CARabc carplay

Has anyone tried the CARabc carplay auto adapter? I'm really hesitant on getting it. Not sure if it really works or not. I figure I'll ask here first thanks for any help

 

I don't have it but I was tempted after watching this....

 

Following

 

This is interesting

 

Interesting, so it uses the stock system and screen?

After some further research, it would seem this has actually been around a little while but for 3 times the price from more reputable places like beatsonic and grom. What this is, is a Chinese knockoff off that technology for a third of the price offered strictly through Amazon or AliExress from a seller based in China. Now I'm not saying it doesn't work or that the other more expensive ones are not also made in china but when it comes to connecting things into my cars electric system I would be a little concerned about this and I honestly almost ordered one until I did more research.

 

That would be cool. Needs Entune 2.0 though. Pretty sure my 2014 SR5 non-jbl has 1.0.

 

I have a similar unit in my ‘09 Audi. I was shocked to learn it existed, but this was a couple years ago. I paid around $250 on AliExpress. It works great. I’m about to grab this CarAbc unit for both my Tundra and Highlander.

 

Considering this too. I wonder if it retains the stock USB ports.

 

It will still work for charging and for connecting to Entune, but not for connecting to CarPlay/AndroidAuto. It provides its own USB port for that.

 

My assumption on this is that the seller doesn't know what they're talking about. I suspect that if your model/year vehicle is in the list they provide, then it will work.

 

I asked a question and a 'buyer' responded that my radio would work as it was the same as his-86140-0C040.

 

I am definitely going to require about 4 to 6 beers to make this decision. I want a functional carplay unit in my truck and I do not want to do the procedure twice -

Stereo removal is pretty easy in our rigs, my question is, does the XM control unit that the youtube video talks about have to be remove? Looking at the directions it appears there are a total of 3 plugs that get connected and that's about it, I did not see anything referencing the removal of the XM radio tuner.

Thoughts??

 

I forget exactly where (probably Amazon reviews or Q&A, but there are a few separate listings), but I did see an indication that the carplay unit goes where the xm unit is, but I also saw something that said the xm unit would also still fit. But yeah, it's just 3 T-harnesses to place in-line with 3 existing connections right on the back of the head unit, plus optional connection of a forward facing camera.

That last part sounds like a major bonus to me, which I'm really looking forward to since the front of the truck only has parking sensor at the corners.

 

Just bought it on Amazon. Will keep y'all updated.

 

It may just be my truck ('19 platinum) and no one else is having this issue, but my only complaint is that it doesn't automatically connect when you start the truck.

 

Hmm. That is annoying. Have you reached out to their support to see if that's the design or it's a bug?

 

I suppose I will have to now..

 

yeah, that's a bummer. The aftermarket carplay unit I have in my Audi does reconnect (most of the time, not 100%). I don't use Spotify, but if I'm playing music of the phone (via Music app) it does pick up where it left off, so I wonder if it's just Spotify that's acting that way for you.

One thing is it does take a moment to connect. For the Audi install, it actually gets power (via a T harness) from a circuit that is powered when you open the door rather than starting the car, so it has some extra seconds to power up and connect.

 

I'm strapped for time. Otherwise I'd have this in (I haven't even ordered yet). Looking forward to @Lowcoco 's results

 

I installed the unit last weekend and it works. In a world of 4K UHD displays this unit does not fall into that category, it is OK but certainly HD by any measurement. You can adjust the video display settings and you can improve what you're seeing but like I said it is not HD quality. I believe the $600 units are in the same boat and if that's the case then this unit is the winner.

The install was easy and there is a ton of space in the radio compartment to place the unit, I did not have to remove the XM unit and the XM unit worked with this unit plugged in.

As stated previously in this thread, the unit and head unit need to be reactivated once you shut the car off, I play this dick-dance of disconnecting the Tundra bluetooth and then turning on the unit's bluetooth and then it connects, or you will have to scroll through the modes (with your mode switch) and then you will not get any sound but then you will have the carplay on your screen. I am not sure what the proper procedure is for getting this thing to work just like all of the other ancillary devices but I will figure it out. It may be a bug or it may be me -

All in all for $200 it was worth the money (for now) and we'll see how long this unit will run before it fails.

 

I didn't think about the truck and the carplay unit battling for bluetooth. In my Audi, it didn't have bluetooth, so this unit was just an upgrade in that regard. Rear cam too; didn't have that before the carplay unit.

