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Upgrading the terrible 8” 2020+ CarPlay/AA Radio to a Kenwood & Maestro RR

Discussion in '3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)' started by BLtheP, May 25, 2022.

  1. May 25, 2022 at 11:24 PM
    #1
    BLtheP

    BLtheP [OP] Constantly Tinkering Member

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    I’ve had my truck about a week and a half and fed up with the stock stereo. I use an iPhone so my smartphone driving experience of choice is Apple CarPlay. The 2020+ Tacomas have CarPlay and Android Auto.

    When using Maps (any of them - be it Apple, Google, Waze, etc), the maps voice volume stays at one constant level and the music or content continues to play at its volume that I chose. The music is not turned down automatically at all. This is the first I have ever seen a CarPlay radio behave this way. Even in the past with Bluetooth or USB/iPod connection, maps steps will turn down the audio.

    The only way to change the voice volume is go to into the head unit settings, go to voice, and turn the volume up there. It can range from levels 1-7. 7 is a fine volume itself, except not when the music continues to play louder than the voice and drown it out.

    I’ve been all over the web and it’s basically people saying take it to Toyota, who then tells them it’s an Apple issue. It’s pretty clearly an Entune issue that may or may not ever be fixed with a software update.

    The stereo is also somewhat glitchy so overall I just don’t like it. When I traded my Frontier, I pulled the Kenwood DMX957XR and the Maestro RR I was using in it. I now have them chilling on the shelf. Looking through crutchfield and other similar sites, it appears I need the following:

    Has anyone done this in a ‘20-‘21? It seems pretty straightforward. iDL has specific instructions for a 20-21 Tacoma and told me to buy those exact parts so I don’t really see there being an issue, but personal experience would be great. I have searched but not found much.

    Also, can someone straighten me out on stock radios and their designations? I was under the impression that:

    • 7” screen is non premium non-JBL (no amp)
    • 8” screen is premium non-JBL (no amp) - I thought this has a CD player
    • 8” screen with JBL (top of the line, with amp, only an option on auto trans) (maybe this is the only one with a CD player? Does this one have NAV and is it the only one with NAV?)
    Do I have these straight? I measured my screen and have the 8”, which Toyota confirms with a VIN check. So does this mean I have the premium non-JBL? There is no CD player.

    Will the dash kit above work? It is apparently for 2016+, but the instructions only mention 6” and 7” OEM radios. I entered 8” on Crutchfield and it still told me to buy that kit. I suppose if no one knows, then I’ll figure it out soon enough because I already bought the parts. Just trying to get the game plan lined up before I dive in. I’m also wondering if the overall footprint of the 2020+ radios is larger than 2019 and older, meaning maybe a dash kit will not fill the void properly. I measured my overall radio diagonal at about 10.25”. Not sure what older years had before CarPlay was standard. Really curious what others have experienced in a 20+ swap. I despise that stock piece of junk and would love to ditch it pronto.

    Pic of my radio if that will help identify what I have and the dash kit needed to replace it:

    9879DD15-DD96-4EDD-935B-4F1BD07DD31F.jpg

    Thanks for any info.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2022
  2. May 25, 2022 at 11:27 PM
    #2
    BLtheP

    BLtheP [OP] Constantly Tinkering Member

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    Not sure what you mean exactly. Bought the truck used 9 months & 4K miles. For verifying what radio I have I measured the screen and verified it on a Toyota VIN checker but it gives me no real information.

    Not sure what invoice you are referring to but I don’t have a window sticker or any other info really telling me much.
     
  3. May 25, 2022 at 11:36 PM
    #3
    BLtheP

    BLtheP [OP] Constantly Tinkering Member

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    OK - bit of clarification after looking in my audio/multimedia owner’s manual (honestly forgot I even had this one)….apparently 8” is the premium screen, 7” is the smaller non-premium screen. Premium (8”) has navigation according to the manual, although apparently both of them have the MAP button. Not sure why a non-nav unit would have the map button.

    JBL is obviously another aspect of the system which is the same 8” premium screen but with an amp driving the speakers.
     
  4. May 25, 2022 at 11:39 PM
    #4
    BLtheP

    BLtheP [OP] Constantly Tinkering Member

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    That’s correct, I know for sure I don’t have JBL. But I have a screen that looks identical to that. I was under the impression the higher end models had CD players but maybe that’s a change Toyota made that I was unaware of.

    I’m mainly trying to figure out what dash kit I need to fill the large void in the end (if one exists), and then if anyone had any hiccups using the maestro kits I listed above to adapt everything.

