Head Unit (1 Viewer)

[Bluetempleton]

Hi,
I have a 2019 200 series Sahara landcruiser. The head unit has an intermittent flicker and occasionally it goes black. Is still functional when black but can’t see anything, this happens rarely. I’m concerned the flicker may get worse. Toyota advised it would take min 6 months to send away and have pioneer repair it.
My questions are:
1. Any ideas on how to repair the flicker? (Running latest firmware)
2. Put an interface kit in but if an issue with the existing screen this might not be suitable.
3. Put a new android head unit in. Have been researching these and not sure of there reliability given the need for correct firmware and code written by 3rd parties. Would love feedback on this.
thanks in advance.

 

[El Skywalker]

Sounds like you have a short in the unit itself.
Pioneer sells refurbished units that your dealer should be able to swap out for you.

No other solutions that I am aware of.

 

[njbrain]

Agreed with Skywalker.

 

[Nick1989]

No one has given you any options here mate.

Have a look at these guys ( For TOYOTA 200 Series Landcruiser - https://www.ecvisionsound.com/collections/for-toyota-lc200 ) they have options for both pre and post 2016+ facelift LC200 for a full replacement of the infotainment screen. These screens are fully integrated and look factory, they are also highly highly customizable if you so wish.

 

[njbrain]

No one has given you any options here mate.

Have a look at these guys ( For TOYOTA 200 Series Landcruiser - https://www.ecvisionsound.com/collections/for-toyota-lc200 ) they have options for both pre and post 2016+ facelift LC200 for a full replacement of the infotainment screen. These screens are fully integrated and look factory, they are also highly highly customizable if you so wish.

Good feedback. I am not familiar with the Australian trim levels. We only have one trim level in the US, and it is fully loaded. The headunit we have is integrated with climate control and rear seat entertainment.

 

[greynolds]

Good feedback. I am not familiar with the Australian trim levels. We only have one trim level in the US, and it is fully loaded. The headunit we have is integrated with climate control and rear seat entertainment.

Our USA LC’s are what they call Sahara in Australia. Keep in mind that EC Off-road charges a pretty big premium - the same Tesla style unit can be bought from AlI Express for about $800 shipped. Also budget about $100 for Sergey’s custom firmware if you get an Android 9 unit (he doesn’t have support for newer Android versions yet) - it’s well worth it.

 

[kcjaz]

Our USA LC’s are what they call Sahara in Australia. Keep in mind that EC Off-road charges a pretty big premium - the same Tesla style unit can be bought from AlI Express for about $800 shipped. Also budget about $100 for Sergey’s custom firmware if you get an Android 9 unit (he doesn’t have support for newer Android versions yet) - it’s well worth it.

Be careful with EC Offroad if you’re in the US. I’m not saying they are all bad but it’s not all good either. The premium in cost is really hard to justify though they do seem to have some custom things and have worked out some bugs associated with a 200 LC.

There are both pre and post 2016 threads on this.

 

[greynolds]

Be careful with EC Offroad if you’re in the US. I’m not saying they are all bad but it’s not all good either. The premium in cost is really hard to justify though they do seem to have some custom things and have worked out some bugs associated with a 200 LC.

There are both pre and post 2016 threads on this.

Yeah, the EC Offroad guys are decent people, it's just really hard to justify paying the premium they charge as a buyer in the USA. Someone in Australia may get far more benefit out of the extra cost that may help justify paying the premium.

Something to keep in mind is that the Android 9 units seem to no longer be available at this point and have been replaced with new models with newer (faster) CPU's and Android 10/11. On the one hand, this is a good thing as faster CPU's should make the units more responsive and newer versions of Android should make them more compatible with recent apps. These also come with other benefits like newer versions of Bluetooth and WiFi types. The downside is that these are newer (duh...) and therefore don't have all the kinks worked out and don't have anywhere close to the same level of community support (no Sergey firmware yet and a much smaller user community to help out with problems), but I would expect these things to change over the next year or so and can easily see myself upgrading to a newer unit at that point.

Also, switching to one of these Tesla style units is not a good option for someone who isn't interested in tinkering with things to get everything working nicely or can't deal with needing to force the unit to reboot every once in a while to deal with gremlins. They typically don't come with good instructions for getting them hooked up. They're largely plug and play, but you still have to know which things have to be connected and it's kind of nice to know what connections from the factory harness won't be used so you don't have to worry about the equivalent of having some nuts and bolts leftover after putting your engine back together . There will inevitably be some trial and error for things like getting the factory cameras working, getting the audio level adjusted so you get sound (a somewhat obscure setting on mine came set to 0 by default, which meant no sound), getting the HVAC controls all working as expected, and so on. It's not like everything is a mess, just expect to run into a problem or 2 that will be a bit frustrating to work through.

 

[Nick1989]

Our USA LC’s are what they call Sahara in Australia. Keep in mind that EC Off-road charges a pretty big premium - the same Tesla style unit can be bought from AlI Express for about $800 shipped. Also budget about $100 for Sergey’s custom firmware if you get an Android 9 unit (he doesn’t have support for newer Android versions yet) - it’s well worth it.

