Radio Questions

[jdavis75]

hello,
I bought my wife a 2014 corolla L model. It came with the factory cd player that has Bluetooth, ipod capabilities, and steering wheel controls. what I am wondering is, will a hu (head unit) work from other corolla models. I'd like to put one of the nicer hu with navigation, camera and the works in it. I'm curious if the plug will match up. Toyota did not have an answer. Thanks in advance. jason

 

[DjAnnexAlpha]

hello,
I bought my wife a 2014 corolla L model. It came with the factory cd player that has Bluetooth, ipod capabilities, and steering wheel controls. what I am wondering is, will a hu (head unit) work from other corolla models. I'd like to put one of the nicer hu with navigation, camera and the works in it. I'm curious if the plug will match up. Toyota did not have an answer. Thanks in advance. jason

It all depends. Unfortunetely I have not heard of anyone doing a swap for a higher model radio from the corolla. The GPS functionality would need a GPS module 100%. The bluetooth and other controls would most likely match up. Again, I have not heard of anyone doing this yet.

 

[Jmccutch]

Toyota is still using their two plug standard harness and most likely there is a separate input for the gps antenna that would be required. I doubt that they wire every single car with the gps antenna unless it comes stock with it.

Simplest thing to do and by far the cheapest and most advantageous thing to do is go with a Pioneer. Their Navi units are AMAZING this year. Take a look at the NEX line.

 

[TigerHeli]

As far as I know, it's been the same plugs since 1988 or so.

Not a fan of built-in navigation.

It should work, but it is around $200 every year to update the maps in it (unless you go with a Chinese Android-based unit).

Better option IMHO would be a Garmin with lifetime maps for around $150, and then maybe replacing the OEM radio with a Pioneer. (You will need about a $75 harness to keep the steering wheel controls).

Replacing the OEM with an upgraded Toyota head unit should work (you'd want a junkyard, not a dealer one, and those might be hard to find for 2014), and I don't know if you would have features like the Car option where the radio displays avg MPG, etc.

 

[TigerHeli]

Okay - I don't have access to either the car or the factory schematics, but we might have given you some bad info above (I might have).

The radio does use the same two-plug standard harness so swapping the radio in any Corolla for aftermarket (Pioneer) should be pretty easy to do.

However, I don't see how rear-view camera, car info, etc gets sent over those connectors. I suspect there is a third connector in the high-end radios and that connector probably isn't present in the L model.

Again, with some guessing, you have the following options:

• http://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_...id=62&manufacturer_id=25&sort_order=price_asc - Aftermarket (Pioneer) this is your easiest and best option. You can get Sirius, Navigation, Rear view Camera (aliexpress), if you have navigation on a smartphone, you can look at appradio with mirrorlink. About all you lose if voice command (Entune). Also, many of these have screen angle adjustment, which can reduce glare, which is an issue with the OEM Corolla radios.
• http://www.ebay.com/itm/Indash-Ster...Video_In_Dash_Units_w_GPS&hash=item4181803855 - Chinese GPS radio. This is an example. I've read mixed reviews on this. When they work, thy work well. However, some people say they work well, and some people say they fail in a few months.
• http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-TOYOTA...ash_Units_w_o_GPS&hash=item4181e57667&vxp=mtr - Non-GPS Toyota radio. I think the "radio" portion of this would probably work fine. You would need to get the OEM rear-view camera and probably wire that in yourself. The CAR button that displays MPG and trip info would probably have to be wired in, and that data might not be available on an L trim.
• Toyota Premium Entune radio with nav - not sure if the GPS is a separate module or not. Not sure if this uses a factory amp that you would have to buy or not.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

You could get an Entune or Entune Premium system, but the problem is that you would need the camera, the GPS antenna, wiring (the Entune and Entune Premium have extra connectors because certain car settings, such as auto-lock and unlock, headlight auto-off, key fob action, etc., are all done through the stereo system, which means they connect into the PCM, the central-locking module, and the instrument cluster). If you wanted that stuff from the get go, you should have gotten an LE Premium or an S instead of the L.

Best bet is to wait for Crutchfield to release the trim panel that will convert that stereo opening into a double DIN without leaving gaps, and for the steering wheel control converter, and for the bluetooth microphone adapter, and to get an aftermarket unit such as a Pioneer.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Actually, check this out guys.

http://maestro.idatalink.com/

Perhaps we'll be able to upgrade to a Pioneer and keep all of our Entune Premium stuff after all without losing our camera or vehicle settings. They don't have anything for the 2014 yet (and I'm willing to bet the base stereo will be first), but it seems like an interesting prospect in the future, and the Pioneer NEX line are designed to work with these systems.

 

[TigerHeli]

Dash kit is out - it will work with the LE and up - not sure if it works with the L, but I don't really see why not: http://metraonline.com/part/95-8245CHG

I don't think Maestro is working on anything for Toyota yet - it is a cool system for the Mustangs and the F-150's, but you need a high-end Kenwood or Pioneer or Alpine radio to utilize it. There really wouldn't be much for Maestro to do with the base stereo - I don't think you are correct on it being first.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Maestro will do the base first because that is the easiest for them to do (and the one to be most likely sold, as Entune and Entune Premium owners have little incentive to go aftermarket).

Looked like on the website they have a Toyota line-up but only for NEX Pioneers that support the system. Older Pioneers lack the support (and apparently a firmway update is needed on the NEX systems to fully utilize it).

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

And wow, that was quick on the dash kit. A few months ago, Crutchfield had nothing out there.

 

[TigerHeli]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oArgHbhipMw - The video came out April 10, 2014.

LOL - timing is interesting. I started looking at the Corolla at the beginning of May 2014. One of the first things I looked at was "Hey, there's a simple and inexpensive kit to swap out the radio." I never checked and assumed it had been available for a long time.

 

[ZackNWFL]

I just swapped my Entune Basic head unit in my 2014 Cprolla Le Eco out with a Entune Premium with Apps Suite from a 2016 Corolla XRS. Everything plugged right in, I ended up using a universal Tram XM Satellite antenna for the Sirius XM sat radio and a Pioneer navigation satellite antenna for the nav. Cut the plastic conectors off and just connected the metal conectors together and zip tied the wire to other wires close to the back of the head unit to keep them from coming undone. Both antennas ended up costing about $50 altogether which was a lot better then $450+ for just the nav antenna and cable from a Toyota dealership.

 

[JoshTRD]

hello,
I bought my wife a 2014 corolla L model. It came with the factory cd player that has Bluetooth, ipod capabilities, and steering wheel controls. what I am wondering is, will a hu (head unit) work from other corolla models. I'd like to put one of the nicer hu with navigation, camera and the works in it. I'm curious if the plug will match up. Toyota did not have an answer. Thanks in advance. jason

or you can just call your Local toyota dealer, these kinds of questions can be easily answered by them lmao.....just tell them you are interested at getting the work done at the dealership and if its possible (so they tell you all you need to know) but obviously don't get it done there unless u wanna get ripped off......