    I am also curious about ohm ratings of the stock speakers. Do you know if the tweeter and front door speakers are a component style setup? Or maybe 2 ohm wired in series to create 4 ohm? Reason I ask is if stock speakers are 2 ohm, usually Crutchfield will warn you to change them to 4 ohm to protect the head unit. They did not warn me of that so I am guessing they’re 4 ohm rears and 2 ohm fronts in series. Just don’t want to burn up my head unit. I do plan to do the Subaru tweeter swap as well.
     
  5. May 26, 2022 at 12:09 AM
    #5
    BLtheP

    BLtheP [OP] Constantly Tinkering Member

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    Didn’t think to do this originally either but browsing AutoTrader has cleared up a lot. The older trucks (looking at 2016s) all still use the same dash bezel design, except they differentiated the opening trim depending on the factory radio used. So lower trims got a smaller radio with a smaller opening, while higher trims got a bigger screen and it filled the same bezel opening that mine does. SO, I should be fine. In looking at some 2020+ trucks, it appears the SR gets the 7” screen while anything higher gets 8”. Top end auto trans models can get the JBL paired with their 8” if desired. As far as I can tell the navigation is still only available on 8” and 8” JBL.

    the 2020+ 7” and 8” radios utilize the same dash bezel so I will be using the bezel that would have fit an older higher model with the large opening.

    So….anyone done this and can share their experience? I think I’ve got the dash figured out, but would still love some good old fashioned personal experience if it’s out there. If not then I’ll report my findings in detail later.
     
    t2c likes this.
  6. May 26, 2022 at 6:20 AM
    #6
    WesNeedsCoffee

    WesNeedsCoffee Well-Known Member

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    2020+ radios do not have a CD player, no matter what spec the radio is. I have a 2021 TRD OR with the 8” Premium (non-JBL) and it looks identical to yours with no CD slot.

    Easy to tell generation of these radios (if they have physical buttons they’re from 2020 onward and won’t have CD but will have CarPlay/Android Auto). Older units have capacitive buttons, at least an option for a CD slot (not sure if all came with one) and no CarPlay).
     
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  7. May 26, 2022 at 8:26 AM
    #7
    Borracho Loco

    Borracho Loco My truck identifies as a Prius.

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    Oh look, another mod....
    This is correct. I have the JBL option on my 2021 TRD Off Road. It has the built in subwoofer behind the backseat and built in amp. It does sound pretty good (well, good enough for me), but I know it can sound better. Everyone's tastes are different.

    I did have a loaner truck when I first got my Tacoma back in Feb 21'. I had an SR5 Trim, and the sound quality was utter shit.

    Ignore the weather data issue. My Entune is currently acting up.

    IMG_20220526_071900449_HDR.jpg
     
  8. May 27, 2022 at 1:19 PM
    #8
    HoppyTaco

    HoppyTaco Well-Known Member

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    The manual transmission OR and Pros don't get the JBL system. Im gonna let a radio expert comment on your connection questions.
     
  9. May 27, 2022 at 1:31 PM
    #9
    BLtheP

    BLtheP [OP] Constantly Tinkering Member

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    I knew I didn't have the JBL (and that no manuals do), but was trying to better clarify what actual differences there are. Looks like that's a 7" base, 8" "premium" (basically just a bigger screen), and an 8" JBL with the amp. I understand what I have now.

    As for the radio it looks like not many have done this or at least have seen the thread if they have. I'm going to have all the parts by Tuesday and will update once I have a chance to do the work myself.
     
  10. May 27, 2022 at 6:00 PM
    #10
    RBaptist

    RBaptist Well-Known Member

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    Another option FWIW is the T10 (android unit) from Cartrimhome. There’s a bit of a Tacoma following on it. We put a T10 in our Sienna and it works well with CarPlay. Thinking about putting one in my 17 Tacoma…. But dang the gas prices and inflation are eating into the ‘fun fund’ ….
     
  11. May 27, 2022 at 6:20 PM
    #11
    newbbewb

    newbbewb Active Member

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    I feel the OP's pain. I have a 2021 OR with JBL/NAV. Both the Android and IOS device integration is kinda wonky with either a pixel 6 pro or iphone 13 pro. I messed with everything at least 5 times in order to get best results. Personally, I just use my phone only for nav in the cupholder and have it connected via BT. Audio prompts from the phone NAV soften the music. Also, using the wonky in dash NAV softens the music. I know with me having the JBL/NAV setup my experience is different, but we both have same result using factory connectivity except NAV. It's something in the head unit that balances external input volume no matter what.

    I built the hell out of my 2014 DCSB with focal, amps, android headunit, all the stupid steering wheel adapters and dynamat. That was more of a pain in the ass than anything and I STILL had random issues.

    Pick your poison.
     
