2018 JBL Premium Sound Upgrade

@Colin71

"I have a 18 crewmax and was horrified by the sound. If you are playing music through your iphone, take the following steps and you WILL be blown away:

Settings
Music

Scroll to the bottom to the section called Playback and move Sound Check to off...that alone will make a world of difference-easily doubled my volume. Then, go to EQ and either turn it off or to bass booster...you WILL hear the bass then..."

Colin,
I believe this will only work if using iTunes to play music and not an overall setting for all music sources played from an iPhone. Just FYI.

 

@71_340

well, you have me very interested in the OEM Audio Plus system so i sent a message to them to see if it will work in a 2013...

I have to say you did get us all worked up to see your final results and you just skipped it and said, okay it's in now and it works great....what the heck...?! Just saying...

 

First, I don't own the truck anymore. Anyway, I assume you have the infamous JBL stereo as well so here is my assessment of the OEM Audio + u[grade compared to what my truck came with and what you currently have.

1. Overall volume: If I remember correctly it will go up to "60", I guess you can say that "40" is equivalent to the stock "60" and from that point forward you have more volume and zero distortion.

2. You have much clearer highs and no more muddy/washed out sound coming from the stock door speakers (the big ones), all 4 tweeters are replaced with OEM Audio components.

3. The sub woofer they supply has its own dedicated amplifier and the difference is like night and day (to me anyways), nice clean and dry bass.

With that said, the system did everything I wanted it to do and it was super easy to install without any adjustments to be made or trying to correctly tune a signal processor. You also don't get any hissing noises or a thump when first turning on the system (not always the case with other aftermarket stuff). Yes, it is expensive and you can get something cheaper if you piecemeal other components together. I don't have the knowledge to do that correctly and I didn't want a bunch of problems so I went the OEM Audio route and would do it again.

I hope that helps you make an informed decision.

Hans

 

Forgot, you can go to the dealer or contact Toyota directly about it and you will be told that it is all working, I swear I couldn't hear or feel my sub.

 

Man. I just picked up my 2018 Limited and I can’t seem to hear my base that’s behind the back seat either. What’s up with that

 

I contacted toyota and they recommended taking to dealer to be checked out. I took it in and dealer said “sub is working as it should” and corrected nothing. I contacted toyota with this info and they said “we will add it to the list of complaints to correct in the future”. Come on! These trucks cost a ton and we paid for an upgraded sound system! Correcting future issues doesn’t help us! The loaner base camery sounded better without the JBL sound than my truck! My wife’s 2016 4Runner with JBL sounds great! Toyota really pissed me off!

 

I've got my first 5,000 mile service coming up in a few months. I'm going to have the Subwoofer checked out.

A few days ago, I set the balance all the way to the back and listened for bass response. I heard almost none. Apparently the front, center speaker is the main source of bass when all settings are set to normal or medium.

I asked my service advisor if they had many complaints about the Subwoofer in JBL premium systems and she said "We've had some. The speaker was replaced in one of the cases".

I'll post back with what they say when I go in for service.

 

Please let me know what they say.

I did the same and the dealer said "everything is working as it should". The customer support member at the dealership I purchased the truck from put me in touch with a service manager that also drives a Tundra. He said he drives an older Tundra with upgraded sound and it sounds a lot better than the 2018 JBL upgraded Tundra. He said my truck passes all tests of the sound system and it is just a bad design on Toyota's part. He said my wife's 4runner sounds better because the sub has more room to breath. I contacted and complained to Toyota several times and their response is "thanks for letting us know, opinions like yours help us to correct issues with future Tundras". What about my truck? It is an obvious issue. I want a refund or for it to be corrected!

 

So do you think it is a HU problem, all the crap that supports the HU, or the whole system?
Just not sure if a yank and pull strategy for all is needed or HU vs supporting parts.
Interested to see what all think.
18 Tundra 1794 package

 

just gut the sucker and call it a day. Toyota isn't going to do anything, so dont get your hopes up.

 

Night and day difference with the Phoenix HU for sound improvement , not sure what the others sound like but for what i paid for it i would do it agian.

 

I upgraded my 17' Limited with a ********* (*********.com) system. I was able to keep the head unit. Toyota managed not to screw that up. I was able to add a couple of amps and a much better Sub. I was looking for a sound processor that allowed me to keep the HU, and add an amp / sub combo. ********* seemed to be the right fit. I ended up replacing all of the door speakers, adsing two amps, and a Sub. The sound is incredible. I didn't even attempt to sell the JBL crap. It went in the trash can the following week.

 

How did the Phoenix HU handle your mic for phone calls? Is the quality good? Does it have its own mic or does the truck's mic tie into the HU?

 

I belive it has it's own mic and it works very well with the HU, no complaints, my relative's have been complaining about my Samsung S8 on speaker, might be my otter case. As for making calls i use google voice and just say the name on the phone then the head unit does the rest. My Phoenix is the first gen, would love to get the 2nd gen but I'm on probation after the supercharger.

 

I had the same problem, they told me everything was working. I made them bring a new one over from the lot. CLEAR difference. The new one's sub was pounding and the only bass I could hear was my doors. The service manager even then said to the tech, "call toyota." Toyota replaced my amp under warranty (playing the guessing game). This was 2 weeks ago. New amp sounded great for about a week, have an appointment to take it back because the sub isn't working again. I think it's a head unit problem. The only other thing I think it might be is the voice coil in the sub has a crossed wire and creating a short. Once in awhile my sub will work for a few days and then back to nothing. It could be the vibrations causing the voice-coil wire to cross and short (meaning faulty sub).

Do not let Toyota get away with not fixing it. Raise hell until they do. Tell them to go listen to one of the new trucks with the JBL system. Make them realize the difference. It's what I did when they came out and told me everything was "working as it should."

