Just installed new NAV/DVD head unit (with pics)

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 http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...68362-p-n-55405-47080-surround-head-unit.html, 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:http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...hanged-out-head-unit-their-2010-prius-ii.html, and details on dash dis-assembly here (you do not need to do this - but thought it's good to have in the thread): http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...hanged-out-head-unit-their-2010-prius-ii.html, 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...

 

It is not Toyota - of course, Toyota is not Toyota (Eclipse I believe). There are a bunch of these things around on EBay - and some are really cheap. I went with the hi-res screen and PIP mainly because it's new technology (costs more). All these things run WINCE as an OS, and hence some are fairly open to changes and upgrades. Some of the older types are quite hacked (you can run MS Office for CE on your HU - not that you would want to but hey - kinda cool) - this one is not, but has new features like allowing the swap out of nav systems (via SD card and menu). On first run, it looks miles better than our Lexus nav (which is hacked to run DVD through the front) - open NAV GPS, DVD 3 screens of FM presets etc... Of course it's only been on my car for a few hours, and I haven't logged a mile on it...

The nav did pickup my location in our sealed garage (with 2nd story of our house above). Looks like it will be a fun toy...

 

Yes - this was our backup backup camera, and macro was set, then not set - and I gave up worrying about the main focus (so at least you guys can get the idea).

I'll try to take more pics with either our backup cam, or our main cam

I'll be taking the whole thing apart in a few days when the rear view camera comes in, and the DTV antenna comes in (and I install the parking distance sensor) - we got a little peak, and it was kinda cool - in theory, I can have the Orange County (not LA - even though they changed the name) Angels on the PIP, and a nice DVD running on the main... Right now, I get snow for the PIP (it isn't connected). Nice feature though...

There are WAY too many features, and WAY to little documentation on how to get to them... I knew this going in - so c'est la vie (my ode to Frenchie)...

 

No. this thing has no manual - but there are settiings - found the one for steering control, they are all custom - you press the button to associate, and press the corresponding steering button. They communicate (there's a update showing an input was pressed - along with a unique number for each button - i press the "store", and life is not as good as it seems......

I think this will be a long, sometimes difficult relationship.

The better half looked at it this evening - and we ended up spending 2 hrs in the garage (while the kids did ???). She likes gadgets, owns 3 ipods (as they grow so do her friends). We watched some DVD, she played with settings, set many correctly. I have not had time to touch the thing, and frankly, it's like setting up a PC - WinCE - menus for each specific program (means you must setup the nav program with its settings, setup the radio, setup the...........).

I plugged in my iPhone, and it immediately said "unrecognizable......" can't charge (screens I've never seen in my iPhone life) - then went into airplane mode

She plugs in her iTouch (OS 3.0), presses the source button, and bingo - we have all access to her iTouch - menus songs etc - all run remotely on the touch screen - with a very cool nice interface - she and I were impressed with this piece...

I knew I was in for an adventure - and that it is... I'm sure most things will work out - of course steering is the MOST important - stay tuned.........

 

Frenchie is correct - swapping a HU is really a 3 minute job - and tres facile - gotta love the French - my single favorite place on the planet.... Now for steering controls - that's the deal breaker....... If you are in Paris, next time I run through there, the wine's on me Bourgogne is fine with me too

 

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...

 

Hrmm - didn't even think to look - but now that you mention it, no AUX... Of course this is to be expected as the AUX inputs are not connected to the HU. I haven't even looked because I've been running Bluetooth to my iPhone (for phone and podcasts). The AUX in at some point will be wired further back (back of the center console) for gaming - or whatever... If you wanted, you RCA jacks... Or make a cable back to the center console 3.5mm plug...

The iPod cable just runs under the trim of the center console, and the iPhone sits under the bridge. It is not custom yet. I plan to route it under the bridge, and back to the center console - but know not how the bridge center (under) is disassembled. iPhone doesn't charge anyways - so that interface currently sucks (I'm guessing there's something to fix this - but at the moment, that's like question 21 on the big list).

 

I know on my HU (and others I looked at), the steering controls are programmable - so you go into the HU settings, select the function (Bluetooth answer / vol+ / track+ etc), and press the corresponding button on the steering wheel.

That's how it's supposed to work - and it sort of does on mine - at least I see that when I press a button, the HU shows a unique ID - I just can't save it because the thing has no manual, and I have not figured out the whole support thing (they're on like Taiwan time - which means they come "on line" at 5PM)....