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Prius Headunit

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by nismo502, May 8, 2016.

  1. nismo502

    nismo502 New Member

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    I live in Singapore and have a 2016 RHD JDM Prius. It came without any headunit. I am looking for the right Head unit so that I still steering wheel controls working.

    Would anyone of you have replaced the headunit and still have everything working?
     
  2. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    Maybe take a look at Crutchfield

    Crutchfield: Car Stereo, Speakers, Home Theater, Pro Audio, 4k TV

    They have a tool which shows what stereos will fit in a particular car and which give you steering wheel control. I'm not sure if the same stereo models are available over there, but it might give you a start?
     
  3. nismo502

    nismo502 New Member

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    Thanks. I already sent them an email.

    As of now, they have no listing for 2016 Prius stuff.
     
  4. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    When I went to their website just now a bunch of items popped up for 2016 Prius Liftback. Maybe email is the best way to go, though. They also have a live chat popup.
     
  5. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    トヨタ プリウス | 室内・インテリア | カーナビ・オーディオ | トヨタ自動車WEBサイト lists the correct head unit options for a JDM Prius.

    Note that only the first one is actually Prius-specific, the others are just generic Toyota units shared with other models. Running Google Translate, it looks like the steering wheel switches might be supported on all of those.

    That said, I think you'll want something other than any of those, because I believe Japan uses a different FM broadcast band from the rest of the world.

    Also, quickly looking at things, it looks like Singapore uses similar FM broadcasting technology to Europe?
     
  6. nismo502

    nismo502 New Member

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    those stuff at crutch field are mostly generic stuff that requires cut and splice.

    yes, we are same fm tech as Europe. for example, our fm freq are 91.3, 93.3, 98.7, 95.0. 92.4
     
  7. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    My first thought would be to get a Toyota head unit for a European Prius. Then I realized (1) it might be outrageously expensive and (2) there might be unforeseen complications.

    My second thought: isn't your Toyota dealer in Singapore eager to sell you some sort of head unit that would work? Or auto stereo shops in Singapore?
     
  8. nismo502

    nismo502 New Member

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    dealership will cost a lot to do anything. 2016 prius are rare here, stereo shop will need to trial and error.
     
  9. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    OK, next thought: so why not just do everything through your smartphone? And get a holder to clip it to the dashboard (Koomus has good ones, their magnetic ones are especially convenient). That's what I do anyway. I do GPS navigation, stream music, etc through my iPhone and use the Entune system just to handle the audio into and out of my iPhone. You'd probably need a Bluetooth earpiece.
     
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  10. ETP

    ETP 2021 Prime(Limit),24 Venza Limit,B52-D,G,F,H

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    good option.
     
  11. nismo502

    nismo502 New Member

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    That would make everything too complex.

    Someone got to be into ICE and driving a 2016 Prius.......
     
  12. Ente

    Ente Junior Member

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    A smartphone can't do everything a headunit can. No CD, AM radio, Energy Monitor, or backup camera display. Plus, you don't get steering wheel controls.
     
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  13. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    And vice versa. Thanks to apps, a smartphone can do much MORE than the head unit can.

    For the things you mentioned:
    CD: I download the tracks I like off my CD's into iTunes anyway, and my iTunes files are synced to my iPhone. I don't need CD's in the car. Lately I just buy music on iTunes or Amazon.
    Radio: I stream music, I don't listen to AM or FM over the airwaves. I had to do this at home because my condo is in a dead spot reached by only one FM station. You can use one of the services like Spotify, Pandora, or Apple Radio. But I simply do a google search for radio stations playing the type of music I want to hear. For example, "classical music radio stations" (classical is not my thing, BTW, but can be soothing on a long trip). A bazillion links pop up from all over the world, most of which have an online streaming feed (some are online stations only, some broadcast and put their broadcast feed online as well). Far better than listening to local stations over the airwaves! I bluetooth that to my car stereo system. Now I think about it, you could get TV stations the same way if you want news? And just listen to the audio, not look at the video. I have an unlimited free data plan from Sprint for $50/month ($60 after all the fees/taxes); this might not be a good solution for those with limited free data.
    Energy monitor: I never even thought of using it in my radio, forgot that it was possible. I think most of the info is available on the dash displays? I doubt if the OP could get a non-Toyota head unit that would do this?
    Backup camera: Are standalone backup cameras with their own screen still available? Given that his Prius came with NO head unit, would it even have a backup camera installed?
    No steering wheel controls: The OP wanted this and some third party head units will do this. With the iPhone option, I find the only thing I use is the volume control knob, which is as easy to reach as the steering wheel control, which I never use. I use one of these to keep the iPhone handy so I can use its touchscreen rather than the radio's touchscreen:
    Pro CD-Slot - M | Magnetic Cradle-less Smartphone Car Mount

    My take on this is that Entune is designed to seize control of my iPhone and limit my options to operations that are "safe" to do while driving. Unfortunately rough edges arise in this process, plus it forces me to learn yet another way to perform the same task - for example, two versions of Siri apparently. I prefer to keep things simple and to exercise self-control to not do things on the iPhone that I should not be doing in the car.

    Getting back to the OP, this probably won't give him what he wants. And he would at least need some sort of head unit to power the speakers and handle bluetooth.
     
  14. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    If the OP has an iPhone, maybe the Pioneer SPH-DA120 (the AppRadio 4) would be the way to go?

    It has a backup camera input and a steering wheel control input, and there's a European model available, and supports CarPlay (Apple's official "put phone apps on the car display" tech).

    Problem is that it doesn't support Android Auto. (Just its own proprietary AppRadio mode for Android.)
     
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  15. nismo502

    nismo502 New Member

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    I feel that using smart phone instead of a head unit is cumbersome. some thoughts:
    - the car doesn't come with a head unit, but it does have reverse camera installed
    - I need radio, if I have to use Internet radio, data plan is expensive, doesn't work
    - if I use a smart phone, I got to either use my daily phone which means I got to plug in the phone everyone I get into the car or if I get another phone line, it is a waste of money
    - From previous point, I got to plug the smart phone in every time, even if I do not need to plug in, I got to take put the phone from my pocket and then play the music when I get into the car, it's cumbersome.
    - I think steering control is useful
    - energy monitor is good data for some people.
    - I like oem look

    I guess there is a reason why head unit exist after so many years and it doesn't look like it will be replaced anytime soon,