Awesome. I'm in South AL and have an 04 LC, but I can make the drive if needed!
100 Series NAV Delete – True Standalone HVAC Solution (OEM+)
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At $1100, I’m on the fence leaning toward no. I’ve already got a Teyes unit that controls climate, albeit not well. Tough sell for me to spend twice as much on my AC controls as I did on the Teyes unit. At one point you had thrown out the idea of a “less polished” option. I could probably get onboard closer to $600. Still following this thread with a lot of interest.
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I understand the price concern. Not targeting this response at you, Jon, just speaking generally. Teyes and others can spread engineering, tooling, software, manufacturing and support costs across tens of thousands of head units and hundreds of vehicle applications. We simply don’t have those economies of scale with a niche subset of 20-year-old land cruisers.
If somebody can build this to the same standard, at this volume, retail it for $500 and support it long-term, they’ve solved an economics problem I haven’t. If the right manufacturing partner comes along who can genuinely scale production, maintain the standard and materially lower the cost, I’d be very open to that conversation.
On the development side, in-vehicle testing is going extremely well. Since the first test, temperature synchronization, a runaway issue, mode display behavior, system on/off logic, AUTO behavior, and recirculation behavior have all been corrected/updated. Serial firmware loading has also been added through the controller for easier firmware updates and serviceability.
Testing is now down to very small edge cases. Things like an occasional missed temperature-knob detent, matching Toyota’s exact MAX COLD/MAX HOT behavior, and a subtle rhythmic flicker in the display when the headlights and factory dimmer are active. Things most owners might never even notice, but they are still being chased down because good enough isn’t the target.
The production harness is being worked through in much more detail now, including exact branch lengths so nothing is stretched or unnecessarily bundled behind the dash, along with proper protective sleeving/abrasion protection, strain relief and retention. The goal is for it to sit cleanly, stay secure, and survive years behind the dash without rubbing through, pulling on terminals or working itself loose.
On the mechanical side, a newly vapor-honed 3D-printed piece arrived today, and is being evaluated to push the prototype closer to a proper OEM-style appearance and texture.
As for timing, the goal is to finish the remaining tasks over the next couple months and move into the first production run this fall/winter... if production takes a little longer than planned, this becomes less of a product launch and more of a case study in how far one man can take a minor inconvenience.
If somebody can build this to the same standard, at this volume, retail it for $500 and support it long-term, they’ve solved an economics problem I haven’t. If the right manufacturing partner comes along who can genuinely scale production, maintain the standard and materially lower the cost, I’d be very open to that conversation.
On the development side, in-vehicle testing is going extremely well. Since the first test, temperature synchronization, a runaway issue, mode display behavior, system on/off logic, AUTO behavior, and recirculation behavior have all been corrected/updated. Serial firmware loading has also been added through the controller for easier firmware updates and serviceability.
Testing is now down to very small edge cases. Things like an occasional missed temperature-knob detent, matching Toyota’s exact MAX COLD/MAX HOT behavior, and a subtle rhythmic flicker in the display when the headlights and factory dimmer are active. Things most owners might never even notice, but they are still being chased down because good enough isn’t the target.
The production harness is being worked through in much more detail now, including exact branch lengths so nothing is stretched or unnecessarily bundled behind the dash, along with proper protective sleeving/abrasion protection, strain relief and retention. The goal is for it to sit cleanly, stay secure, and survive years behind the dash without rubbing through, pulling on terminals or working itself loose.
On the mechanical side, a newly vapor-honed 3D-printed piece arrived today, and is being evaluated to push the prototype closer to a proper OEM-style appearance and texture.
As for timing, the goal is to finish the remaining tasks over the next couple months and move into the first production run this fall/winter... if production takes a little longer than planned, this becomes less of a product launch and more of a case study in how far one man can take a minor inconvenience.
No offense taken at all. Totally get it. I'm in the process of building & selling some one off electronics. It's tough to scale (I'm printing off a single 3d printer at my desk LOL). I imagine the real issue has got to be the custom board work you need.
I'm not out, just contemplating. You are doing some kick ass work. I'm in awe.
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It sounds like this will be an extremely polished product and worth the price tag for those of us who have been searching for a solution for years (well, one that is better than, "it mostly works"). That said, I'm still not sure when the time comes if I can justify $1100 price tag. Then I have to find a nice head unit too. I wouldn't regret making the purchase, but damn it's going to be hard to pull the trigger on a "nice to have" even though it would probably be the nicest mod I could make to my LC.
Any idea how long you will offer the product for? Or should I be prepared for a limited run/group buy situation?