USB Port Opening Size?

I have a

$70 Teeran CarPlay Wireless Adapter for Factory Wired CarPlay 2024 Upgrade Plug & Play Dongle Converts Wired to Wireless for Cars from 2015 & iPhone iOS 10+

wireless Car Play adapter that's currently stuck to the underside of the dash. Works great and all, but I'd like to clean it up a bit and as suggested by @ClassyTacos in another thread, I'm planning on moving the USB port to the glovebox.

The USB port is a different size than the rest of the "normal" switches in that area. I did a search but cannot find a reference to the USB port's size, or at least the size of the opening in the dash - it's smaller than the rest of the switches there. I'd just as soon find something PNP rather than cutting the dash to install another switch if possible.

Does anyone happen know what size the opening is for the OE USB port? I'd like to buy a blank or maybe direct-wired USB charging port to fill the hole when I relocate the existing one. Links to anything like that would be much appreciated.

TIA!

(Thanks to @JLD124 for the close-up image!)

 

This is what I put in and fits perfect. And it gives the dimensions. 1.3, 0.88

 

That location looks more square than oblong like what you show. I want to put in something like that as well but don't think it will work.

 

Thanks, but did you insert that in the existing USB opening? Do you happen to have a photo? Because that looks like it will fit in any of the other openings; standard size/measurements. However per @jrsweger, the USB opening isn't the same size as the rest in there. Not saying you're wrong, just want to be sure it's the right size. Thanks!

 

Ask and you shall receive

 

Thanks very much.

However, if you look at the photos in the first post and compare them to yours, I think we’re talking about apples and oranges. Different year Taco? Ours and the ones I’ve seen all have the same button and USB port layout/locations. Some have blanks if they don’t have certain accessories, but all look identical - with the USB port opening being slightly smaller than the rest.

Thanks again though, appreciate the feedback.

 

What is to the right of that?? Your panel is different than the OPs

 

Best measurement I could get was 1"x .88". Didn't see how to remove it easily.

 

Good to know. Haven't opened that part up, so no idea what it's like back there. Might be a no-go if it's going to be problematic I guess.

Not a fan of cutting things up, or if there's no off-the-shelf replacement or blank that'll fit there. So I may live with it as-is, not a big deal, just thought it'd be nice to tidy things up.

 

That's my aux/usb port and that's a flash drive that I was using for tunes.

 

I used a small wedge plastic pry tool , started prying at the top then went to the bottom and it popped right out.

 

D'oh! Just noticed that yours is a 2017 and after looking at a post with a similar photo of a '16 I can see the difference between our Tacos. Looks like yours would be a "normal" height opening. The one in our Taco is definitely smaller so unfortunately the USB device you added to yours wouldn't fit ours. Good thought though, thanks again!

 

I have a low end taco with less switches, so mine was the same size as the standard switch.

 

Yep. Wonder why they decided to change? Other than making it harder on everyone.

 

Quick follow-up. In another thread, TW member @chstaco mentioned that he had replaced the OE stereo's cable, the one connected to the dash USB port, with an adapter he found and added a USB extension so that he could move the port to his center console. More here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2020-trd-sport-media-usb-relocate-non-jbl.719577/

So my plan will be to add the adapter he found and just connect my

$70 Teeran CarPlay Wireless Adapter for Factory Wired CarPlay 2024 Upgrade Plug & Play Dongle Converts Wired to Wireless for Cars from 2015 & iPhone iOS 10+

wireless Car Play adapter to it and secure it behind the dash since there's really no reason to do anything with it anyway. That will leave the USB port in the dash in place. That'll clean up the dash and someday when I sell it I'll just pull the adapter(s) and reconnect the OE USB port.

I ordered the adapter from Ali-Express today so it'll probably be a few weeks before it shows up. Once I install it I'll report back.

Hopefully, problem solved!

Thanks to all for the great tips and support. Much appreciated!

 

I posted about this in another thread, but I wanted to follow up on it here too.

Per my plan (above) I received the USB adapter cable from Ali-Express recommended by @chstaco today and installed it. Basically PNP. As hoped, it worked perfectly! Now my Car Play adapter is sitting behind the dash and although the USB port in the dash is dead, no one's the wiser! Took me about 30 minutes start to finish. Now I just keep my phone in my pocket and it connects to the wireless adapter every time I get in.

I thought about putting the new cable in the glovebox, but I really don't have any reason to unplug the adapter to use that USB port anyway. If somebody had a thumb drive or another phone to plug in it'd probably work though.

One day when I go to sell our Taco I'll remove the adapters and plug the original USB port cable back into the stereo, easy peasy.

Thanks @chstaco!

Before photo with the adapter plugged into the dash and secured underneath with 3M molding adhesive. After photos show the Ali-Express USB adapter cable connected to the Car Play wireless adapter inside the dash and finally a clean dash afterward.

 

If you really wanted to clean it up you could probably combine some version of the female version of that adapter into a USB splitter and then you'd have both the original OEM functionality and the CarPlay adapter. OEM plug into UTO3 into something

$6 ANDTOBO 【2023 Upgraded】 USB 2.0 A Male to 2 Dual USB Female Jack Y Splitter Hub Power Cord Extension Adapter Cable

like this.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-ILfTTFprouo/p_794USBTO3/iDatalink-UTO3-USB-Adapter.html

FWIW for other folks landing on ideas like this it's always worth checking out the radio upgrades/install threads as there's a wealth of part numbers and info in there:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-pioneer-dmh-wc6600nex-flush-mount-install.668580/page-91

 

Might work, but having two separate devices connected to the stereo’s input at the same time - since the Car Play adapter would always be connected - and especially since the output also feeds power for charging - could be problematic at minimum.

 

It's not really an issue. USB hubs are pretty common because the USB spec usually exceeds what any one device can draw. It's pretty common to do an install like this when people upgrade the radio -- lots of folks running the WC6600NEX do something like this where they split off the factory connector into a hub which powers a Firestick or a Roku which goes into the back of the radios HDMI port and then into the factory USB port.

 

Understood. I’ve had a number of Pioneers and other brands over the decades. They all had multiple USB and other inputs and are designed to handle multiple devices. Our OEM stereo has one input and appears to have the capacity to only handle one device at a time. It would be good to hear from someone that has tried what you’re proposing. May be fine. In any case our setup is perfect, for us.