[nw.r]

I'm looking to replace the horrible factory radio in my 2018 USDM CHR. I want a headhunt with capacitive touch, Apple CarPlay or phone mirroring and extensible with apps.

Enter...Android head units. Specifially, this one from Dasaita. Hardware specs are overkill, but the best part about this HU is that it runs Android OS. And it's very well documented what you can do with an Android device in a car. Engine monitoring, TPMS, open door alerts, diagnostics, custom skins and launchers etc.

Has anyone installed a HU like this in their CHR? What are some drawbacks to this HU? What's required to install to get the steering wheel controls, backup camera, and factory USB port to work?

 

[nw.r]

Measurements

I contacted the manufacturer and they told me it would work in a US model CHR as long as the dimensions are 13cm. There are apparently two different dimensions for the factory radio: 13cm and 15cm.

They asked me to measure and confirm but I'm not entirely sure where to measure as the pictures aren't entirely clear. And with 2 cm difference, I'm sure some trimming can be done to make it fit.

I also found a video of a smilier Android HU made by the same manufacturer installed in a 2017 Rav 4. It looks like it will come with everything needed to make the steering wheel controls, backup camera and factory USB to work. With additional 2 USB ports for Android Auto and CarPlay (with adapter sold separately).

If this headhunt fits, it would be the perfect HU for me and for under $400.

 

[nw.r]

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if that USB/AUX adapter will work since there's no USB adapter on the back of the radio. So they may have excluded that for a reason.

Sir Boofuls...if you can confirm when you get yours, that would be great.

 

[nw.r]

So I found that not only did they forget to send me the canbus and the USB adapter, but they sent me the wrong wiring harness. So until I receive all the right pieces from them, I made some progress don everything else.

Made some progress:

1. Transferred the clock from the OEM shroud to the new head unit. It was trickier than I thought and you have be careful not to break or open the casing of the clock. You don't want to remove the white cover form the clock, instead you want to pry the entire unit out of the shroud.

2. I ran the microphone from the roof near the dome light to the the glovebox. The microphone's cable is about 1' short so I'm going to have to buy an extension cable so it can reach the radio. Also, I'm thinking about disassembling the mic and retrofitting it int he OEM location for a stealth look. For now, it's resting on the rear view mirror.

I attached some pics to show progress.

 

[Sir Boofuls]

yea, i ordered from the same company. I should get my stuff in the next couple of days and i let you know.

 

[Sir Boofuls]

Finally got my unit in, look sweet. Everything came with the head unit, out side the adventure with a blown fuse and working at night the install was super easy. First make sure it grounded to the car, after that just plug in the cables. I ran all the cable for GPS, mic and WIFI to the center dome light. I just bought a audio extension for the mic just make sure you get a 6 foot one, than ran the cables up the passenger side to the A pillar to the center dome, their i swapped the guts of the factory mic for the new one. GPS cable was done the same and then mounted to the car roof in the dome light space. WIFI was the same bought a 10 foot extension cable with adapters for the unit and antenna, will go back later when i order the parts to get a bigger antenna(maybe powered too). I ran the 2 usb cable to the drivers side switch panel and plugged into a 2 port switch for a Toyota chr. Now i have the factory one in the center and the other two for either usb jump drive or GPS USB dongle or any thing else. I am going to add at a later date 2 power USB plugs to the passenger side for who ever need to charge a phone. All i got left is to add the backup camera to the unit and go through the settings.

 

[Sir Boofuls]

Update, I might be wait for a new can-bus module I think they sent the wrong one to me. I cant get any info from the system for tpms and other stuff. I know i can get a obd dongle to get most of it, but the reason i when with this unit had all of that together for a good price.





As a side note i got in my hood gas springs in and installed, now the hood will stay up with on it own with no stick yea.

 

[Sir Boofuls]

here is the link on ebay for the usb plug to fit the switch plate on the drivers side. https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-TOYOTA...nector-Charger-Switch-Modify-Set/292776127537


my speakers work fine with the correct harness, the only issue i have is that the canbus sent with mine does not show the tpms info or other system info. but i got a OBD2 reader coming in that is blue tooth coming in, plus a swap for the wrong canbus they sent.



