Tesla Android Style Stereos Units for the 200- Combined (2 Viewers)

[itsbeendun]

I installed this unit few months ago.

Highs:
Apple carplay
Better functionality due to android

Lows:
Screen is not very visible during day, looks great at night
Finicky at times, so be patient.

Hey Derek,
Which unit did you install? How has it been treating you? My stock unit is on its way out and I need to get it replaced soon

 

[ryan mccoy]

Wondering if anyone has some advice. This weekend, I was trying to install one of the Tesla-style units on a 2013 200 series. Installation went well enough but ran into a few issues - the biggest one was none of the cameras worked. Nothing insurmountable but based on my review of these threads, I think I'm missing a few parts.

Here's where I need some help. I removed the screen and reinstalled the OEM parts - everything works well except none of the cameras now work (front, mirrors, and rear). When I shift into reverse or hit the camera button, I get a black screen. All other items function (radio, cigarette lighter, etc). When I went into diagnostics mode, it showed the cameras as "OK," however, when I hit the camera button on the screen in the diagnostics setting, the screen would go black and would not reset until I restarted the LC. I figured maybe I blew a fuse that controls the video processing unit for the cameras but when I visually inspected multiple fuses I couldn't find one that was blown (I actually don't know which fuse I should be looking at - I inspected all the multimedia/radio fuses I could identify.).

Anybody have any thoughts or recommendations? Would certainly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Well, after checking all of the fuses (all were fine) the issue resolved itself. After three weeks of no cameras suddenly all of them started working. I presume when that when I reconnected the cables one of the pins did not have a full connection which resulted in no cameras. So now back to installing the Tesla-style unit but have to wait for some additional parts that did not ship with the original package.

 

[Romer]

I didn't have the best GPS startup offroading in Utah. It took a while, but once it did connect to satellites it would track well

Last time I worked on the radio I noticed the connector had come loose. I am guessing that is what is happening but don't know

I was thinking of replacing the GPS antenna with a better one and mount it on the top of the dash.

I am not sure if this is an SMA connector or MCX connector. They are similar and I want the new antenna in hand when I open up the dash again

Anyone recall? Anyone else replace their GPS Antenna?

 

[greynolds]

I didn't have the best GPS startup offroading in Utah. It took a while, but once it did connect to satellites it would track well

Last time I worked on the radio I noticed the connector had come loose. I am guessing that is what is happening but don't know

I was thinking of replacing the GPS antenna with a better one and mount it on the top of the dash.

I am not sure if this is an SMA connector or MCX connector. They are similar and I want the new antenna in hand when I open up the dash again

Anyone recall? Anyone else replace their GPS Antenna?

I'm not sure which specific Tesla style unit you have, but mine uses an SMA connector. You may need a different adapter for your 2014, but I was able to use the following adapter on my 2020 LC to use the factory GPS antenna:

SUMI-SMA Toyota & Lexus GPS antenna conversion cable

Use Toyota & Lexus factory antenna with many aftermarket GPS radios. Restrictions apply. Please read entire description, warnings etc. prior to ordering.

www.discountcarstereo.com

 

[Romer]

I'm not sure which specific Tesla style unit you have, but mine uses an SMA connector. You may need a different adapter for your 2014, but I was able to use the following adapter on my 2020 LC to use the factory GPS antenna:

SUMI-SMA Toyota & Lexus GPS antenna conversion cable

Use Toyota & Lexus factory antenna with many aftermarket GPS radios. Restrictions apply. Please read entire description, warnings etc. prior to ordering.

www.discountcarstereo.com

That is an interesting option. Did you go straight or right hand connector?

Where is the Antenna Located? I think it is in the fin on the top with the satellite radio antenna?

 

[greynolds]

That is an interesting option. Did you go straight or right hand connector?

Where is the Antenna Located? I think it is in the fin on the top with the satellite radio antenna?

