AliExpress 14.6" Infotainment - Anyone have experience with these?

[Ruckus]

I have a 2025 SR5, and I only have a few items I don't love about the truck, one of them being the infotainment system.

It seems like our counterparts overseas are producing a 14.6" replacement for the factory 8" screen.

You can see the product here.

I'm sure none of us in T4G have purchased this particular unit, but I was hoping someone here may have experience with similar units for previous generations from AliExpress. I'm thinking I may be a guinea pig for this and just put it on a credit card for protection.

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[Yotota]

The off brand Chinese Android head units have been getting better and better over the last five years or so. There are still some duds, but if the seller has good reviews, and sells other products with good reviews, it could be worth it.

 

[gofastdan]

Interesting but I have questions.

For one it says it has a 4x50 watt output and it doesn't state anywhere how many ohms that power is delivered at. To me that sounds like it won't be directly compatible with the JBL system.

It's running Android 13, which is probably not uncommon but also is now three years old. That's not really a concern but it doesn't specifically say anywhere that it is licensed to access Google Play, and that would be a deal breaker for me, especially as expensive as it is. It does show the Play icon in some of the screenshots so it may be licensed but I'd want to confirm that before buying it.

You lose a physical volume knob. Again, probably not a huge deal, especially since they claim you still can use the steering wheel controls. Good thing b/c at least in some of the apps, like Google Maps, the bottom controls seem to go away.

Finally, my biggest concern would probably be not knowing what tariffs might add to the cost. I'd hate to buy it and then find out I owe another four or five hundred in import costs.

 

[Ruckus]

For one it says it has a 4x50 watt output and it doesn't state anywhere how many ohms that power is delivered at. To me that sounds like it won't be directly compatible with the JBL system.

It's running Android 13, which is probably not uncommon but also is now three years old. That's not really a concern but it doesn't specifically say anywhere that it is licensed to access Google Play, and that would be a deal breaker for me, especially as expensive as it is. It does show the Play icon in some of the screenshots so it may be licensed but I'd want to confirm that before buying it.

You lose a physical volume knob. Again, probably not a huge deal, especially since they claim you still can use the steering wheel controls. Good thing b/c at least in some of the apps, like Google Maps, the bottom controls seem to go away.

Finally, my biggest concern would probably be not knowing what tariffs might add to the cost. I'd hate to buy it and then find out I owe another four or five hundred in import costs.

These are all very valid questions - thanks for giving me more to consider.

I'm not entirely sure Google Play matters to me since I really only use Android Auto.

I guess I'm naive, but I never even considered import tariffs. That could definitely be a deal breaker.

I've seen a few variations, running anywhere from Android 12 to 14. I'll dig a little deeper and see if they all have the same interface or not.

 

[maxx075]

I know jack when it comes to how these companies (Toyota, etc) are handling updates, but I would be worried about switching HU/OS and not receiving any OTA updates. Maybe that's baked in to the HU somehow, but it would worry me being the guinea pig lol.

 

[Ruckus]

I know jack when it comes to how these companies (Toyota, etc) are handling updates, but I would be worried about switching HU/OS and not receiving any OTA updates. Maybe that's baked in to the HU somehow, but it would worry me being the guinea pig lol.

Another great point.

Damn...

 

[Droid]

Would love to have one of these if they actually worked, even over the OEM 14". Would be nice to run maps natively without CarPlay.

That said, can these even get to the OEM settings menu? Not that there's a ton of critical settings in there, and maybe a decent scantool can still customize them.

Some of the specs on these are wrong. That is a 16:9 headunit, but they quote 1920x720 resolution. It's either 1280x720 or 1920x1080. If it's 1280x720, it's gonna be low-res ugliness.

They even show one with an option for a 360 camera. That seems improbable, but would love to see that if it works.

 

[Ruckus]

Dropping this link for anyone else interested. A guy in a Tacoma Facebook group is wrapping up a series of posts where he installed this unit along with some 360 cams. It looks very promising.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A2xZ7xNNo/

 

[Sner]

I’ll share this. I’ve had my 14” screen replaced under warranty. When I picked up the truck, several items were not working, the Toyota connect app wouldn’t work. Turns out, the technician didn’t program the new screen to the truck. Guessing maybe if you have the smaller screen, maybe the app isn’t supported. But if you want to remote start the truck, or remote lock and unlock doors with the app, and get notifications from the app as far if windows are open, tire pressure etc. I’m thinking you’d be kissing all that goodbye by adding an aftermarket screen like that.

 

[Ruckus]

For anyone interested, here are some responses I got from the seller;

"Yes, that's right. This 14.6-inch navigation screen system is plug-and-play. We can cover some of the US customs duties and taxes for you, so you'll probably only need to pay around $35-55. The rated power is 25W*4, with a peak power of 40W*4. Google Play is compatible with this screen, and you can download apps directly from the Google Store."

"The 360 camera package includes four cameras. The Toyota app can still be used to remotely start and unlock the truck. Over-the-air updates that Toyota pushes to the factory head unit are no longer available for this device."

Still no direct answer on the impedance of the power being delivered from the unit. I believe the OTA updates that are pushed to our vehicles will mostly be related to the factory Infotainment system, so I'm not sure that's a major drawback. Does anybody have any data that suggests drivetrain/powertrain updates are pushed OTA?

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