Great experience with Custom Car Stereo CarPlay kit (1 Viewer)

[Foggy415]

the kit: Toyota Land Cruiser 200 Series VX / Sahara 2016-2021 G3V4 Interface Ki - https://customcarstereosystems.com.au/products/toyota-landcruiser-lc200-200-series-vx-sahara-2016-2018-g3v4-interface-kit?variant=45294825570533

Firstly, I am not affiliated in anyway, payed full price.

I struggled for awhile comparing different carplay adapters. There are lots of options out there, but all with flaws/ inconveniences that turned me off to them.

• EC offroad doesn't have wireless carplay
• Grom has mixed reviews/ wonky steering wheel controls
• Lots of the other options require you to press a button to bypass toyota software and access carplay
• Many units are hit/miss on customer service

I randomly stumbled upon custom car stereo, but couldn’t find any reviews on it. It seemed to check all the boxes i wanted- wireless, boots on startup, all steering wheel buttons still function etc. I used the chat function on their website and they responded immediately, answering all my questions. They have some of the best customer service I have ever encountered. They even responded back at odd hours if they were awake, they are in Australia so time zones are a bit wonky. After they answered all my questions I decided to give it a shot, and ordered. It took about a week from ordering to arrive at my door. Got it installed (if you are in bay area I have an amazing installer, took him about an hour and half)

Thoughts: I couldn’t be happier with the unit, and carplay in general. I had never used carplay before but had heard great things. I can only speak to the carplay functionality as I don’t have an Android phone. When you start the car up it goes right to the boot screen and then launches carplay, the phone then automatically connects and will start playing the last thing your phone was playing. You don’t have to press anything, it’s really nice.

• Quick run through of the things I like
  • All steering wheel buttons work great, including the phone buttons.
  • Uses stock microphone
  • The voice command button summons siri (which will hopefully be even better with ios18 on the way)
  • Audio sounds fantastic, can’t tell any difference from when i was connected via bluetooth to the stock unit
  • Easy to get back to stock unit, just press home button
  • Respects brightness adjustment of the dashboard, and also headlight on/off puts maps into light/dark mode)
  • All camera functions work perfectly, reverse, 4low cams, auto cams etc.
  • The android unit that underpins the carplay allows you to use youtube, netflix, amazon video, etc. You just have to connect it to phone's hotspot, or you can get a sim for the unit if you prefer. It also has Torque obd built in, though I haven't set it up yet.
  • Using the car's built in wireless charger while using carplay makes the phone get warm, but not hot. Even when using nav it charges the phone pretty fast.
  • Everything just feels really well integrated and very OEM.
• Things I dislike
  • Takes ~40 seconds from turning the car on to being fully connected to carplay with music going. Honestly doesn’t bother me but if i had to have a gripe that would be it. Might be a bit faster with a newer phone (i have 13pro max)
  • Climate control button doesn’t override the carplay. Gotta go back to stock unit, then hit climate. I use auto 99% of the time anyway so again, doesn’t bother me in the least.
  • The track forward/ back buttons that are between the volume/ tune dials do not work. Doesn’t bother me as the buttons are on screen and steering wheel. The play pause does work.
  • Price. Not cheap. But the results and great CS made it worth the price imo

In summary I think this is the best unit available. I’m so happy with it, and it really fixes the only thing I didn’t like about the car, the antiquated tech. (better mpg would be nice too, but it is what it is…)

Feel free to ask any questions

 

[JPRS]

Thanks for posting this. Do you have the rear seat entertainment screens in your Cruiser and if so, have you tried how this plays things on those screens? I noticed the website for this product has a YouTube video where the guy said there were connections available to display on rear seat screens, but his 200 didn't have the rear seat entertainment--so he didn't plug those connections in.

 

[Foggy415]

Thanks for posting this. Do you have the rear seat entertainment screens in your Cruiser and if so, have you tried how this plays things on those screens? I noticed the website for this product has a YouTube video where the guy said there were connections available to display on rear seat screens, but his 200 didn't have the rear seat entertainment--so he didn't plug those connections in.

All good! Hope I was able to provide some good insight and thoughts on ownership. I don’t have rear seat entertainment, but I believe there is support for that functionality. I would ping the custom car stereo chat. They are amazing at getting back fast as long as it’s a reasonable hour in Australia

 

[JPRS]

Thanks. How long have you had this installed? Other than the things you point out as dislikes above, have there been any occasional or temporary bugs or glitches like some of the other brands seem to have?

