Mail Call/Phone Mount Install

TL;DR
Got this pretty cool phone mount in the mail today. 5 min installed turned into 7 min due to lack of instructions


I recently decided I wanted to upgrade from my previous high speed phone mount (cup holder). After seeing some other threads on here about phone mounts I was most interested in the Hondo Garage setup. The first obvious downside is that it cost $139 (for the mount and phone holder) and I just couldn't justify it. I know some people just get the mount (without phone holder) for $39 and then figure out their own phone holder but I didn't feel like dealing with that. Anyways I read a comment in one of those threads for a company called Course Motorsports that sells an interesting mount for $45. Still pretty spendy but much cheaper than the Hondo mount, especially since you don't need to buy anything else. I guess I should note that I didn't want to get a mount that uses 3M tape because I didn't want to deal with the mess of trying to take it off later or the heat here in Utah doing its work on the adhesive. I also didn't want to get one that blocked the AC vent.

So I did my research and tried to find out more information about this Course Motorsports company to no avail. I couldn't really find any reviews or anything online but I decided to give it a shot anyway because the mount looked pretty cool.

Quality seems pretty good, it might be slightly overpriced but it seems like everything for the Tacoma is. It came with a piece of paper that said the install instructions are on their website. There was install instructions for other vehicles but not for a 3rd gen Tacoma. It was simple enough to figure out on my own though, I'll post an install guide below if anyone is interested. I would recommend this mount for anyone that would like a decent phone mount for an okay price and one that doesn't block your AC vents. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't really care to give this company a free advertisement but I'm only posting this because I'm sure someone out there will find this useful.
https://coursemotorsports.com/collections/toyota/products/toyota-direct-fit-magnetic-phone-mount

Mount, magnet, 2 metal plates (1 circle, 1 rectangle)

Pull your stereo cover off by hand, comes off pretty easy. I started on the passenger side and worked my way toward the driver side.

Remove this stereo mount screw (top left) and loosen the other three screws so that you can pull your stereo out about a half inch

Maneuver the mount behind the top left screw and reinstall said screw, and tighten all the screws back up.

Put the panel back on and you're good to go!

Learned lessons:
Don't try to put the phone bracket on top of the stereo mount because it won't seat properly and your cover plate won't go back on all the way.

I have a Magpul phone case that has ridges on the back so my phone sits kind of wonky, so I'm worried about how long it'll take for vibrations to make my phone fall. I took a quick drive around my neighborhood and hit some dips at a decent speed and the phone didn't budge.

EDIT: Yeah so this short trip mentioned above was misleading. My phone slipped, shook, and fell constantly. I stopped using this phone mount for a while and even when I got a new phone with a magnetic case it still had the same problems.

EDIT: They’ve since uploaded instructions to their website (so they’ve said, I haven't checked).

EDIT: So I got this new phone mount attachment that I’ll post here and it works MUCH better. My phone barely shakes anymore and it definitely doesn’t fall off either. If CSM is paying attention, they should sell them this way or make it an option. But I'm going to start using this phone mount daily now like I hoped.

$10 APPS2Car Adjustable Car Vent Phone Mount, with Expandable Spring-Loaded Grip, Universal Strong Hold Air Vent Cell Phone Holder for Car with Super Sturdy Grips, Fit with iPhone and Other Android Phones

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NPK3V6R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_VD256GS3082XBPCD069H

 

I use a ram mount with suction cup attachment to the windshield and have had no problems. I also like how with ram mounta you can get different parts to make it hold pretty much whatever you want as well as get longer arms for it to extend the reach.
But I really do like how clean the mount you posted looks.
I will definitely be looking into that and maybe put the ram mount in my wifes car.

 

Thanks for the detailed post OP!

 

Thank you for the review! We have worked hard to make a direct fit Tacoma Mount. What is your review now since you have had it in the car for a while?

 

only if they made just the bracket that would be awesome. I have the hondo mount and not a huge fan of it. my hands always get in the way when I am steering and I do not want to drill holes.

 

Do you happen to have the 3TPAM? If so I just got this ram mount last night and absolutely love it.

 

I also recently installed this mount. I chose it because it was the cleanest mount I've seen to date. The RAM mounts are cool, but they're expensive and seem to be overkill for just a phone.

Pros: Clean. No adhesive and easily installed/removed.

Cons: Because the metal bracket extends from its mounting point, it does flex under the weight of the phone when the road gets rough which allows the phone to shake a bit. To fix this, I just angle my phone so the bottom rests against the dash. Not a deal breaker, but for a $50 mount I expected better stability. I previously had a MOB Armor mount (which broke) that was more solid than this.

 

Are you speaking about our Course Mount? If so, how much does it shake/move?

 

Yessir.

Not a ton, but enough to make you not want to look at the screen on a rough section of road. Hard to video with my phone on the mount and while driving, but these videos should give a pretty good idea of the flex in the bracket.

With bezel on:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0X6J_DY9wp4hGWF7JiOxe94gw

With bezel off to show mounting location:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0jTrT6EVvMa8K8RFAvW0Hgq-g#Little_Rock_-_Midtown

 

Thanks for making us aware of this. We are working on a clip mount for off road or rough road use that should be available soon.

 

You should add gusset bends and/or stiffening ribs. That would greatly increase rigidity.

 

Great thought! I will send this over to our team!

 

Just saw this thread. I like your mount because it’s the cleanest install I’ve seen. No adhesive or drilling holes. Any progress with a sturdier bracket?

 

We have had quite a few customers use these off-road with no issues. At this time we feel there is no huge need to design another one at this time. Give it a try and let us know what you think!!

 

following for the clip mount

 

We might be making a clip mount in the future, but as of now thing is in design by spring.

 

I bought the Course Motorsport mount and found that my phone couldn't be adjusted to the left or up and down enough to stop a glare coming from the back window. I contacted Course Motorsports and they said they would pass this on to the team but for now there is no other option. So I took a 10-32 RH Female thread adapter M5x1 and placed it in between the mount and the ball. Now the mount sticks far enough away from the bezel and I can adjust the phone left, right, up and down and no more glare. I also replaced the magnetic mount with an auto opening/closing holder that has wireless charging. The only other issue with this mount and so many others is that the phone covers the radio controls. With the extension I put in the phone stands out just a bit more so it is easier to reach the audio buttons. I like the clean design, but had to mod it just a bit to work the way I needed it to.

 

I was going to ask the exact question that was answered/solved by Two Yutes above: how much can you tilt the phone left to right and up/down. Thanks for providing a solution.

@CourseMotorsports : could this be part of the kit you sell?

 

We are working on a small extension for this, however we need to make sure that the phone is still secure with the extention on.

 

I love my mount - use it all the time and after having it for awhile, agree that just a bit more extension would help both with glare reduction and access to infotainment buttons on the left side.