New tacomas, you like your bluetooth?

I was just wondering if the new bluetooth is really nice. I want to buy a tacoma, wasn't sure if the extra cash for a low mile tacoma with bluetooth, backup camera is worth it.

I was thinking of saving a little cash and getting a nice double din touch screen with backup camera and bluetooth. Anyone have experience with both and have a preference?

If you are a person that hooked up a camera what was it like? I've seen a few here already, do they automatically turn on when you select reverse? What about the controls on the steering wheel, do they work like they should?

Is the bluetooth good in the stock setup? Or is it better in an aftermarket radio? Can you connect via bluetooth, then start google maps on your phone and the sound comes on the radio? Or start pandora on your phone and it comes on through the radio?

THanks for the help, the difference is that I can get a car for cheaper that has less miles that doesn't have these options if I put them in myself.

What do you guys think? All help is really appreciated!

 

Pics are even better btw !!!!

 

Bluetooth rocks with my iPhone. Streams music, phone calls, etc through the speakers.

 

I wish I had bluetooth in my truck!!

 

What year truck are you looking at?

Mine is a 2011 and the bluetooth is pretty basic. Works pretty good I guess, just have problems making calls, sometimes it doesn't understand my command/name with voice dial. I do wish it would display more on the hu but the 2012's have a much better unit for that.

As far as the camera, yes it comes on when you put it in reverse as long as it is turned on. On my 2011 it comes up in the rearview so it is pretty small. I don't know about the 12's.

Just keep in mind if you go for the one w/o you wont have steering wheel controls, at least not the factory ones. I suppose there may be some aftermarket setup for that?

 

Bluetooth is good on all accounts.

People can't tell that im on Bluetooth or handset, streaming works well and Pandora streaming makes siriusXM worthless

 

I ama sucker for streaming bluetooth but didnt want to spring for a 2012. So i bought a 2008 and took the stereo out of my Ranger and installed it. I have a cheap Sony that streams BT music and has great calling features. It was only $130 from Frys. That was a lot cheaper than a new truck.

 

The bluetooth that came with the stock JBL system worked really good. Clear calls, I liked it.

 

its nice to know i have it but i never use it lol but i do like the xm

 

what about android? I don't have an iphone

 

I am very happy with my bluetooth in my 2012 and yes it works great with my android.

 

Bluetooth works fine with my iPhone.

Back up camera works fine as well, don't rely on it 100% or you'll wind up hitting something.

 

Bluetooth with my OEM 2012 Deck worked excellent...in fact it works alot better than the bluetooth in my Alpine INA-W900BT Double Din Deck. I was very impressed with the OEM setup for the basic setup that it was.

 

I have a 2012 with Sat Nav, Bluetooth, and Entune. The Bluetooth works just fine with an Android phone (I have a HTC Senstation). The Bluetooth connects just like any Bluetooth headset. So whatever sound would normally play over the phone speakers, it plays over the sound system. This includes a phone MP3 player, Pandora, and I imagine Google maps. Since I have that built in Sat Nav, I never tried it with Google maps.

The system does not display my playlist/songs on the display when connected with Bluetooth. So I have to use the phone directly to pick music. But, If you plug the phone into the USB port, then it does read the internal flash card and the music can be selected directly from the screen. Different phones have different compatibility so this may vary between different Android phones.

I got tired of plugging my phone into the USB port, so I attached a little flash card reader that holds my MP3s on a 32GB micro SD card. Again, all the music is displayed on the screen. I just pull the micro SD card out when I need to add music to it. You can use a thumb drive too if you want. I just happen to have the reader and a SD already.

The backup camera works well too. The screen on the sat nav is used for the backup camera. I would actually prefer it displayed in the mirror since that is where I am looking when backing up. But its a nice big display. I am just not used to looking at it yet.

Entune is cool too. It lets the system access the data on the cell phone to search for stuff like traffic, weather, stocks and anything you have a need to search for. It will also display and playback email and text chats. It even has a few canned responses you can use to reply while driving (but will not let you write your own text while driving, of course).

I attached a pick of the card reader for anyone who is tired of plugging their phone into the port. The piece of electrical tape was to cover a little blue LED that flashed when the card was being accessed. That got a little annoying.

Cheers.

 

I have an andriod phone and it works great! I love the bluetooth and its even easier when you preset your contacts on the radio unit. The only thing I don't like is I haven't figured out how to control the volume.. its kinda loud and usually scares the crap out of me when someone calls.

 

I have a double din Kenwood and it's great.
The Bluetooth telephone works great, the GPS is Garmin so it's super easy to use and map updates are free.
The iPod control is great as it shows album art and the backup camera has really been useful.

 

Its hard to see how well it fits in that slot.. did you have to buy a whole silver surround for the radio? If so, where did you get that?

 

Are you talking about the ringer? If I remember correctly you have to turn it down while it's ringing by using the volume control on the steering wheel. Same for the voice also, turn it while on a call.

 

I don't have blue tooth, wish I did. I do have the backup camera. The camera is awesome. I has a wide view and a grid to judge how far you are away from whatever is behind you. You can back up to within an inch of where you want to go!

 

This is the stereo option that I went with. Well worth the extra dollars. Plus you can stream iHeart radio and others via bluetooth. You can download the Entune app for any smartphone to get traffic, weather updates and more if you desire.
Better then the standard in my opinion.