Mediocre video makes sense; only as good as the oem screen. It was an upgrade here for the Audi as well. That screen never would have seen anything but grey and red otherwise. The carplay unit even turned it into a touchscreen, with a film overlay.

But yeah, that sounds like an interesting problem. What if you just handle the bluetooth connection swap directly on your phone? Just wonder if that makes it any easier.

I'd probably be inclined to just forget the stock bluetooth connection. The carplay unit ought to handle everything better, assuming it's stable.

 

Can you use a lightning cable for a wired Carplay option with these? Would that solve any of the issues?

 

Yes, that should work fine via the carplay unit's USB port

 

I wonder if going wired would solve the issue with it leaving off where you left it when the car is turned off and back on.

 

Had the same issue, having to go in and out of AUX to get it work and then I started having interment backup cam issues, so I returned it! And the CarPlay looked terrible on the oem screen!

 

So to summarize the cons for me and other considering this-1) display doesn't look great with Carplay. 2) You must 'connect' to the units bluetooth manually each and every time you power the truck on. 3) Once connected it does not restart from your last position of a song on music app or streaming apps-Spotift, etc.

Am I missing anything?

 

Another con would be supporting China lol

 

I just installed this in a 2019 Highlander Limited (Entune 2.0). I'd say it gets the job done and I plan on keeping it. I just really like Carplay and would rather use it than anything on the Entune... so keep that in mind with this review. If you'll be annoyed by little bugs, don't get it. But compared to installing an Android HU or something like that that would probably crap out in a year or two, I think this is a solid option at $200.

Yes - it's a little buggy and doesn't really feel OEM because of that. 1) I can't really get the wireless Carplay to work. TBD on whether the seller can help me out with some troubleshooting. My assumption will be no, this thing is going to be wired-only. 2) There's no installation instructions. It's not hard to install bc it's plug and play... just match up the plugs with one another. Can't mess it up. 3) They tell you to use the voice button on your steering wheel to activate/deactivate Carplay. That process blows. Don't do that. They also tell you that just by clicking on the Aux button it will start up Carplay. Also not true half the time. Seems like order of operations is important for that solution, and I'm too lazy to figure out exactly what order I need to do everything (e.g. plugging in the phone then clicking to another input then clicking back to aux vs. plugging in phone and input is already somewhere else and clicking straight over to aux). So basically don't do that either. The one solution that seems pretty foolproof to me and has worked every time is just clicking the POWER (volume) button to turn Carplay off and on (with phone plugged in). That's not even a solution offered in the Chinese instructions, but that seems to be the most consistent/least buggy way to turn Carplay on and off. And frankly if they had just presented that as the only way to access Carplay, I'd probably be raving about their product right now instead of calling it buggy.

I did not remove any XM stuff. Just shoved the box back behind the radio and squeezed everything back in. Didn't seem to be much of a problem.

Yes - the screen resolution is crappy. It's not unusable crappy, but don't expect HD or anything. And it actually kind of seems worse than the standard Entune resolution. Everywhere that I looked prior to purchase seemed to generally agree that the screen resolution was an Entune issue... but to me it seems like Carplay is worse resolution than the already shitty resolution on the Entune. But it's nowhere near unusable - maps are easily readable, all the apps are usable, backup camera doesn't change a bit... it's fine.

Overall would recommend if you like Carplay and don't want to replace the head unit. If you could take or leave Carplay, don't buy it and just keep doing what you're doing. If you want Carplay and a HU that looks like it really fits, you need to go Android HU - but those are going to crap out in a few years, almost guaranteed. Fortunately they're super cheap. If you want Carplay and a nice HU, that's fine but it's going to look very aftermarket and stick out, or it's going to actually decrease your screen size (why would you want that?) Again... overall this seems like the right solution for carplay. As for Naviks, BeatSonic, etc... they're just higher priced but exactly the same little box. They're all made in China. Just order the cheaper one, and if you're really worried about it throw a 3 year Asurion plan on it when you check out on Amazon.

 

Thank you. This is what I was looking for. I only care about carplay so I may give this a go. I have 30 days to return it, if it's not for me.

 

I ended disconnecting my phone bluetooth with factory radio and only connecting to my carplay bluetooth. Issue now is the backup camera.

when i put it in reverse the backup camera shuts off after 5 seconds. Sometimes it completely disables the carplay unit and throws me back to the entune display.