Entune added later?

[Jayhawk5G]

I have searched this forum and have found threads saying Entune is awesome, threads saying Entune is nothing to write home about, and threads asking if the JBL Nav is still available over Entune in certain markets... I have not found through search an answer to my question though.

Entune is now standard on the new Camry's and my guess is that in the coming years Entune or it's equivalent is going to start being standard on more and more vehicles. I'm picking up my 13' tonight fingers crossed and it has the basic stereo, can Entune be added at a later date?

My guess is that the 4Runners are pre-wired for all the audio systems for simplicities sake. Since the article that popped up the other day about what Toyota adds once the vehicles reach the US in the shipping yards, it seems that it may be possible to remove the entire panel when embedded radio, and install an entune panel with entune embedded??? I know that Dodge is good about this when it comes to their Uconnect Radio's and navigation units, it's as simple as paying the inflated price for the unit and the dealer and having it installed...

 

[K O]

I don't know for certain about Entune, but for everything else, the 4Runner only comes with the wiring harnesses for the equipment that it's going to be loaded out with. Toyota keeps costs down by not adding extra parts that aren't going to be used.

On the Japanese Toyota factory lines (and probably the US ones too), the workers have an inventory of every part that is going to go into the vehicle, and every single part is scanned and tagged so computers can verify that all the correct parts and only the correct parts are added to each vehicle at each stage.

 

[Jayhawk5G]

I don't know for certain about Entune, but for everything else, the 4Runner only comes with the wiring harnesses for the equipment that it's going to be loaded out with. Toyota keeps costs down by not adding extra parts that aren't going to be used.

On the Japanese Toyota factory lines (and probably the US ones too), the workers have an inventory of every part that is going to go into the vehicle, and every single part is scanned and tagged so computers can verify that all the correct parts and only the correct parts are added to each vehicle at each stage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/a...adding-final-touches.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

"By adding items like floormats and GPS systems at its distribution centers instead of at its factories, Toyota gives customers a chance to tinker with their orders until just two days before the vehicles dock in Newark. And it gives dealers a way to stand apart from their competitors."

This is specifically what got me thinking... if the vehicle was wired for regular radio, then the workers at the dock wouldn't be able to add the GPS/Navigation. I doubt they are referring to a GPS unit like a Garmin, because it's not a Toyota offered option and there wouldn't be anything to add. The article talks about the workers adding these options with basic hand tools and so I doubt there would be a wiring change made... hmmmm....

 

[RubiconSS]

Congrats on the new rig! We have entune in my Wifes '12 Camry SE.
She seems to like it but she is not a big audio/tech nut so I imagine "like" is relative.
Depends on what you are looking to do. The entune platform is and will be an expanding one adding apps and functionality all along the way.
ALL the things I do with a stereo the entune does BUT so did my my FjCruiser stereo with AUX input.
The entune screen is way nicer than the FJ's. Easy to read and navigate.
Adding later always seems to be rather expensive for what you get but.... I would have to think could be done with and adapter to the wiring harness.
Good luck on the pick up!

 

[ATL4R]

I have searched this forum and have found threads saying Entune is awesome, threads saying Entune is nothing to write home about, and threads asking if the JBL Nav is still available over Entune in certain markets... I have not found through search an answer to my question though.

Entune is now standard on the new Camry's and my guess is that in the coming years Entune or it's equivalent is going to start being standard on more and more vehicles. I'm picking up my 13' tonight fingers crossed and it has the basic stereo, can Entune be added at a later date?

My guess is that the 4Runners are pre-wired for all the audio systems for simplicities sake. Since the article that popped up the other day about what Toyota adds once the vehicles reach the US in the shipping yards, it seems that it may be possible to remove the entire panel when embedded radio, and install an entune panel with entune embedded??? I know that Dodge is good about this when it comes to their Uconnect Radio's and navigation units, it's as simple as paying the inflated price for the unit and the dealer and having it installed...

There's no extra harnesses in my non-entune vehicle.


Here's the back of the factory regular radio and the entune radio. The one with no wires is the factory regular radio. The one with wire harnesses shown is the entune unit.

The Entune unit looks to have quite a few more wires.

*I pulled these pics from other threads and ASSUME them to be correct.

 

[Jayhawk5G]

There's no extra harnesses in my non-entune vehicle.


Here's the back of the factory regular radio and the entune radio. The one with no wires is the factory regular radio. The one with wire harnesses shown is the entune unit.

The Entune unit looks to have quite a few more wires.

*I pulled these pics from other threads and ASSUME them to be correct.

Well that's not a good sign...

It's funny Rubicon my wife actually wants the Entune more than I do, but we don't want to pay for premium package to get it and our 13' doesn't have it. It seems like Toyota could stand to make some money offering it as a dealer installed option...

 

[1engineer]

As far as I know wiring harnesses on the 5th gen are vehicle and option specific. Don't read into that article more than it says. Remember Toyota only sells about 5K 4Runners/month compared to a bazillion Camrys and Tacomas so options and dealer add ons will be suitably limited.

 

[RubiconSS]

Well, We have to keep Wifey happy. That way Daddy stays happy. When in doubt use Logic.
Trying to figure out what inputs/outputs would be unique to Entune. A modern day head unit is a source/Amp/Pre-Amp all in one.
It needs power/signalground it then needs to feed the output (speakers)
Unique to Entune would be the Satelite Radio feed (I assume) it would also need to interface with the Vehicles CPU for things like gas mileage data and Tire air pressure. Not sure about the number of speakers or some type DSP function.
Like I said, a retrofit would probably be expensive (if possible) for the same kind of $$ you could probably take a quantum leap in overall sound and functionality, I know that may not be what your Bride is thinking, she may just want the pretty buttons or she may be a raging Audiophile.
Either way, you are doing the smart Husband thing - Git er' done!

 

[axxman]

I would approach it by getting the metra harness for the stock as well as the entune, metra makes a male oem harness which goes to the head unit, if they end up making one for entune, you can use them to "adapt" the entune to your existing system. power and speakers will probably be fine, where it gets tricky is steering wheel controls, connection to bluetooth and xm etc. someone will figure it out, maybe in the camry forum where there are quite a few more cars.