Installing Gps In Corolla T-sport

[madmax83]

Hello,

I have recently brought a 02 Corolla T-Sport, the car is fantastic and I would recommend one to anyone.

I would like a built in GPS so that I don’t have to stick one to the window screen ever time I need to use it. I have been looking at something like this, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-Din-DVD-GPS-Player...=item3a524df281 .

There are loads of 2 din 7” GPS/DVD units on eBay for about £200 to £300, so I was wondering if anyone had tried one and knew what they were like, I know they wont have the sound quality of something like an Alpine unit, but as long as they do a half decent job it would be good enough for me.

Also I have read that you loose the use of the steering wheel audio controls on the 02 (pre-face lift) model if you install a 3rd party stereo, unless you want to do some wiring anyway, but I found this http://www.carstereos4u.co.uk/toyota-stalk...385-314775-.php and http://www.incarexpress.co.uk/view_product...partno=CTSTY001 , does anyone know if this is the adapter I would need to make it work??

Any comments on this would be most welcome

[tonkit]

Madmax,

the following posts might help.

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...mode=linearplus

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...mode=linearplus

Cheers

tonkit

[madmax83]

Thanks for the reply tonkit, unfortunately, the post about the players seams to just recommend Alpines and Kenwood systems, when i have looked at these they are getting on for £800-£900 which is a lot more than i wanted to spend really. I cant find anyone who has actually tried one of these cheaper units.

The link you posted on the second link you gave me, for the adapter you used for your steering wheel controls, looks like the same product i linked to, is your corolla a pre-facelift or a facelift model? as i hear the the steering wheel controls connector is different...

Thanks again for your reply

Mark

[aaronjp1990]

you try d looking for the toyota gps?

[madmax83]

you try d looking for the toyota gps?

I haven't no, my dad spoke to Toyota about getting a replacement for the standard head unit on his Celica, and they quoted him over £1000 so i dread to think how much a full touch screen GPS would be direct from them.

I have seen the GPS units which look like the standard headunit for sale on eBay, though really i would prefer a proper GPS (ie TomTom) rather than it displaying turn by turn information on the tiny grey scale screen of the standard head unit.

[man-bing]

What's your overall budget for getting sat nav for your car?

[madmax83]

What's your overall budget for getting sat nav for your car?

Basically, as cheaply as i can (I have just got rid of a diesel for my new Corolla, so now most of my cash is going on petrol... damm that lift!!!)

Though I was looking at about a £300 head unit, with another £100 put aside for any adaptors i need to connect the stereo and the steering wheel controls and a new face plate to hold the new head unit in... so about £400 in total.

Which i know isnt a lot compared to some of the setup's i have seen on here and on the internet.

[man-bing]

Ok, the H/U you saw on eBay, looks ok and seems to tick all the right boxes your looking for, but you can't be certain it's what your looking for without having a look at it, or at least having all the relevant info about it, even with what the sellar saying it can do. If you are thinking of getting the unit, just make sure you know what your buying.

It's something i was planning to get for my H/U, but it isn't cheap.

Last time i checked, something like £1000 just for the sat nav unit!!

Even when you get a new car with sat nav in it, you can see why, they want to charge you an extra £2000+ for it.

To solve the steering wheel control, only one person on the forum, i know of, has acheived this.

Give nrgizerbunny a shout and see what his opinion is.

I've yet to find a third-party unit that does what it says, but im sure someone out there will prove me wrong

Bing

[madmax83]

Thank you for your help Bing.

I know what you mean, there's not much info there really... though I have been looking at some of the Units on ChinaVision (site: http://www.chinavasion.com/index.php/cName/car-dvd-players/ ) who seam to make a lot of the non branded units which show up on eBay. There site gives you a few more details as well, and there units are VERY cheap!! Finding anyone that has one or a review which isnt on there own site is very difficult though.

Thanks for pointing me in the direction of nrgizerbunny, I will try and drop him a message and see what he makes of those steering wheel adaptors, as i really dont have a clue what connections the car has and what connections the head unit has unfortunately, and i dont really want to dismantle the stereo to look until im ready to change it, as it dosnt look like the easiest of things to remove.

[man-bing]

Yoinking out the H/U is easier than you think.

I can help you on that one anyway, just look at my signature for more details

Bing

[madmax83]

Yoinking out the H/U is easier than you think.

I can help you on that one anyway, just look at my signature for more details

Bing

I have checked out your photos and guides a few times (there very useful, you did a good job) and seen a few other people saying how to do it... i think when i come to put it in, im happy to do it... though i didnt want to go though all that just to have a look ;)

[nrgizerbunny]

i would steer clear of those chinese one box dvd player/sat nav things. the issue is the FM and AM is cack no Traffic announce and your AM won't work full stop. Also the FM will be much worse than stock unless you are a dab hand with a soldering iron.

The steering wheel controls can be overcome relatively straightforward as i've done most of the blowing up already so you have that benefit of advice! maybe £10-£12 spent in maplins will sort that problem out. the corolla resistor network is a double ladder, most of the generic steering wheel controls are single ladder compatible so the "mode" button will not work without some relatively straightforward mods.

Personally I would buy a Kenwood or Pioneer or something like that, also consider changing the aerial or putting 12v down the antenna feed to get the onboard amp to work. Otherwise you won't have any Medium wave, - iguess it depends on whether you listen to football or not.

[madmax83]

Thanks for the advice nrgizerbunny, I dont really listen to the radio (except Kerrang Sometimes) so that doesn't bother me too much really... Though when i get around to buying a new Head Unit, i may drop you a message to see you have a circuit diagram or some instructions of what i need to do to get the steering wheel controls working.

Thanks again for everyone's help with this!