  12. May 27, 2022 at 6:24 PM
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    BLtheP

    BLtheP [OP] Constantly Tinkering Member

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    I’m both glad and sad to read this. Sounds like you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s really weird that it does this on CarPlay because no other CarPlay I’ve ever used (multiple Nissan, Hyundai, and Ford cars) as well as my aftermarket Kenwood I had in the Frontier ever did this on maps. They all turned the music way down for maps and it was perfect.

    I have considered using Bluetooth but I hate to choose Bluetooth over CarPlay.

    and yeah, even an aftermarket solution is not perfect either. Takes tons of adapters that fill the dash with crap to make it work and even then it isn’t perfect, although usually it’s better. I received all the parts so I’m likely going to try to make the aftermarket stuff work. Just a few things I still need to figure out before I’ll have a successful install.

    still not sure about the speaker ohm ratings and how I can replace them and still sound decent off the head unit while I wait to do a full 5ch amp setup.

    I feel less alone now at least. Surprised this isn’t a bigger talking point, lots of 20/21/22 trucks out there and I’m sure they’re all the same in this regard.
     
  13. May 27, 2022 at 6:33 PM
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    Arcticdc5

    Arcticdc5 Well-Known Member

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    I have a manual transmission with the JBL premium sound system FYI on my '22 Sport. I didn't want the package but the more I drive it, the more it sounds "ok".
     
  14. May 27, 2022 at 6:34 PM
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    BLtheP

    BLtheP [OP] Constantly Tinkering Member

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    Interesting. That’s new for 22, definitely not an option on 20/21. Sadly not even that would fix my problem. I don’t know why oem head units always have to suck so bad. Seriously, never found one I like, though I do like many more than the one in my truck.
     
  15. May 27, 2022 at 9:06 PM
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    girMobi

    girMobi Well-Known Member

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    I wish my 'premium' JBL tuner did have a CD player because mp3 playback from a USB is utter shit. Some songs will work on playback, other times the exact same song will halt midway and the tuner says 'oh well! can't play that one, might as well remove it from the list of songs!' and you can't retry playback until you restart the car and it re-reads the USB drive again. on top of that it rewrites the drive to whatever meta data it is preferring and redoes the file structure. i swear there have been times when the sight of a hammer through the screen is more enjoyable than listening to the stereo.
     
  16. May 28, 2022 at 4:33 AM
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    OldCity

    OldCity Well-Known Member

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    My stock non-JBL radio sounds good enough. Mostly listen to BB Kings Bluesville on Sirius so not like I'm cranking the volume. CPLAY2air wireless does the trick for me. Honestly haven't noticed the volume issue with maps. Age related? When I was much younger the radio was the first mod.
     
  17. May 28, 2022 at 8:58 PM
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    newbbewb

    newbbewb Active Member

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    My biggest gripe about the setup in my 14 was the POS metra adapter to mount the HU. Going off road and the thing let my HU bang around to the point we shoved paper napkins into the corners to silence it. Steer clear of that garbage if you do even fire roads.

    As far as speakers go, to run them off the factory head unit, they will have to be pretty efficient and wimpy speakers, not the ones you want if you're planning on adding an amp later.
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2022
  18. May 28, 2022 at 9:05 PM
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    Mikestill

    Mikestill Well-Known Member

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    This might work

    Screenshot_20220529-000437_Google.jpg
     
  19. May 28, 2022 at 9:14 PM
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    MGMDesertTaco

    MGMDesertTaco Come on, live a little...

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    Why not just take a crack at it with the parts Crutchfield recommend's? They can ship you anything else you might need rather quickly. The Kenwood you mentioned is 6.75" vs the 8" or so OEM head unit you've got.
     
  20. May 28, 2022 at 9:18 PM
    #20
    BLtheP

    BLtheP [OP] Constantly Tinkering Member

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    That is the plan. I actually received everything today so I’m going to get into it soon. Possibly tomorrow or Monday depending. I confirmed the dash kit works although it’s a bit tweaked and didn’t fit my trim panel perfectly. I shimmed the feet with some rubbery washers though and think I got it to where it will be good.

    The only things I’m confused about is a few of the plugs are the same shape so on a few of them it’s hard to tell which I’ll be plugging my adapters into. For example, I have a gps adapter from CF but there are two different antenna looking connections on the back of the factory radio and either will plug in. So I’m not really sure which I need to hook up to. Same goes for the radio, the main plugs are black, gray and white. The white is large, no conduction there. Black and gray are same size. Maestro harness only has one plug to fit their size. The radio shuts off without the gray one being plugged in and nothing changes when I mess with the black so I am pretty sure the gray will go to the maestro and black will just dangle unplugged forever. Makes me curious what the black plug contains though, obviously it’s there for some reason.

    we’ll see once I dig in more.
     
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