I'm considering buying a 5th gen. I'd like to buy new, but am not thrilled at how the head unit appears in Toyota's marketing. As an '06 LX470 owner, it reminds me of the LX's head unit, which has too many car functions other than audio and GPS integrated in to it, so when the unit fails it's generally a big headache and expense, and aftermarket is severely limited.

Are there issues like that with 5th gen head units? Or has their large volume and 15-year run created a large enough aftermarket marketplace so that replacing a failed unit is generally not a big issue. I tend to keep my vehicles forever so just trying to get an idea of what to expect years down the road.

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The Lexus has had the same JBL head unit since like forever. The 4runner only got it in the Limited models in the very end of 2010 thru late 2012. This is a great head unit in my opinion.
The Entune radio that came out in the 2013 models looks like ET's head and was a much smaller and less organized head unit than that of the Lexus and those few years it came in the Limited 4runner. Its been pretty reliable from what i can tell, aside from being small and basic.
The newer dash you pictured, has a copy cat i just saw them post about it a week or two ago. Dasaita makes an aftermarket that looks identical to the OEM on the outside.
I dont think the head unit is going to be a problem though, its been out going on 4 years now and i havent seen anything negative about it.

4Runner

i have a 2017 model and had the OEM HU without issues and switch to a sony 8100 for carplay. That worked fine but wife didnt care for the floating screen. I retrofitted the 2022 oem HU with carplay into the 2017 and no issues. Replacing the HU is simple and maybe takes 10 minutes start to finish after you've done it once.

Aftermarket can offer you more features with maestro pending which HU you purchase. The OEM HU caprplay/android model is great , the features of inputting maintenance etc can be done like the older HU but I dont use that. I've no complaints on it besides the lack of power to the speakers which is expected. In the coming years the 2020/21 plus HU will become cheaper in the secondary market. Its a nice upgrade from the 2010-2019 model.

Could you give some specifics on switching the head units? I have a 2018 4Runner and would love to change to the later ones, mainly for the bigger screen.

Did you need any adapters on the cables that plug in the back? Does the new HU have navigation? What OEM part number for the HU did you use?

Would this work?: 14-22 Toyota 4RUNNER RADIO NAVIGATION Retrofit ENTUNE 3.0 Apple Carplay OEM | eBay

Thanks.

My 2017 was non jbl head unit so I needed to replace with it a non jbl version. I purchased it off ebay from an autoparts store. I would search car part .com I would expect to pay around 500-1100 for the head unit.

I bought the "adpater hareness" from the link below.

AutoHarnessHouse - Custom Car Stereo Wiring Kits

The hazard button has a different connection and i retrofitted the old one into the new one. There is a forum regarding this and more detail about what needs to be done. Overall its simple and a nice upgrade for the models without it. Would recommend it if you can find a good price on the head unit.