I am going to add a second charging usb to the passanger side in the glove box by cutting the back of the glove box to mount the power usb and the 2 port usb for the radio. Oh, before i forget you can put in 128gb sd card to the side slot for the offline maps and other stuff(music, movies and others). With that installed i have the system 32gb plus 128gb before i add anything else. i know the max storage drives you can add to the system is 2 not including the system 32gb.



Now the hard part is install all the apps and getting the system the way i want it.

 

[nw.r]

I was thinking you were using a dual-USB extension that plugs into the OEM port. But it looks like it's just for power and no data. I need it to be a usb extension so it can interface with the radio when I plug devices in.

I have an OBD2 reader in my car already and paired it. However, none of the apps can see any of the functions on the car. I think I just need to wait for the correct harness and Canbus to come in before it will work. It should arrive next Tuesday!

I currently have a 64gb card in my radio. How do you get offline maps to install on the micro SD card as opposed to the on board storage? I'm a Youtube Red subscriber and was able to download my playlist to the radio, but I can't seem to find where to modify the save location.

Some quirks I've noticed is that it does not pair to my phone's hotspot automatically. But I think that's more of an issue with my phone. I leave mobile hotspot on and the radio doesn't auto-pair. So I have to go to the settings on my phone and toggle wifi off/on on the radio and it will pair with my phone.

 

[Sir Boofuls]

sorry, here is the link to aliexpress site that has the usb data switch.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/USB...223.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.7c642e0eVQjO5a


as for the storage thing, their is a setting under storage to install to SD card instead of the main storage. then you can down load offline maps to the backup SD.

 

[Sir Boofuls]

when you get your harness and canbus in can you take a picture of it and post it, i want to compare my current canbus to what you get in.



Also i have installed in glove box the dual power USB and a other set for the USB pass-through to the android unit. now i am waiting for the front and back dash cam, the cam for the front bumper/ grill. then it on to sound proofing the doors and trunk.

 

[nw.r]

I finally got all the parts in. I got the correct harness, canbus and usb adapter. Now all my speakers work and I’m able to use the factory USB plug for power and data. I also connected the CarPlay adapter behind the radio so it’s hidden and now the factory USB plug works for CarPlay too. And because I. Now have a canbus, my Bluetooth dongle can read ECU information! Apps like Torque can display engine data in real time.

With the other two spare usb cables the radio came with, I added a USB port on the driver’s side panel near the fog light switch. I dropped the last usb cable in the glovebox until I find a better place for it.

The only thing I haven’t been able to figure out is backup camera. When going into reverse screen switch to the reverse camera but the picture is black. The guided lines are there but that’s because I chose to turn those on. Also, the reverse camera in the mirror still works.

How did you wire you reverse camera to work on the radio?

 

[nw.r]

Also, did you use the ground or tap into reverse or brake? I didn’t do any of these and the radio seems to be fine other than the reverse camera not displaying.

 

[nw.r]

Here's a picture of the Canbus. All the functions on the steering wheel works without having to map it using the built-in app. Only drawback is now the "mode" button on the steering wheel toggles through music apps on the radio. I rather it bring me back to the home screen or launch my navigation app. This was possible before the Canbus.
BUT, now my OBD2 reader works with the radio and I get all those handy functions.

I still have an issue where when I shift to reverse, the input changes on the radio to the camera, but there's no video to display. Did you get this to work, SirBoofuls?

 

[Sir Boofuls]

Because of are model Ch-r 2018 the backup camera in the mirror, the only way to get the signal to the android unit is to tap into it from the plug line up by the mirror. their is no signal that goes to the android unit or the factory unit with are model. All i did was clip a Yellow video RCA jack and patched 2 wires (i used Red and Black) to the RCA jack, heat shink the connection and cable braided the line for a total of 8 to 10 feet, then i made a quick connect to the end of the RCA line. next all i did was make a 4 inch patch line that i could tap into the mirror plug with the other connector for the quick disconnect. I got the pin out for the plug from another post in this forum, then i just tapped the CV- and CV+ line for the video line, then ran the cables back to the unit. A little extra work but i have the video signal in the mirror and on the unit.

