Aftermarket options for headunit in nav models

[CoinCoin88]

Hello mudders,

My 2007 French Land Cruiser (KDJ120) is still good as new, but each time I use it the very old screen somehow feels like pouring bleach into my eyes. Many years ago I had a Parrot bluetooth kit installed, but again, this is becoming quite old now.

I've read some of the numerous threads on aftermarket possibilities including "tesla-style options" but am not sure how it all blends in with the car ecosystem. My car is the nav version, with a DVD containing the maps (I think) underneath the driver seat. The touchscreen has a row of buttons underneath to switch between menus, and another row of buttons for climate control. Finally, below is the audio tape player and radio unit. Picture below.

My idea would be to replace everything with a nice infotainment unit. It's important that I can control climate settings from the potential replacement headunit. Obviously carplay and android auto would be great additions too...

I'm not a big fan of noname Chinese hardware. However big premium companies e.g. Pioneer are sometimes overpriced for such thing and I'm unsure about climate control and other possible Toyota-relayed menu interactions... What are my options, if any...?

Thanks!

 

[M3GX]

Not a lot of options for the Nav versions. Just the Tesla style and a few other Android based hu's. You won't find any name brand options that work.

If you're at all diy oriented, the best thing to do is a Non-nav HVAC swap first. Then the sky is the limit! Being a 2007, you should be able to find the controls through car-parts.com

 

[CoinCoin88]

Not a lot of options for the Nav versions. Just the Tesla style and a few other Android based hu's. You won't find any name brand options that work.

If you're at all diy oriented, the best thing to do is a Non-nav HVAC swap first. Then the sky is the limit! Being a 2007, you should be able to find the controls through car-parts.com

Thanks heaps. I am very much DIY oriented although kids definitely have eaten away some of my spare time. What's the key difference in HVAC across the nav VS non-nav that makes it so much easier on non-nav systems?

 

[M3GX]

Thanks heaps. I am very much DIY oriented although kids definitely have eaten away some of my spare time. What's the key difference in HVAC across the nav VS non-nav that makes it so much easier on non-nav systems?

The nav version has some of the controls/display in the he main HU screen itself. Non-nav has traditional button and display. It's a fairly simple, yet time consuming project. Mainly moving the HVAC connectors from the passenger side footwell, extending 8 wires, and moving them to the center console area.

Long thread but all the info is on the first page: Nav to Non-Nav Conversion Walkthrough - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/nav-to-non-nav-conversion-walkthrough.1141114/

 

[Rednexus]

The Tesla units are terrible. I had one last around 4 years before the screen quit working. I bought another one and it was worst than the first. The boot speed was so slow I rarely got to use the backup camera. The screen on my second unit is just a cheap android tablet, and I could not see anything on the display when wearing polarized sunglasses.

I also suggest doing the non-nav conversion. Here in the US, it's very hard for us to find the non-nav HVAC controls for a Lexus. But, they looks much easier to come by in the rest of the world from a Prado 120. I know as I was having such a hard time finding the Lexus controls that I was looking on eBay in Europe and Australia (but could not find someone willing to ship to the US). Eventually, I found a set of controls in the US.

My conversion took me about a full day to do the wiring, but it's totally worth it.

 

[CoinCoin88]

That's exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for. So basically, ditchign that Tesla-like approach because they suck (which does not come as a surprise) and look into 'regular' 2-DIN models.
And now I understand why the non-nav version has some differences: all the climate-control commands are moved to a dedicated panel. It would have been too good to be true for a 20-year old build to find some manufacturers that could integrate climate controls into their UI...