IIRC, I went with the straight option. I'm pretty sure the GPS antenna is under the dash more or less between the steering wheel and head unit, at least on my 2020. It doesn't always lock onto the GPS quickly though, I'm not sure if that's due to the location of the antenna or something to do with the head unit.

 

[LC2015]

IIRC, I went with the straight option. I'm pretty sure the GPS antenna is under the dash more or less between the steering wheel and head unit, at least on my 2020. It doesn't always lock onto the GPS quickly though, I'm not sure if that's due to the location of the antenna or something to do with the head unit.

I got the unit from EC Off Road and it's been going pretty well. Like you said, the GPS signal is spotty at times. I moved the included GPS receiver onto my dash (forward of center speaker, up against the windshield and not really visible to driver), and that helped signal reception.

I was also thinking about why they wouldn't have just tapped into the factory GPS antenna. Seems simpler and more cost effective. Might try this adapter for my 2015.

 

[Romer]

it isn't in the fin on the top. It is inside the dash.

pity as that would have provided much better reception. I am going to go with a puck that I can mount on the Mesh Head Unit Grill on top of thee dash

 

[Romer]

I am thinking of going with this. The one bad review is because the cable was too short for them, 20" seems perfect for my application. Besides, there was one review from an Android radio owner that said it boosted his signal strength

Amazon product ASIN B08RW7R8KH
I plan on mounting it right behind the phone microphone I mounted when I had issues with that

 

[ekolpack]

Are you guys finding that aftermarket antennas work better than the built in one?

 

[kcjaz]

I mounted the gps puck that came with my EC Offroad unit on my Gamivti plate on the dash. Seems to work pretty well though occasional Google Maps wigs out like it doesn’t know where I’m at. This only seems to happen in large city freeway situations. I don’t know if it’s the gps signal or the app.

 

[LC2015]

I hid mine behind the center speaker mesh. It does a pretty good job.

 

[Romer]

I am thinking of going with this. The one bad review is because the cable was too short for them, 20" seems perfect for my application. Besides, there was one review from an Android radio owner that said it boosted his signal strength

Amazon product ASIN B08RW7R8KH
I plan on mounting it right behind the phone microphone I mounted when I had issues with that
View attachment 3305212

When I took the radio out, the GPS connector was loose, not real loose though. Rather than tightening it, I went with what looks like a better antenna to me. The one with the radio had a real long cable whereas the new one was only 20". Long cable lengths add impedance to RF signals

Amazon product ASIN B08RW7R8KH
Now I should have taken a GPS Monitor reading before I started and then tightening thee existing antenna before then replacing the antenna. I had forgotten about this feature until after I replaced it

The old antenna was under the screen near the top and the new antenna is on the top of the screen. I Drilled a hole, used the adhesive backing and also glued the outside of the threads to the plastic under the screen to better secure the antenna. I also used Loctite on the GPS SMA connector to the back of the radio.

Even powering it up in my garage it instantly found my location and detected 6 satellites to do so

Here is a picture of signal strength in my driveway on a cloudy day and where I installed it

 

[greynolds]

That antenna looks like a great option and would be fairly easy to mount on my Gamiviti speaker grill replacement, so I may give it a try at some point.

 

[LC2015]

A quick update on my system. I have had it running nicely for several months now, and then during a drive today the sound suddenly stopped working. I cannot get any of the apps to play audio. I tried rebooting the system, restarting the vehicle, and checking all of the audio settings. No dice.

I guess I will find out how good the EC Off Road customer service is soon. I sent them an email today, and will let you know what happens.

 

[greynolds]

A quick update on my system. I have had it running nicely for several months now, and then during a drive today the sound suddenly stopped working. I cannot get any of the apps to play audio. I tried rebooting the system, restarting the vehicle, and checking all of the audio settings. No dice.

I guess I will find out how good the EC Off Road customer service is soon. I sent them an email today, and will let you know what happens.

One more relatively quick thing to try is to disconnect / reconnect the battery. Good luck and keep us posted.