 

[Sir Boofuls]

Hay, can you do me one more favor, can you take a picture of the 28 pin connector that plugs into the CHR Factory 28 pin plug, i think they messed up the pinout for mine. most everything works i just get no canbus info. If you can take a pic of the wires top and bottom. thanks for any help

 

[nw.r]

I already have everything installed and in place. But when I get a chance I'll try and get a picture for you. Have you tried contacting them? When i told them they sent me the wrong wiring harness and it missing some things, they just sent me the correct cables without hassle.

 

[nw.r]

Because of are model Ch-r 2018 the backup camera in the mirror, the only way to get the signal to the android unit is to tap into it from the plug line up by the mirror. their is no signal that goes to the android unit or the factory unit with are model. All i did was clip a Yellow video RCA jack and patched 2 wires (i used Red and Black) to the RCA jack, heat shink the connection and cable braided the line for a total of 8 to 10 feet, then i made a quick connect to the end of the RCA line. next all i did was make a 4 inch patch line that i could tap into the mirror plug with the other connector for the quick disconnect. I got the pin out for the plug from another post in this forum, then i just tapped the CV- and CV+ line for the video line, then ran the cables back to the unit. A little extra work but i have the video signal in the mirror and on the unit.

Do you have a link to this thread? I would like to get more details so I can try this.

 

[Sir Boofuls]

I can do one better about the mirror tap for signal, First picture is the plug for the mirror under the plastic shell for the collision detection/active radar. the small plate pops out from the head liners side, pull down and the small hatch pops out. the rest of the housing slides toward the front of the car to pop off, you need to take this off the get to the plug. The plus is on the right side of the mirror base housing, push the 2 tabs on each side and the clip pops out then you can disconnect the main plug that goes to the mirror line.Undo the wrap/ tesa tape to expose the wires, as shown in the picture. The top 2 wires are what you need, red with gray marking is the signal main rca jack line, the Pink with gray is the out shell rca jack line. i just used a pair of wire strippers to pull back the line and solder in lines to each. then i ran a short piece of wire to a quick disconnect so if i have to replace anything it is easy to do. i bought a 8 foot RCA to RCA shielded cable off amazon, cut one end off stripped the cable back about 2 inches and solder 2 short wires to the cable, red for center line and black for the out side line, then put the other side of the quick connect to the end of the wire. then ran the cable down the headline, the A pillar, to the glove box, then to the radio area, finally connecting to the radio. this way you can have signal in the mirror and on the unit.

 

[Sir Boofuls]

yea, i been talking to them about it, at first i thought it was canbus module, i sent them pics for the canbus and check with your pics to match it being the right one, then they walk me through what setting it should be on to pull the right info, no error their. while this was going on a mapped the harness from the unit and what lines did what. Then i mapped the CH-R 28 pin factory plug for its pin location and what they most likely did, this was a pain to do with very little info out their on it for the CH-R. that is how i know it the harness that is the issue and the Canbus lines on the harness are on pins 9 and 10, but the CH-R plug does not have any pins in this location. i know pins 21 is key 2, pin 22 is key1, 23 is key ground. So the only pins i don't know what they do is pins 3,4,5,6,17,18,19 as the pics down below show and now I am waiting for their response back. My harness all works except the canbus lines are wrong i can repin the harness if I know where the 2 line for canbus are meant to go that was i don't have to wait for them to send me a new harness, I can fix this one tell the new one comes in when they get back to me.


i just want to finish this so i can tweak the radio, because my next project will be sound proofing the car, starting with the doors and the tire wells, and then the cargo area the the engine hood. the hood is last as i what to 3d print and cast some parts for the inside of the hood to hold the LCD light for the hood and engine area. After that is a mat for under the car to deaden the undercarriage, then i work on the front and back bumper for the extra turn signals and LED upgrades. that should take tell July to finish, by then their should be some engine mods and other stuff to work on.