A repeat customer of ours recently picked up this Scion xB as a winter vehicle but needed to add a backup camera and some connectivity features like navigation to it. He didn't want to spend too much as the vehicle was bought at a very low cost so he picked up this generic head unit off of Amazon. These low-cost head units all run a similar Android interface and have decent touchscreen response and resolution. That being said, there are a few things you should know before purchasing one of these receivers:
- While they all say they are double din, many of these units do not offer the proper chassis to mount on a double din slot.
- Sound quality is usually very poor due to low quality DAC and poor sound processing. For this Scion which had a factory Pioneer radio, the sound quality was noticeably worse
- Some of the functions of this head unit require a data connection so be prepared to turn on the hotspot feature of your smartphone.
- Often times these are not set up properly for North American radio, you will need to go into the advanced settings menu to choose the frequencies you need. This menu requires a pass code to get into which you may find in the manual or by asking the vendor
- Google Maps is not a good offline maps solution as maps expire and will constantly need to be redownloaded. Here Maps is a better solution for offline maps but even then is not great for navigation if no internet connection is provided.
Perhaps the most important of the aforementioned issues is the mounting options provided. For Toyotas and many other Japanese vehicles, the factory metal brackets typically need to be reused for installing an aftermarket double din radio. However, the chassis on these head units are often too shallow to secure to the OEM bracket. Unlike an Alpine, Sony, or Pioneer floating head unit, this particular head unit is a one piece design where the screen is attached to the chassis. This poses a major problem for installation because it will typically block the factory mounting bolts due to the oversized front.
Do not be surprised if you are charged more to install this head unit compared to traditional double din stereos as some fabrication and custom work is typically required to mount it securely. This exact radio shell is used on many car-specific kits which include the necessary mounting clips and brackets to hold the screen in place. However, these ARE NOT a universal fit and there are many cars they will not work on without extensive custom work. For this install, we mounted the screen to the front fan surround, rather than the factory double din brackets as such an install is impossible.
Contact us today if you are interested in getting a head unit installed in your vehicle!