 

I know this is a fairly old thread, but I was wondering. When you had the OEM plus setup, not replacing neither the front nor back speakers, nor adding another amp for the front or back speakers, did adding just the amp,sub and tweeters really make the sound quality that much better? I'm sure you got more bass, just curious as to the rest of the sounds... I'm still on the fence with this one.

 

Like all of you i am disappointed with the 'Premium JBL' system and am looking for the infamous easy fix. My biggest complaint is lack of tunability. Shocked i am unable to separate the bass from my doors and the subwoofer. Too bad nobody sells an add on bass knob for the JBL. Then potentially we could adjust the bass down on the HU which ultimately would decrease the bass to door speakers but then we could adjust sub UP independently. That would be simple fix... maybe. I am not trying shake my neighbors windows (like when i was a kid) but i am disappointed that i already have rattles in my doors which i know is from the insane amount of bass the door speakers are trying to push.

 

@tinyt1553, did you get everything worked out with Toyota? I know that this is an older thread now but I am having the same issue with my 2019 Platinum that has minimal (if any) sound coming from the sub, and am thinking of taking it back into the dealer. I too will have them do a comparison between mine and a new one on the lot. I, too, think it's an issue with my headunit, as a couple days into having the truck, the headunit wouldn't output audio at all (except for the beep when you touch the screen), but when I took it in to have them look at it, it was working fine, so they refused to do anything about it. This went on for weeks until it is now working every day.

 

@drapex did they end up doing anything for you?

 

I'm curious also. Mine is the same as described. We compared it to a brand new 19 on the lot and they were similar. looking at the window sticker, apparently it's no longer called a sub, it's now called a floor speaker. In my case, it was acknowledged it was very weak, but normal. Sucks

 

Nope I got the "works as intended". Frankly I wanted to rip out the whole system because it's just not really up to what I want.

The whole deal would have cost about $2,500. fortunately I ran across a speaker enclosure and speaker for $200. And it's made it an entire world of difference in the truck. Now I'm completely happy with it. Definitely the best 200 bucks I've spent with the truck.

I wrote about it here. https://www.tundras.com/threads/sic...jbl-premium-fix-it-for-200.36616/#post-926085

 

Hi all, new here, I just picked my 2017 up and have the same issue. I have a 16 limited that sounds much much better. runners too loud to me at 30, this tundra is like 48 vol. if you move the fader to the rear, almost all the sound dissapears. It's like the front half of the system is being amplified and the rear half isn't. Im dissapointed to learn off everyone's response from toyota dealers, and knowing my local i have no doubt i will hear the same. I am wondering, has anyone only replaced their sub with a better one? no new amps or anything, just plug and play replacement ? thanks in advance

 

Yes the factory JBL branded system is horrible. Like @phogallen saud above you can contact james at tech 12volts, @james@tech12volts, he can make you just a replacement sub and box that utilizes the factory amp, replacing the factory plastic box and paper sub. Or you can replace all the speakers, add and dual sub setup, and an amp and processor. Since you have JBL, you will need a sound processor. I bought 95% of my system from James, i got a great deal on my JLHD sub amp from a local member. Recommend emailing james with what you have as far as truck info and telling him what you want for the new system and budget.

 

Thanks all!

 

How does this system compare to the recent group buy complete package?

• JBL Stadium 5
• 2 - Infinity reference 3022 cfx 3.5 - Dash
  
• 2 JL Audio C1 tweeters - Center
  
• 4 Hertz K170's for Doors + Sail Tweeters
• 10" JBL Club WS1000 w/ Custom Box
• DSR1 Processor

 

I am in the middle of 2 10s behind the seat in a box (yes it fits, with 3/4in to spare, the woofer doesn't hit the back of the seat)

My stereo.guy is legit. He says that with the 11 high/mid speakers in the vehicle, you need 2 things...

1. A clean powered (mosfet will work) multi channel amp that will power the high mid ranges . I chose a us acoustic Barbara ann 4 channel which has a mild rating of 700w @ 2ohm

2 a dedicated mono amp for bass.i am currently looking at the 500-700 watt mono range

You may be able to find a 5 or 6 channel amp to run everything, but again, make sure it is clean power.

The biggest woofers I have seen in a box that has a mounting depth of a max of 4.5in is on Ebay. It is tundra specific. The woofers I am using are Rockford Fosgates, r1 series. The other 10s I looked at were all shallow mount, which i personally didn't want to go with. They also have a 2 12" box, but you'll have to go with shallow mount.

 

I have a 2018 Platinum 4wd with the "Premium JBL System" and as stated many times, it's a POS!!! Sounded this way then day I purchased it. Took it back to the dealer three times and got the same BS "We could not find anything wrong with it"!! The fact is Toyota charged us for a "Premium System" but we did not receive a "Premium System".

 

Yup. Same here. The "Premium System" is my biggest annoyance with my 2018 Platinum. Here's how I fixed it for $200: https://www.tundras.com/posts/926085

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll give it a try.

 

Hey Gang,

I’m on my third Tundra. This one a Crewmax Platinum with the crappy JBL Premium system. I agree if they didn’t call it Premium it might not be so disappointing. My last Tundra was a 2007 Limited Doublecab and the JBL system was awesome until the day I sold it in 2017. It pumped.

I recently asked my local electronics store if there was anything we could do to help the 2018 system. They recommended a JL Audio XD600/6 six channel amp installed to the tune of $1400 Canadian.

A pretty big chunk of change but I might entertain it if it’s the magic fix we’re looking for. The sales guy said it’s a plug and play unit that would send power to 6 speakers. I believe my truck has twelve. I don’t know much about this stuff.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this little amp that would go under the passenger seat?

Your input is much appreciated!

Current