Love the truck... except the JBL system

Bought my 2018, 1794 crewmax Tundra in Chocolate Brown.
Love the tuck. Outshines all the other pickups I've owned over the past 45 years.
I owned all the domestics. They all have their strengths and quirks.

I went to buy a new F-150 (2022 model year). Must haves:
Four full sized doors. Extra fuel capacity, V-8 power. Top-of-the-line or close to it.

This was the season of the scamdemic and supply chain shortages.
There were no Fords of this flavor to be had.
But the salesman said "check out this Tundra that just came in"

All it took was a five minute test drive and I was signing the papers.

Everything about this truck was just right. The ride, the power, the interior, the transmission, the brakes.
It fit like a glove (I'm a big guy). The little woman was with me and agreed. "Nice truck"

Interesting side note: We had a cross country trip planned.
We had all intentions of taking the BWM. We had one last errand to run before setting out the next day, but we needed the truck to haul the goods.

My better half says: Why don't we just take the truck? It rides better, it holds more, and the BMW requires 93 octane. If we drive easy, the fuel cost will almost be the same.
We were going to need several coolers, chairs, beach umbrella and a beach wagon.
And we all know how the ladies pack for an extended trip, thats right, four suitcases, just for her.
Next thing you know, the entire bed of the truck was filled. (Tonneau cover option was a nice touch)

Awesome trip. No vehicle issues. When we hit the State parks. we appreciated we could run the muddy dirt roads and not worry about getting stuck.

The added bonus is rude drivers are much less likely to mess with a full-sized truck.

That's all the good.

My only disappointment is the JBL "Premium": sound system, in short:

Door speakers are low and muddy. Left channel weak. No Sound from subwoofer. Touch screen unresponsive. USB port not working.

Been to the Toyota dealer three times, each time they fix a little piece of the problem. 18 months later, the sound is still muted, Front door speakers are still muddy and the sub woofer doesn't woof at all.

I've contacted Toyota Brand Engagement Center. They have been very helpful, but the issues remain.

This is an unfortunate blemish in an otherwise outstanding truck.

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Welcome from San Diego... Good choice gettin' the Tundra.

The "system" as a whole on these are just meh, but the OEM head units are garbage. Toyota nailed most everything but really dropped the ball on the stereos.

I swapped mine out for a big ol' Kenwood and just changing that out was a marked improvement in sound quality even with the stock speakers. Not the booming system like I had in my last Tundra, but good enough that I don't feel the need to spend thousands more dollars on sound... yet.

Plus it got me Android Auto and Carplay, WAY better nav (using phone's nav instead of Toyota) better voice control/commands, gauge packs, I added a front camera, and wireless screen mirroring.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)!

 

That JBL was never that good from the factory. Big improvement in the new gen.

 

But can I swap it out?

 

Why not? You just need to decide what you need for sound quality.

I'm with you my JBL system doesn't sound that great, but I don't really listen to the radio that much, so I don't need to swap mine out.

 

Sure, why not?

Just need to decide what features you want, fitment, (OEM look vs. big floating screen) and budget. FYI, you usually have to pick 2 of those 3, and budget is typically the one that goes out the window.



Quincy says Go Big!

 

I just installed the Alpine ILX-F511 (halo)in my 2020 Tundra Platinum and it's awesome. The head-unit has enough power to drive 6 alpine speakers and the factory sub (i'm going to replace that next). I didn't need to add any amps and it's a huge improvement over the stock JBL system. The apple car play was really sketchy with my iPhone 15 but the Alpine always connects and the handsfree sound quality is first rate. I suggest looking at https://trailgridpro.com/, its where I purchased my DIY combo.