 

[Foggy415]

I had it installed for a week and driven around 10 hours in that period and have had zero issues. I hope I don't jynx it, but so far I couldn't be happier with the unit. Carplay is really well done (with improvements incoming) and it's such an improvement over the stock unit. I really think it allows the 200 to be a more well rounded package, given how important technology is in this day and age.

 

[DallasTide]

Nice write up, thanks for posting.

On a side note, I've never seen that Start/Stop button before.

 

[Foggy415]

Nice write up, thanks for posting.

On a side note, I've never seen that Start/Stop button before.

I got it from Bonobo. they don't seem to sell the x button anymore, or maybe out of stock. Here is the link to the current offerings Push to Start Button - 019 - https://bonoboproducts.com/products/push-to-start-button-019?pr_prod_strat=collection_fallback&pr_rec_id=70835476a&pr_rec_pid=8138966728865&pr_ref_pid=8138960470177&pr_seq=uniform

 

[MCtree]

Great write-up, thanks.

Are you saying that the pause button shown on the screen in the shots you posted doesn’t work? If so, how do you pause whatever is playing? Like if you are at a drive-through and need to talk to the attendant.

And as far as the climate control buttons:
Are you saying that if you have car-play going, you can’t raise and lower the temps with the two temp control rocker-buttons (one for each side of the vehicle) when in auto?
Or do you just mean you can’t change things like the mode of the AC?

 

[Foggy415]

Great write-up, thanks.

Are you saying that the pause button shown on the screen in the shots you posted doesn’t work? If so, how do you pause whatever is playing? Like if you are at a drive-through and need to talk to the attendant.

And as far as the climate control buttons:
Are you saying that if you have car-play going, you can’t raise and lower the temps with the two temp control rocker-buttons (one for each side of the vehicle) when in auto?
Or do you just mean you can’t change things like the mode of the AC?

Sorry words aren't my strong suit haha. Let me try and be more clear. The carplay pause button works fine, along with the the physical pause button. The only buttons that don't work are the track forward/back buttons that are located in-between the physical volume/tune dials (the ones that are next to the pause button, below the AC controls) Everything in carplay works as expected. Since there are track forward buttons that work on the screen, and the steering wheel, I really don't mind at all.

All climate controls work as expected, the only hiccup is if you are in carplay, and you press the climate button (the one that brings up the AC controls on the screen) nothing happens. You have to exit carplay, then hit the climate button. I usually keep my car in auto so all i do is adjust the rockers (which work normally).

 

[SidZer0]

Great write up and review, I'll keep an eye on this thread. I've been on the fence about getting one of these units but I want it to be consistent, reliable and as close to OEM behavior as possible. How easy was it to swap out the start/stop button? I'm digging the red smiley one they have.

 

[Foggy415]

Great write up and review, I'll keep an eye on this thread. I've been on the fence about getting one of these units but I want it to be consistent, reliable and as close to OEM behavior as possible. How easy was it to swap out the start/stop button? I'm digging the red smiley one they have.

The stock button was a hassle to get off, and I didn't want to scratch the chrome trim. It's much easier to swap when the starter unit is out of the trim, since you can remove the chrome ring easily which makes it easier to get the stock button off. So while the stereo installer had the trim off I quickly popped the chrome trim off and pulled the button.

 

[MCtree]

Sorry words aren't my strong suit haha. Let me try and be more clear. The carplay pause button works fine, along with the the physical pause button. The only buttons that don't work are the track forward/back buttons that are located in-between the physical volume/tune dials (the ones that are next to the pause button, below the AC controls) Everything in carplay works as expected. Since there are track forward buttons that work on the screen, and the steering wheel, I really don't mind at all.

All climate controls work as expected, the only hiccup is if you are in carplay, and you press the climate button (the one that brings up the AC controls on the screen) nothing happens. You have to exit carplay, then hit the climate button. I usually keep my car in auto so all i do is adjust the rockers (which work normally).

Ah. I get it now.
Thanks!

 

[JPRS]

Thanks for sharing your experience with this. I too have been concerned about the various bugs/deficiencies that come with the units from other brands. I too may be willing to pay a premium to avoid such issues.

 

[shelby95]

Too bad they don’t have a model for the pre-2016 200

 

[1Maverick]

View attachment 3733311View attachment 3733312

the kit: Toyota Land Cruiser 200 Series VX / Sahara 2016-2021 G3V4 Interface Ki - https://customcarstereosystems.com.au/products/toyota-landcruiser-lc200-200-series-vx-sahara-2016-2018-g3v4-interface-kit?variant=45294825570533

Firstly, I am not affiliated in anyway, payed full price.

