3rd Gen Tacoma Head Unit Upgrade

I have a 2018 TRD Pro. I would like to get some wireless apple CarPlay in my taco. I am looking to install the Pinoneer WC6600NEX. Is it a true plug and play without any bezel upgrades? Would I just have to take the stock HU out and put the pioneer in? Any other aftermarket units yall know of that I should check out let me know! Thanks.

 

not sure but try Crutchfield.com for info

 

I bought an aftermarket Sony plug and play head unit from a place called Trail Grid Pro. They sell several units with choices in size. Apple CarPlay wireless works very well. A little pricey, but I’m enjoying the upgrade. There are several threads discussing lots of options and opinions. Good luck.

 

Look at both Crutchfield and Trail Grid. Crutchfield has 50 years of experience with aftermarket car audio. They test lots of equipment in lots of cars. they offer lifetime support on your purchase. They can help you pick something that fits the truck with the features you want.

Trial Grid is a newer company from Hagerstown Md. They sell Pre Configured packaged systems for Tacoma and some other models. They assemble everything so its ready for you to unbolt/unplug the factory HU and pug in the new.

Both I think are good vendors. I've bought from Crutchfield many times over the last 30 years and have not ever been disappointed. Never used myself Trail Grid but others have posted good comments about them.

 

I went with an Alpine ILX-507. I got it from Crutchfield with the full install kit (trim kit, wiring harness, iDatalink) etc. Installation was easy and should the same for the Pioneer

 

If you have a Pro you should have the larger bezel for a pretty good fit but If you want a true flush fit you might want to take a gander at this thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-pioneer-dmh-wc6600nex-flush-mount-install.668580/

Many of your vehicle settings are run through your HU and assuming you want to keep them and your steering wheel controls you will need an idatalink maestro, either an RR or an RR2, I'm not sure which.

I also recommend Crutchfield, they will have everything you need and their customer support is second to none.

 

How customizable is the Home Screen? Can the choices for non existent items be removed, i.e. Sirius, dash cam, hdmi, etc...

 

Apple CarPlay Alpine For me works flawless. Shouldve done this a long time ago

 

I would recommend you look into the dmh-wt7600nex.

It's flush fitting for the larger screen size, so it looks stock. It also have much more screen space as the screen run from nearly bezel to bezel, no wide black area.

I've seen lots of people swap HUs out only to have to install a plastic bezel/filler... They look really bad imo.

This head unit is killer and has wireless AA/ACP.

 

No, unfortunately it looks like there's no way to remove unused items

 

I'm also thinking of doing this on my 2018 TRD Pro. I have the stock head unit with the 7" display, so the larger one. Crutchfield seemed doubtful that the Pioneer DMH-WT7600NEX would be a flush mount, at least without some sort of modifications. Has anyone gone through this with this same setup?

Also considering the Alpine Halo9 iLX-F509, but that shows a slightly larger screen so that would probably be a floating mount, not flush.

 

When you upgrade to a aftermarket head unit do you lose all the Toyota functions/etc???

 

Yes, but it requires some after market goods like masterio Datalink to make the steering wheel controls and all that talk to the radio

 

what functions do you want to keep?

 

Not with this unit it was fairly cheap and the factory functions work on the dash and the buttons already worked without the steering wheel learning thing.

 

Thanks I’ll try that.

 

I have a Dasaita android head unit and works well for me. Apple Carplay connects wirelessly pretty fast. It does cut out every now and then, have no clue as to why. Having Youtube and Netflix on long road trips is pretty cool too (for my passengers not me lol)

 

I did the Alpine Halo 11 in my 19 TRD Pro not long after buying it due to the obvious lack of CarPlay. It was a little obnoxious but all in all I loved it, decided to do the CarPlay link wired for signal stability. It was fun every once in a while to cruise through and look at the onboard engine diagnostics. Only thing that I thought was kinda cheap was it didn’t utilize the factory mic. They had to put one up near the visor and it was just annoying to look at.

 

I've been eyeing those up. Had an Awesafe android head unit that I wasn't happy with and took out.

 

I put my silly looking mic under in my steering wheel area but I gotta tell sometimes