This Cheat-Sheet aims to provide handy information relating to what is involved in upgrading the Head Unit in your N80 Toyota Hilux.
Firstly, there are two different variations of the Hilux Head Unit:
From 2015-2019 we have the older style Toyota Entune Unit,
Vehicles with this unit share the same wiring harness and plugs as many Toyota vehicles of the same generation, for example the same plugs are used for the Camry, Rav4 and Landcruiser.
What you do need to watch out for is using the right CANBUS adapter, Some people will use the Simplesoft (XP) Canbus adapter, which in our experience is not as well integrated.
We use the Raise Canbus box, which allows retention of vehicle data such as trip computer history, and also settings for Lights, Central Locking etc to remain accessible.
This CANBUS will allow for Steering Wheel Controls, Factory Reverse Camera , and Factory Parking Sensors to work out of the box.
From 2020-Present we have the newer style unit
Characterised by the two round dials on the face, this unit uses a completely different wiring & plug system and as such requires a different CANBUS Adapter & wiring harness to older vehicles.
These units can come with CarPlay from factory, however it is wired only, and the screen is mediocre at best.
Newer Hiluxes with these units can come with 360 degree or Birds Eye Cameras.
Our units can retain the front view & side cameras if fitted on these models and support changing of the cameras, our units can also support the front view camera button triggering the display of the cameras.
Unfortunately even though Toyota has improved the amount of cameras on newer hiluxes, the quality of the camera's themselves are terrible. And aftermarket front/rear AHD Cameras would provide significantly better visibility.
One minor issue that can arise when installing an aftermarket head unit in these vehicles is that the previous and next track keys can be reversed, if this happens whilst installing one of our units, simply enter the factory settings>3368> and toggle reversal of previous/next, This will restore the buttons to the correct behavour.
There are a few different options out there to compare when choosing a new head unit for your Hilux, I will also mention some other options on the market besides our own.
1: 12VGEAR APX Head Unit
Our Head Units provide a large range of options for every budget, and integrate perfectly with the vehicles CANBUS.
Our Ultra option provides a change from the usual Android Systems, loaded with DUDUOS, the latest and most customisable operating system for vehicle head units.
Some notable features are
Automatic Updates: The head unit will be consistently updated automatically when connected to the internet, so you will always be receiving new features and improvements as time goes on, many others will feature manual updates only.
Triple Picture in Picture: On top of common split screen functionality, you can run CarPlay inside a window on the home screen, and then have a third app such as Youtube running in a seperate window, in addition to whatever application is being used on the Home Screen.
Best Audio Quality: The Audio Chip & DSP used in our Ultra models exceeds almost every offering on the market. This is one of the only units that has Digital Noise Cancelling built in, which is generally very hard to find on aftermarket radios and makes a big difference in phone quality. On top of being Dolby DTS certified and providing Fiber Optic & Coaxial Outputs.
For Audio enthusiasts, this is one of the only aftermarket Head Units that will work with a USB DAC for output, and supports sound delay timing for each speaker.
Online Theme Store and Customisation: Our units support downloadable Themes, and every aspect of the Status bar, Nav bar and Home Screen layout is customisable. You can choose different themes for day/night, and have vehicle data such as range and fuel info shown inside widgets on your home screen.
2. VHEDIA Units
VHEDIA head units are great units, and the company seems to have made a lot of effort to fine tune these to make them reliable and perform well.
This is another great option if looking for a head unit, and the support and customer service is top notch.
2. Teyes Units
Teyes Units offer a very nice 2K display, and their own CC3 Software is packed full of useful features, arguably less advanced than DUDUOS but still very competitive.
These units are another good option for the Hilux, and they are well known for ensuring the correct parts and wiring are sent out with their orders, with a lot of important compatibility information shown on their website.
3. CJ Industries
For everyday usage they will work well, ensure you get a specification higher than the 2GB/32GB as the allwinner CPU is not the best, the Unisoc 8581 is a good processor.
The screen quality is a bit of a let down on these units, using a low resolution older gen panel.
4. Aerpro Units
Aerpro Units are currently becoming more popular as they are sold in store at Autobarns across the country, however with a very steep price and considering they are Linux based and run a very limited operating system aimed at CarPlay/Android Auto & Radio Usage, it is very hard to recommend these units at the pricepoint.
The Aepro Hilux AMT04 Unit is $1099 and has 128MB of RAM and 256MB of Storage
In comparison the similar priced 12VGEAR APX Ultra Unit has 8GB (8000MB) of RAM and 128GB (256,000MB) of Storage
Even our lowest end model at $499 has much more powerful components than this.
For example the Aepro Hilux Unit is $1099 and has a basic 1024x600 resolution display, using previous generation technology (Seperate digitizer and LCD)
It does not support 1080P cameras with a maximum of 720p support only
Only features crossovers for the subwoofer, and only outputs 25w x4 to the speakers
Cannot download any applications, cannot install youtube etc, very basic and boring interface.
Would not work with any of the standard aftermarket accessories such as TPMS, OBD2, DVR Recording etc
In short these are very limited, and almost any other brand of aftermarket unit would be a better purchase.
5. Ebay/Amazon Units
Be very careful with Ebay Units, as these are where we see the most instances of people ordering incorrect units or incorrect wiring harnesses.
Some Ebay units are bottom of the barrel, although cheap in comparison to bigger brands, many are coming with 4 core CPUs, Very cheaply made LCD panels which can fail after months or even weeks.
A majority of the listings are from overseas retailers, who are very hard to get support from.
There would be good units on ebay, but do your research as it's a very easy place to get burnt. A lot of listings don't properly cover the specific vehicle options that the harness is for, and you can end up with a product that won't fit your car.
