EC Offroad 12.3 inch Head Unit for 2013 to 2015 Land Cruiser

[ttfrank]

Good day, I was considering buying one of these units and I was wondering if anyone has installed one in a US version of the 200 series? It looks like a nice upgrade, and the display in these LC's could use an upgrade.

Thanks,
Todd

 

[ttfrank]

Sorry, I meant to include the link to the head unit.

12.3 Inch EC OFFROAD Head Unit to suit LandCruiser 200 Series SAHARA 2

12.3 Inch EC OFFROAD Head Unit to suit LandCruiser 200 Series SAHARA 2007-15 Our Newest Head Unit for the LandCruiser 200 Series has arrived! The sleek fascia featured with our 12.3" head unit is a ready to fit plug and play unit with High Speed Booting, Fast Connectivity and an easy to use...

www.ecvisionsound.com

 

[kcjaz]

Good day, I was considering buying one of these units and I was wondering if anyone has installed one in a US version of the 200 series? It looks like a nice upgrade, and the display in these LC's could use an upgrade.

Thanks,
Todd

Lots of info on that Geer. Search either EC off-road or Tesla for threads under my username and you’ll find what I did to check out my Bill thread, which is called deer slayer searching you’ll find there’s also some links in the sticky thread FAQ. There’s a link. FAQ - 200-series FAQ for Modifications, Repairs and Build Threads. Great place for new users to start - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/200-series-faq-for-modifications-repairs-and-build-threads-great-place-for-new-users-to-start.908224/post-10186669

 

[ttfrank]

Lots of info on that Geer. Search either EC off-road or Tesla for threads under my username and you’ll find what I did to check out my Bill thread, which is called deer slayer searching you’ll find there’s also some links in the sticky thread FAQ. There’s a link. FAQ - 200-series FAQ for Modifications, Repairs and Build Threads. Great place for new users to start - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/200-series-faq-for-modifications-repairs-and-build-threads-great-place-for-new-users-to-start.908224/post-10186669

Thank you for the links, this has kept me busy for a couple of days, and from what I'm reading, the new EC unit will probably work just fine, as expected. I'm looking at some of the options on AliExpress as well, but I'm less sure about buying something from there. The prices on some of their stuff is in the 'too good to be true' category. Plus it keeps setting off my antivirus, lol.

Anyway, thanks again.

 

[Supra Turbo]

@ttfrank if you end up going with one of these units, keep us posted. Would be great to see more feedback on these.

 

[ttfrank]

@ttfrank if you end up going with one of these units, keep us posted. Would be great to see more feedback on these.

Will do.

 

[napir]

Mine's not from EC nor is it for those model years, but I have bought a few of these Chinese screens for other cars and did again for my '16. They're all similar in a lot of ways so I thought I'd chime in. Ordering from the Alis can be a little weird but just pick a shop that's been around awhile and you'll be alright. The units themselves are usually running some form of Android with some apps loaded up for a tuner, CarPlay/Android Auto, videos, and some no-name map apps. You can add and remove apps just like you would a phone by connecting through Wifi or adding a SIM card.

I don't really do any of that and just run Carplay 100% of the time. Cameras and steering wheel controls all work, HVAC controls work. Typically the documentation will be pretty bad, but if you find a reputable shop, they will answer questions and help with the connections (there can be a lot of random wiring bundles that come with it, and no instructions on what they do). Install support is where companies like EC and Hamilton will shine, they've done all this stuff for you and speak your language. So if you're not comfortable messing with this stuff yourself and tinkering with it, go with one of them.

 

[Supra Turbo]

Maybe I'm just old school (many of my vehicles do not even have a screen), but I find it pretty crazy how OEM these aftermarket screens look.

 

[MRego]

Maybe I'm just old school (many of my vehicles do not even have a screen), but I find it pretty crazy how OEM these aftermarket screens look.

It is funny how perspective changes. Don't get me wrong this beats gluing a tablet or standing unit to the dash, but to me it has the opposite effect. Since I have seen what the OEM is in a 2016+LC, any other solution that replaces the screen with something else looks tacky and aftermarket to me. Specifically the one above, that gloss black is completely out of place and that clock screams Chinese crap, IMO.

