - it sounds like a car speaker-phone. So when you play music/podcasts, you get that sound on A2DP - it's fine for podcasts, but not for music - stick with an aux jack, or USB, or iPod cables.

Bugs - there are 2 i've found - which are annoying, but I will live with them - and maybe someday, I'll be able to upgrade and get rid of em (just a wish) - The radio has 4 pages of presets (1 Am, 3 FM) - each page stores 8 stations. You cannot store the 8th button - it is stuck on whatever it shipped with. Same on all 4 pages. The other is you may be listening to one station, and when you turn off the car, and turn it back on, that station says it is playing, but the radio changed the station. So, it can be confusing, I was listening to baseball, then I get back in the car - it says I'm listening to the station, but classical music is playing (my first hint that something is wrong). Simple to work around - just press the buttons to change station - but these are annoying.

The pros range from:
PIP (picture in picture) for nav/dvd/whatever, good quality sound (without replacing the stock speakers).
Easy to use interface (GUI)
32 station presets (24 FM, 8 AM) - more on this in the cons
Amazing GPS capabilities
Seamless and easy bluetooth
Nice iPod interface
Perfect and SIMPLE installation - no wiring
Nice sound
Ability to upgrade amps etc
Aux input for gaming (or in my case DTV )
Nice inputs for rear cam
Nice parking sensor package (shows distance on display - but you need to put 4 holes in your bumper).

The cons
Support (nice but SLOW)
(2) bugs (FM)
Sound streaming A2DP bluetooth poor
Doesn't charge the iPhone while connected
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Originally Posted by sshaw10
How are the speakers in the II with the new HU? I wonder about buying the III for the additional speakers but does that make getting signal to them from the HU more difficult since there are more?
1. It keeps its settings after the HU is removed from the car - so yes it keeps its settings.

2. The speakers as they stand are not awful. Swapping HU shows better sound. I've been listening to it flat (no bass/treble) for a few weeks, and its not bad.. Today, I played a bit - added front gain (treble,mid), and it was better. I'm purposely taking my time - trying to be more subjective in my opinions... Could I throw in a few of my Dynaco tune amps, or my 250w/ch 1600w 32 tube ARC - yes - but that defeats the purpose - and adds fuel economy due to the interior heat... I am happy as it sits - it sounds decent - and likely would gain with a 3.5" in the front (in place of the tweeter - or in Toyota's words "squaker").

I may end up returning the thing (open invitation) - but I really *like* 95% - it's a few bugs and FM reception that keep the door open - that and support. They are *gone* for a week (normal if you deal a lot with Asian countries - but annoying none-the-less) - so at some point I will know about the bugs, and how they can be addressed....

The rear cam is now working, and the distance sensors seems to be valuable... The cam I bought (better specs) is not better than our Lexus GX - so I may swap that - but it works.........
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for my HU, the MFG paid to ship it back - it's now in China. They have an engineer "testing it" - whatever that means...

My outstanding issues/questions are:
1. AM/FM buttons do not work – this is the last button #8 – it cannot be programmed.
2. FM buttons #1 do not work – you can program them – but they lose the programming
3. If you turn off the car, it does not remember the last station.
4. Changing US radio stations is crazy.
a. AM stations (it was set for the US) move in 10Mhz increments. So if I tune 640 AM, I should get that. When I scan, it goes to maybe 638 AM. This is not good. You have to change the station by hand.
b. FM is similar (I do not remember exactly – but I think it is similar – FM stations go from 88.9 to 89.1 to 89.3 (always odd number)

Nice thing to add:
1. Always initialize the GPS when the unit turns on – people always use GPS – so the GPS signal is always ready.
2. Give an option for 128MB SDRAM – the cost of goods is nothing – but you will get good reviews – with 128 you can run things like TTS (Text To Speech) etc.

Really at this point, I only care about the radio software bugs. I'll be very happy if those are fixed.

On a cost side, add $30-$50 for backup camera, and if you want to go crazy, $70 for DTV (converter box + antenna).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For those who've followed the trials and travails of my HU journey, I now have closure (yay!).

My HU showed up at DHL today (after getting lost - DHL's fault).

My outstanding issues were (big ones):

Radio bugs (FM can't program 1st or last buttons, when stereo is turned off, then on, it goes to a random station (not the last).

They are fixed. I now have 24 FM presets and 8 AM presets!

One of the things I was going to live with was sightly less FM reception than stock HU. As is reported separately in the FM signal thread, I just figured FM wouldn't be perfect, and slightly less than already bad was fairly negligible... As a nice surprise, the thing fired up, and is pulling stations in my garage (remote Orange County) that I can't get tight on our Lexus. So I guess I'm back on the side of bad HUs on the new Prius (I just can't fathom 3 separate HUs - stock, JBL, Eclipse) all being bad... Anyway - it was a very nice thing to resolve.

Overall sound is as before much better than stock (running stock speakers - and using built in HU amp).

Customer service really didn't change over this process - it's poor. With patience, things work - it just takes time...
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On the radio bug front, one which I hadn't tested reared its ugly head today...

On FM, when you turn off the car, it retains it's spot. But on AM, if listening to a given station (say 570), when you turn the car back on, it says it's on that station, but goes to a random FM station (hiss) requiring pressing a few buttons to get back. Arghghgggggg
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And that's the long of it - I really liked it, hated the nagging bugs - which were fixed except the AM one (which still really bugged me - as I listen to AM radio at times)...

 

Keb,

I'd consider selling the 9140 - your comments have some similarities with Frenchie - who swapped his Kenwood for the Pioneer... The Pioneer is also rumored to get a new Ipod interface with the next software release (coming in the next month).

I chose it because it seems to be the best available today - though I haven't installed it yet (surround comes today - we'll see what the Metra looks like) - and with a $200 rebate, makes it somewhat affordable ( $880 delivered from 6th Av after rebate $680 - through Amazon's link). You can almost get that for selling your 9140...

Downside to the Pioneer - it isn't hacked yet...