2020 JBL Head Unit Upgrade

Like so many I was looking forward to the JBL Audio System on my 2020 Tacoma TDR OR but I was sadly disappointed when I took possession and listened to the stereo for the first time. I had a long drive home so I had a long listen.

Within a couple of days I added an amp and a sub to supplement the factory system which improved the bass substantially but the overall sound was very muddy. Additionally, the USB plug in the front rarely, if ever, worked and that rendered carplay useless to me which is a bummer.

Recently I shelled out a decent amount for a Pioneer AVH-W4500NEX DVD Receiver (wireless carplay) and the CRUX SWRTY-61P Interface. It took me about 20 minutes to get the harnesses wired together, another 20 to get the dash apart, the factory unit unhooked, the mess of wires shoved in, and the Pioneer put in place. Turned the unit on and...no sound. Everything else works flawlessly such as the SWC, backup camera integration, HD Radio was functional, and the amp I installed had a green light and was on. The dang factory USB plug still didn't work.

After about 5 minutes, the audio came on and it is crystal clear and sounds much better than the factory head unit even with the same JBL speakers. Over the last week, the same thing happens, no audio when I start the truck and then between 3 and 15 minutes the audio just all of a sudden comes on. The sound has yet to come on immediately when I start the truck.

I got a replacement Crux unit and plugged it in with no luck. I even tried a different Pioneer unit, although a different model I had laying around, and the same issue. I have checked and rechecked all of my connections and they are all tight. In fact, on one occasion I waited in the truck with the stereo on until the audio turned on and moved the deck around and installed it into its location with no loss of sound. Turned off the truck and restarted...no audio.

Thus my question is, has anyone used the Crux interface on their 2019 or 2020 with the JBL system and had success? I did notice that the speaker interface plug on the truck side only has three sets of wires and not four but those are speaker level wires and shouldn't be a different signal than factory but you never know. The wiring diagram has them listed as:

Pink: FL+
Violet: FL-
Light Green: FR+
Light Blue: FR-
Black: RL+
Yellow: RL-

Terminating as:
Pink: L+
Violet: L-
Light Green: R+
Light Blue: R-
Black: INT+ (No idea what this means)
Yellow: INT- (No idea what this means)

My thought was perhaps I should disconnect the black and yellow as I am not sure they are needed and could be causing an issue.

I read https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2020-jbl-amp-wiring-and-booster.642005/#post-22532141 but did not find anything that would help.

Tonight, I put the factory radio back in and it works without any issue so I think this is either a Crux issue or the amp just doesn't like the signal that the Pioneer is putting out.

Any thoughts?

 

I feel the same about the jbl audio. I went for the tech & premium package and the audio system is pretty mediocre.

My first thoughts are your aftermarket amp. Can you bypass it and see if it works?
.. and which source does it happen with, just the usb?

 

This happens with all sources radio, Iphone, CD, and DVD. The delay is baffling, because once it turns on, everything sounds great but I don't know when it's going to magically come on.

The aftermarket amp is just for the sub. The audio signal comes from the factory sub. I tapped the sub and put in a line level converter. It works, when I put the factory stereo back in tonight, everything came on right away.

 

I dunno my premium package JBL system sounds great and I’ve added “0” dollars to it. Plus my bass is way to good turned up it rattles my mirrors plus sounds great.

 

Sound is definitely in the ear of the beholder. My gf couldn’t care less about sound quality, to her it’s either loud or not regardless of the crispness of the highs or the punch of the sub. The JBL system doesn’t have either but it does have huge advantages over a basic system for sure.

 

I feel the same way here. Don't really understand all the negative talks about the JBL system in these trucks.
Mine sounds great..better than the system in my 2018 Tundra Sport. It will rattle the rear view mirror if i crank it up.

 

In most cases aftermarket stereos are micro computers vs the oh Im just on factory head units.
I have yet to come across for any aftermarket.hesd units that are dvd and higher "built in navigation ect." To be instant on.
Its just the nature of them.
But they are more complex and more to them than factory. I can understand upto 3 minutes of no sound but 10-15 seems to be a stretch. I would also look to see if pioneer has any software updates for that head unit?
Usually all you need it a flash drive to transfer the file to the head unit once downloaded from your computer.
Please keep us posted and good luck.

 

You said you tried a different Pioneer unit that you had lying around and it worked. So you know it's not the amp.

Sounds to me like you need to try a replacement Pioneer AVH-W4500NEX DVD Receiver

It may be defective. =)

 

Thanks, but that's not what I said. I said that I tried a different Pioneer and it did the same thing. When I took it all apart and put the factory system back in, the music came on immediately.

 

I hear this a lot. When I used to regularly do installs for people, they would comment that they liked their factory system and it sounded great because it would "rattle the mirrors". There is a big difference between loud and sounding good. For example, I had a Jeep Renegade with the Beats Audio upgrade. The front dash speakers were awful because they had no range. I swapped them out for a set of Kicker 3.5" and the difference was very noticeable.

The JBL system in the Tacoma is loud...ish but really struggles with reproducing crisp highs and decent bass. The bass is there but its very muddy in my opinion. My view is that the speakers in the Tacoma are fine, but the tuning leaves a lot to be desired.

 

I'm happy even without the JBL system. It sounds better than my old truck. Plus I'm happy that I have the extra storage space behind the seat that isn't being taken up by sound system components.

 

Sounds like it might be a wiring harness or a connection to the power source. How did you splice your wires together? Did you use the shrink tube crimps? Or go animal style and just electrical tape everything together?

 

I used the butt connectors, ie crimps. Then I use electrical tape as strain relief. I have the harness in front of me at the moment and the connections are tight.

 

LOL Sorry reading comprehension problem.

=)

 

I am not familiar with the CRUX but can you update the firmware on it like an iDatalink Maestro? If so, check to see if you have the latest firmware. I do recall having a similar issue with iDatalink many years ago and a software update resolved it. While you’re at it, make sure your radio is also up to date in its firmware.

 

I ended up getting the iDatalink after Crux didn’t have a fix for me.

Now everything works but the steering wheel controls are a bit sluggish.

Point of order on the installation. Double check that you’ve plugged the harness in correctly as the plugs seem to be interchangeable.