I struggled for awhile comparing different carplay adapters. There are lots of options out there, but all with flaws/ inconveniences that turned me off to them.

• EC offroad doesn't have wireless carplay
• Grom has mixed reviews/ wonky steering wheel controls
• Lots of the other options require you to press a button to bypass toyota software and access carplay
• Many units are hit/miss on customer service

I randomly stumbled upon custom car stereo, but couldn’t find any reviews on it. It seemed to check all the boxes i wanted- wireless, boots on startup, all steering wheel buttons still function etc. I used the chat function on their website and they responded immediately, answering all my questions. They have some of the best customer service I have ever encountered. They even responded back at odd hours if they were awake, they are in Australia so time zones are a bit wonky. After they answered all my questions I decided to give it a shot, and ordered. It took about a week from ordering to arrive at my door. Got it installed (if you are in bay area I have an amazing installer, took him about an hour and half)

Thoughts: I couldn’t be happier with the unit, and carplay in general. I had never used carplay before but had heard great things. I can only speak to the carplay functionality as I don’t have an Android phone. When you start the car up it goes right to the boot screen and then launches carplay, the phone then automatically connects and will start playing the last thing your phone was playing. You don’t have to press anything, it’s really nice.

• Quick run through of the things I like
  • All steering wheel buttons work great, including the phone buttons.
  • Uses stock microphone
  • The voice command button summons siri (which will hopefully be even better with ios18 on the way)
  • Audio sounds fantastic, can’t tell any difference from when i was connected via bluetooth to the stock unit
  • Easy to get back to stock unit, just press home button
  • Respects brightness adjustment of the dashboard, and also headlight on/off puts maps into light/dark mode)
  • All camera functions work perfectly, reverse, 4low cams, auto cams etc.
  • The android unit that underpins the carplay allows you to use youtube, netflix, amazon video, etc. You just have to connect it to phone's hotspot, or you can get a sim for the unit if you prefer. It also has Torque obd built in, though I haven't set it up yet.
  • Using the car's built in wireless charger while using carplay makes the phone get warm, but not hot. Even when using nav it charges the phone pretty fast.
  • Everything just feels really well integrated and very OEM.
• Things I dislike
  • Takes ~40 seconds from turning the car on to being fully connected to carplay with music going. Honestly doesn’t bother me but if i had to have a gripe that would be it. Might be a bit faster with a newer phone (i have 13pro max)
  • Climate control button doesn’t override the carplay. Gotta go back to stock unit, then hit climate. I use auto 99% of the time anyway so again, doesn’t bother me in the least.
  • The track forward/ back buttons that are between the volume/ tune dials do not work. Doesn’t bother me as the buttons are on screen and steering wheel. The play pause does work.
  • Price. Not cheap. But the results and great CS made it worth the price imo

In summary I think this is the best unit available. I’m so happy with it, and it really fixes the only thing I didn’t like about the car, the antiquated tech. (better mpg would be nice too, but it is what it is…)

Feel free to ask any questions

I have the latest EC off-road and it does have wireless, this is how I connect.

 

[Foggy415]

Thanks for sharing your experience with this. I too have been concerned about the various bugs/deficiencies that come with the units from other brands. I too may be willing to pay a premium to avoid such issues.

Just finished a 2 hour trip and I don't think i could go back. It's such a nice addition. I would go for it if you feel so inclined. feel free to PM if you have any questions

 

[Foggy415]

@1Maverick
I didn't know that EC updated their unit, that's nice. I contacted them about 5 months ago and they said only wired is available. It didn't make sense to not have wireless carplay. It doesnt fit with the idea of a tech upgrade if you need to be wired. Glad they updated it.

 

[shelby95]

I would’ve thought there would be issues with the JBL Synthesis systems. Are the 2016+ Australian/ROW 200s now employing the JBL system?

 

[hbar]

Does carplay continue playing in the background when you switch out of carplay? Like, does Spotify keep playing even if you are on the OEM Climate screen?

 

[Foggy415]

I would’ve thought there would be issues with the JBL Synthesis systems. Are the 2016+ Australian/ROW 200s now employing the JBL system?

I'm not sure to be honest. I believe this system uses the aux input to transmit music so maybe it's agnostic to what type of system it is?