Thanks for the info mate, I didn't actually know this. Can you elaborate a little further on "Sergey's custom firmware", or maybe link me to a forum where I can read up on it? I live in Australia and eventually will upgrade the OEM head unit to one of these units and was planning the android 9 unit from EC offroad. If i can get it much cheaper off Ali express and load a better custom firmware on it where someone has ironed out alot ot he kinks that would be ideal.

Thanks mate.

 

[kcjaz]

Thanks for the info mate, I didn't actually know this. Can you elaborate a little further on "Sergey's custom firmware", or maybe link me to a forum where I can read up on it? I live in Australia and eventually will upgrade the OEM head unit to one of these units and was planning the android 9 unit from EC offroad. If i can get it much cheaper off Ali express and load a better custom firmware on it where someone has ironed out alot ot he kinks that would be ideal.

Thanks mate.

Sergey Custom Firmware for PX6 Head Units

Sergey's Custom Firmware for PX6 Units ***Note - this firmware is not compatible with the new G-Series/MK6 screens*** Sergey creates custom firmware for these Android Tesla-style screens for our cars. The firmware resolves common issues, offers additional themes and customization options, and...

squarewheelsauto.com

There is also a FB group you can search for and join. Sergey is very active there.

I would love to upgrade to Sergey’s firmware but I’m currently afraid to because there seem to be things that EC Offroad has modified from the standard Chinese units. If I brick the unit or break things because some modified files don’t work with Sergey’s firmware, I’m screwed.

As an example, I was having trouble with Apple CarPlay and tried deleting/reinstalling the Zlink app only to find out that EC had done something custom and the current Zlink app I can get from App Store doesn’t work. EC has told me they need me to send them the unit to fix it. Not practical given my US location. It’s frustrating that they won’t send me files and walk me through reinstall.

All of these units appear to come from the same factory in China and are the packages by resellers like EC or Phoenix. Some here have gone direct to the factory. It’s not clear (at least to me) what the resellers modify. You will see on the FB group that many have used Sergey’s firmware with success. I have not yet found any example of this being done on an EC unit installed in a Land Cruiser.

 

[greynolds]

Sergey Custom Firmware for PX6 Head Units

Sergey's Custom Firmware for PX6 Units ***Note - this firmware is not compatible with the new G-Series/MK6 screens*** Sergey creates custom firmware for these Android Tesla-style screens for our cars. The firmware resolves common issues, offers additional themes and customization options, and...

squarewheelsauto.com

There is also a FB group you can search for and join. Sergey is very active there.

I would love to upgrade to Sergey’s firmware but I’m currently afraid to because there seem to be things that EC Offroad has modified from the standard Chinese units. If I brick the unit or break things because some modified files don’t work with Sergey’s firmware, I’m screwed.

As an example, I was having trouble with Apple CarPlay and tried deleting/reinstalling the Zlink app only to find out that EC had done something custom and the current Zlink app I can get from App Store doesn’t work. EC has told me they need me to send them the unit to fix it. Not practical given my US location. It’s frustrating that they won’t send me files and walk me through reinstall.

All of these units appear to come from the same factory in China and are the packages by resellers like EC or Phoenix. Some here have gone direct to the factory. It’s not clear (at least to me) what the resellers modify. You will see on the FB group that many have used Sergey’s firmware with success. I have not yet found any example of this being done on an EC unit installed in a Land Cruiser.

So the Zlink apk file I pointed you to didn't work? If so, that really stinks. Having to send the unit back to them is incredibly inconvenient both because of the distance and how disruptive it is to being able to use the LC in the meantime. You could obviously swap the factory head unit stuff back in, but that's not exactly a trivial effort. There should be absolutely no reason why they can't bundle up an update package of some sort and have you install it yourself. If you do need to send the unit back to EC to get it usable again, it might not be nuts to go all in and take the chance on installing Sergey's firmware as it could end up saving you from having to send the unit back to Australia. If it doesn't work, you're obviously out $100, but EC can just reflash it (or whatever they do) and get you back up and running once you send it to them. I can see how it's a tough decision though.

 

[kcjaz]

So the Zlink apk file I pointed you to didn't work? If so, that really stinks. Having to send the unit back to them is incredibly inconvenient both because of the distance and how disruptive it is to being able to use the LC in the meantime. You could obviously swap the factory head unit stuff back in, but that's not exactly a trivial effort. There should be absolutely no reason why they can't bundle up an update package of some sort and have you install it yourself. If you do need to send the unit back to EC to get it usable again, it might not be nuts to go all in and take the chance on installing Sergey's firmware as it could end up saving you from having to send the unit back to Australia. If it doesn't work, you're obviously out $100, but EC can just reflash it (or whatever they do) and get you back up and running once you send it to them. I can see how it's a tough decision though.

I haven’t tried the apk file. I afraid of more unintended consequences trying to get CarPlay going when I really don’t like CarPlay to begin with. For now, I’m focusing on my new gears, lockers and LRA. Mechanical things that I can understand that don’t require firmware or app files.