Looking up CarPlay Smart Box+Wireless CarPlay

Hey all,
About to purchase a used 2019 Tacoma, but want to upgrade the head unit to for wireless carplay.

Does anyone have any suggestions to maintain steering controls, backup camera and lane watch and cheaply as possible?

Alpine/Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood look great, but you pricey and you need a lot of adapters.

I hope that the wireless connection of CarPlay can be realized without changing the built-in configuration of the original car. If you need to replace the car to get wireless CarPlay, it is really expensive. Does anyone have any good suggestions?

 

I put in the NAVIKS CarPlay module and pretty happy with the function.

Pros: Wireless CarPlay, easy install, maintains all stock function and stock head unit, about $500 vs thousands to replace with aftermarket head unit.

Cons: screen is a little fuzzy/ not as crisp as I would like it, once in a while it has trouble recognizing my phone.

 

Does your unit have the wired version of CarPlay? If so, would you be interested in using one of the plug-in USB adapters for wireless CarPlay?

I’ve been using the Car2Play adapter for a year and it’s worked really well. I think it cost around $100 and just plugs into the USB port in the dash. My phone automatically connects to it 9 times out of 10. Every once in a while I have to unplug it and plug it back in — but it only takes about 10 seconds or so for it to connect to the phone after plugging it back in.

I also retain all normal controls and didn’t have to change out the head unit.

 

Kenwood DDX9907XR. A little on the pricier side but worth every penny. Wireless Apple CarPlay, can play DVDs, has multiple ports ready to go for back/front/side cameras. Made the stock speakers sound so much better too. Everything is pretty much plug and play. If you pair it with the Maestro RR, you retain the stock steering controls and the screen can display data such as AFR, MPG, tire pressure, temperatures, etc.. Huge step up for my 2013 Sport. There might be a cheaper version Kenwood makes that doesn't have the DVD player. I was limited due to the chip shortage when I was looking.

 

Take a look at crutchfield. You can sort what fits your 2019 and might find some cheaper options. Also, when I bought that in 2021, it was about $450 less than what it's going for right now