Damaged touch screen. Replace with aftermarket?

I managed to damage the stereo screen in my 2015 (through my own stupidity), and now it doesn't display anything. I've always disliked Toyota's Entune system (I only use the Bluetooth functionality), and after looking into what it would cost to repair/replace, I realized I'd probably be better off just replacing it with something better.

Does anyone have any experience with replacing the head unit in a Tacoma? The only two real features I need it to have is Bluetooth and backup camera compatibility. Specifically, I want it to automatically sync to my phone and continue playing whatever audio from where I left off (which the Entune system does when it's being cooperative), and I need it to display the backup camera footage when I put it in reverse. That's all. It doesn't need touch screen or any of that, it just needs to work and have those features. Thanks!

 

What did you do to damage it....so we don't do the same thing?

 

Pressed too hard when trying to select on the screen. It's capacitive, not a "proper" touch screen, so it's pressure-sensitive. When I first got it, I was pressing much too lightly all the time, I guess expecting it to respond like a phone. Since that had a high failure rate, I got in the habit of pressing harder and harder...and over time, I guess it reached its "capacity"

 

I have installed stereos in many of the more than 46 vehicles I have owned over the years. I have to say that adding the head unit to my 06 Tacoma was one of the easiest... I can pull the stereo in about 5 minutes...

I went with a Kenwood with Apple CarPlay. It has the bluetooth and backup functionalities you require, and adds an inexpensive nav display. Step by step instructions should be available online. I know if you order through Crutchfield.com they include the dash kit, wiring adapters, and instructions you need when you buy from them....

 

By the way, I just saw a writeup on stereos in the how-to section...
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/stereo-upgrade-basic-how-to-2nd-gen.571/

 

I think you mean it's "resistive". Capacitive is like most modern smart phones that use the electricity in your skin to detect touch.

And WOW you must have pressed hard on it a LOT for it to break.

 

Try one of these; https://www.carjoying.com/new-android-car-radio/quad-core-2-din-android-car-audio.html
Note: You want one of the ones with 2 GB RAM and Intel CPU.

Note: These are CAPACITIVE touchscreens (like your phone), not resistive (pressure sensitive).
Also note that a resistive touchscreen is not in any way "improper", it is just a different technology and has generally a different application.
A third touchscreen technology is infrared, in which there is a grid of infrared emitters and receivers, and it calculates your touch position based on the infrared shadow. These ones are used typically for larger screens, such as television sized kiosks.

 

That's right, thanks, I somehow had the words mixed up.

Thanks, yeah I've been looking into these Joying units, they look really promising. And thanks for the lesson on touch screens, I guess. Of course I understand that a resistive screen is technically a touch screen, I was simply using the word "proper" (in quotes) to indicate "that other, better, more common nowadays type of screen," because apparently I couldn't remember the word for them (since I'd already used the word for them wrong ). That's interesting about the infrared version, I'm assuming that's what ATMs use.

 

I actually purchased a couple of them, specifically, the UL128N2's (7" all glass front). One for my Tacoma, one for wife's Forester.
They work pretty well, once you set them up to your liking, and have the december 8th update installed on them.
Unlike most smart head units, these ones SLEEP properly. When the ignition is turned off, they shut down running applications, and all radios, and drop the CPU into low power standby. Switch the ignition back on (even a few days later) and it wakes up *instantly*, which is a really welcome change from every other car radio I've ever owned.

Also have *working* bluetooth or wifi tethering, which means on the fly traffic updates and rerouting thanks to Google Maps or Waze or whatever your preferred nav software is.

Resistive touchscreens do actually have a pretty seriously important advantage over capacitive; because they respond to pressure, they work even if you are wearing gloves! Capacitive touchscreens need actual contact with your skin, and even worse, your skin loses conductivity when particularly dry, so capacitive touchscreens can act up when it is cold and dry.

 

I like the look of that model. I was looking at the ones that run 4.4 (around $200), but it seems worth the extra $100 for newer tech and ability to run newer apps. I see one on Amazon, and it comes with a couple ISO harnesses. I'm figuring I need at least a ISO to Tacoma harness adapter, but I don't see any on Amazon. Is this something that can be picked up at an auto parts store? Also, do I need a separate harness to work my steering wheel controls?

 

It comes with one "ISO" connector, and one pigtail. You will want to use the pigtail connector. You can buy the Tacoma side pigtail connectors from a more mainstream car parts place, like;

Main pigtail;
http://*********.com/shop/toyota-ta...ma-stereo-harness-install-aftermarket-stereo/

For the steering wheel buttons;
http://*********.com/shop/toyota-ta...a-tacoma-steering-wheel-wire-harness-adapter/
Note: This is a ready-made adapter that would run from a toyota tacoma wiring harness to a METRA ASWC-1 steering wheel controller box.
With a chinese radio, you DO NOT NEED a steering wheel controller box!
The steering wheel buttons hook up via 3 wires; negative, button group 1, button group 2. You just hook those three wires STRAIGHT UP to the chinese radio, and the assign the functions to the buttons in software.

Use solder + heat shrink tubing, and just hook each color from the "tacoma" parts up to the same color on the "china" parts.

 

Your damaged unit wouldn't happen to be a nav unit would it?

 

Why not try to get it fixed under warranty? It sounds like it has been getting progressively worse over time. Assuming you weren't punching your screen, i imagine there is a chance it could be covered.

 

Thanks for your help! So I would only need those two parts for wiring? That's great! I was starting to get the impression that I would need a large variety of harnesses and fiddling, to get all the controls hooked up. The radio can handle all 12 or 13 buttons on the steering wheel with only 3 wires? How does that all work?!

 

It might be (I think it has a navigation app?), but I don't pay for nav, so it doesn't work. How do I tell which unit I have (keeping in mind the screen doesn't work)?

 

I don't think it will be covered, because I doubt they'll view it as manufacturer defect. But I'll probably try anyway, just to see. Even if they replace it, I'll remove it, sell it, and replace it with something aftermarket anyway. So could be worth my time!

 

Got a pic of your radio?

 

The steering wheel buttons each create a different amount of resistance on the line. The radio reads how much resistance there is, and converts that into a specific button press.