 

[ttfrank]

Mine's not from EC nor is it for those model years, but I have bought a few of these Chinese screens for other cars and did again for my '16. They're all similar in a lot of ways so I thought I'd chime in. Ordering from the Alis can be a little weird but just pick a shop that's been around awhile and you'll be alright. The units themselves are usually running some form of Android with some apps loaded up for a tuner, CarPlay/Android Auto, videos, and some no-name map apps. You can add and remove apps just like you would a phone by connecting through Wifi or adding a SIM card.

I don't really do any of that and just run Carplay 100% of the time. Cameras and steering wheel controls all work, HVAC controls work. Typically the documentation will be pretty bad, but if you find a reputable shop, they will answer questions and help with the connections (there can be a lot of random wiring bundles that come with it, and no instructions on what they do). Install support is where companies like EC and Hamilton will shine, they've done all this stuff for you and speak your language. So if you're not comfortable messing with this stuff yourself and tinkering with it, go with one of them.

Thanks for this information. I ended up ordering a Hamilton CarPlay module yesterday. I wanted to upgrade the screen too, since the OEM is such a low resolution 8" screen, and was planning on an upgrade like yours. I wanted to go with EC at first, but the price was a little steep. I'm hoping Hamilton comes out with one like this, with the 12.3" screen, not too far in the future and then I'll take another look. I saw a video for one but they don't have it on their website for my vehicle.

Anyway, the Carplay module will do the job for now and I won't need to carry my tablet to use for maps. The table was nice and worked well, but a bit fiddly every time I turned off the vehicle, so this will make life much easier.

I would have settled for updated map software for the stock Toyota GPS system, but for some reason Toyota doesn't do map updates. I checked the date on my map software and it is from 2011 on my 2013 LC. So not very useful.

 

[Supra Turbo]

It is funny how perspective changes. Don't get me wrong this beats gluing a tablet or standing unit to the dash, but to me it has the opposite effect. Since I have seen what the OEM is in a 2016+LC, any other solution that replaces the screen with something else looks tacky and aftermarket to me. Specifically the one above, that gloss black is completely out of place and that clock screams Chinese crap, IMO.

I'm commenting from a perspective of someone who has never seen interior of a 2016+LC. To general public who have never been inside a 2016+LC, this will look OEM.

Im also looking at this from a comparison to many of the aftermarket radio units fitment 15-20 years ago.. which is the last time I added an aftermarket screen to my vehicle.

The fact that this kit comes with trim and vents - this alone looks OEM to me. Much better than nothing and you figure out how to mount the screen over/next to the factory unit. That will look a lot more aftermarket.

The gloss black trim finish is a personal preference, I love it in my 2013LC.

 

[MRego]

The gloss black trim finish is a personal preference, I love it in my 2013LC.

In a 2013 it comes from factory and is well integrated, but that one conflicts right away with the brushed aluminum finish that came OEM.

That said, I agree. To someone that doesn't know better, it certainly looks OEM. .

Im also looking at this from a comparison to many of the aftermarket radio units fitment 15-20 years ago.. which is the last time I added an aftermarket screen to my vehicle.

Hahaha,...yeah. 20 years ago you were lucky if you found a Sony CD Unit which the lights did not conflict with the gauge cluster.

 

[Supra Turbo]

In a 2013 it comes from factory and is well integrated, but that one conflicts right away with the brushed aluminum finish that came OEM.

That said, I agree. To someone that doesn't know better, it certainly looks OEM. .


Hahaha,...yeah. 20 years ago you were lucky if you found a Sony CD Unit which the lights did not conflict with the gauge cluster.

That was my point.. I bet my neighbors will think it looks OEM in my Land Highlander.

Like I said before, maybe I'm just old school.. but 20 year old stereos is all I can compare it to.

Heck, up until recently I still had the aftermarket stereo and aftermarket gauges in my Supra that were installed in 1998

 

[ttfrank]

Got the Hamilton unit installed yesterday. Worked perfectly as soon as I got it hooked up to my android phone, and so far I'm very happy with it, including how it looks on the factory Toyota display. That part surprised me, but just being able to run Android Auto and have Google maps on the screen makes the whole system look newer. This unit does use the Toyota bluetooth to connect instead of the Aux channel on the radio, so that is a plus.

No complaints at all with the Hamilton unit! Looking forward to my next trip so I can enjoy it. A very worthwhile upgrade.