Has anyone upgraded their 3rd GEN 8" to say a Alpine, Sony or kenwood ?

I was going to upgrade my speakers in the door and dash, add dynamat to all doors but didn't want to keep the same low power head unit.

 

I wish I had gone with the 8" display so upgrading to a good aftermarket GPS head unit would have been possible. I had a Pioneer in my Tacoma and for my usage that worked better than Toyota's infotainment system and had the benefit of onboard maps for those no service areas. And it even muted itself when reading text messages, something that my Tundra just can't figure out how to do. But mine came with the premium audio package and 14" so I am pretty much stuck. I envy you.

 

Yeh I like the simplicty sometimes of the non premium JBL or even just the 14" screens. Make it easy to not worry about certain things. I like the Sony XAV-AX6000. Tons of great info can be displayed and has a great 5v preout. I used to be huge into car audio with always either running eclipse or Alpine head units and all JL Audio speakers, amps and subs. Decided at almost 45 years old I want just a little better than factory. I still might do the LC7i, with a nice amp and door/dash speakers for now without a sub until maybe JL releases a stealth box for the 3rd gen.

 

IMO, the OEM system is not complex, it just doesn't work very well and is not user friendly. Doesn't mute for text messages... takes about 4 or 5 distractive touch screen presses and/or swipes to go between onboard SXM audio and CarPlay Nav. Whenever you start SXM you are not on the screen that lists the channel that is currently playing nor does it show your presets, you have to press the button that appears on the bottom with the current channel to bring that screen up. Every time. Just makes no sense. Then, of course, no onboard maps... I mean with memory being so dirt cheap these days how hard and expensive would it have been to have a set of onboard maps saved there? You get one of those good aftermarket units and all these issues just vanish and you don't lose any function.

 

Is it even possible to gut the OEM system since it’s tied into so many vehicle functions? My 2016 Tacoma G3 is the same. Has all the vehicle settings in a menu as well as all the other vehicle status displays. Tundra has even more with all the account and security settings that could brick the truck.

 

I have no clue on this gen tundra but on the 3rd gen taco there is no issues at all. My 2019 and 2021 Tacoma's both had the sony ax6000 with kicker speakers but no amps or subs. Obviously the 3rd gen taco doesn't have all the stupid pin number and things to deal with but still had all my vehicle customize settings in the sony like the oem factory did.

 

So how do you get to the vehicle setup menu on the Sony? (lights, door locks, alarm, etc) It just shows up just like on OEM Panasonic?

 

yep its called something.. hang tight.

 

Masatro comaptible is what you are looking for

 

This is how I got it from Trailgrid pro.
Toyota Tacoma Sony XAV-AX6000 Plug & Play Kit Installation | 2016 - 2023 Toyota Tacoma - YouTube

 

Awesome. Had no idea the 3rd party systems were set up for this. Guess they’d have to If they want to be able to sell aftermarket systems. Thanks so much!!

 

So I could have added Apple CarPlay to my 2016 Taco which wasn’t available then. Wish I had looked into this yrs ago. Love how clean that unit fits right in there. Sadly the Taco is about ready to sell. Have loved that truck !!!

 

yes and wireless at that

 

from what i can tell 2022+ tundra is not on the listed vehicles currently

https://www.idatalinkmaestro.com/en/

 

Sure you can. I had CarPlay in my 2009 Tacoma since about 2016 with Pioneer.

""So I could have added Apple CarPlay to my 2016 Taco which wasn’t available then. Wish I had looked into this yrs ago. Love how clean that unit fits right in there. Sadly the Taco is about ready to sell. Have loved that truck !!!""

 

My buddy has a 2016 and I thought he said that if you messed with the OE nav system some of the functions on the gauge cluster screen would stop working.

 

I didnt think it was so it seems to be able to rock a decent system it is going to be replacing the speakers, going with a lc7i, adding an amp and being done or adding a sub if wanted. The headunit will see to have to wait at this time, for the tundras that is. The 3rd gen taco is fair reign.

 

i imagine its just a matter of time before they add it and you can flash your unit to upgrade it. once the 2024 tacoma comes out it probably wont be able to be used until they research the controls and add it to the firmware pool. dont think there is much change in the 3rd gen tacoma over the years once they break the coding.

 

I used the wireless car play so had no effect on anything of mine.

yep the 2024 ( Gen 4 ) taco will be based just like the tundra so will need to be addressed. 2016-2023 Taco's are super easy