Hello Mud Community,
Over the last 9 months there has been some great headway made on the ZhiFang 12.1" Tesla style touchscreen radio with integrated climate controls. There are a few dedicated threads to specific installs and I figured it was about time to create a general discussion forum as lots of good install info if getting buried in these threads.
For those of you who have not seen this yet it seems to have started here:
Tesla style head unit - has anyone seen this?
Specific installation experiences have been documented here:
Successfully installed a Tesla Style headunit into a 2005 LX470
"Tesla Style" found for older LX470/LC100
2003 LC Tesla Screen Install Write-Up
Here is what they look like: (
mistered123 I hope you're ok with me snagging your pics for reference)
BEFORE
AFTER
The quad core units were the first batch to come out late last year. Part #s are
ZF-1301S. These used Android 7.1 and (once the wiring issues were worked out) they worked pretty well. Overall the hardware and OS where described as a little clunky, but a definite improvement over the original touch screen radios and cassette decks.
The six core units (PX6) are the latest batch out as a release of this post and are pretty good. Part # for the LC version is ZF-1301X. These are not showing up on the ZhiFang website yet, but they have ZhiFang's name on them. They look to have the same cables as the original quad core units but have worked through most of the wiring issues. Interfaces are crisp and fast with the only general complaint is the amount of time it takes to start up once you turn your key on. This is typically around 20 seconds. AC controls work great and utilize existing Toyota circuit boards as part of your original radio.
I'd like to send out BIG thanks to
mistered123, LX470MK, Swainbuilt, Wetwillie, revoked, loeky, Ell Ex & all the others that have contributed so far with testing and Q&A.
These units are sold by a variety of online resellers, but they seem to be made by one manufacturer in China. They don't come with assembly or operations instructions...AND the technical support is lacking. Some have been buying from a US based radio shop, but it sounds like they were just buying these radios in bulk from China. Here is where you can find the PX6 chip set radios online for purchase:
The only thing I can tell different between the LX and LC versions is the additional side trim for the air vents as the LX trim tends to be in three pieces (one running the full width of the cassette deck) and the LC already has the appropriate vents.
Ell Ex has done a successful full install of the PX6 (6 core) units with Android in a 2006 LX470 with ML amp and custom apps. I'm in the middle of a full amp and speaker replacement with a 2004 LX470 and the PX6 unit. A few others have been working on 2003 and older installs. I've heard of a few people wanting to try these with non-nav (dedicated AC control version) 100 series trucks, but have not seen one yet.
The 2004 and newer seem to be plug and play for cables (once you figure out where they all go). There seem to still be a few extra plugs left over (3 in my case) that may have been part of the factory test.
The 2003 and older units are needing either another harness from the manufacturer or a few wire splices to work. There was a request for the "Top Model" wire harness for these truck to avoid splicing, but I cannot confirm its the final solution.
No confirmations I can find yet for getting the factory backup camera working. I'm looking at installing a new HD camera now to replace the 16 year old factory one. One in the back and one up front hopefully.
I am hoping to write up a first draft of an installation guide for my experiences on a full amp replacement and am willing to share with others to alter for 2003 and older versions as well as ML integrations/tips/tricks.
My hope is that this can be a source for good general information on the radio installs, applications, mods and troubleshooting and the model specific threads can serve those specific needs without getting cluttered with off topic discussions.
Hope you all find this helpful. I'll try to get my install guide uploaded soon.
PLEASE ADD YOUR EXPERIENCES AND COMMENTS.
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11/05/19 Update: Version 0.0 of the Install Guide Uploaded. Please review and private message me if you have suggestions for improvements or additions. Would really like to add sections for 2003 and older installs and any other variations seen. Also, any suggestions for App are appreciated.
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