Celica Dashboard Sat Nav Project

[JayG]

Hi folks. I thought I'd share my recent sat nav dashboard project on the Celica.

 

[JayG]

As I posted another DIY thread yesterday, I thought I'd bump this previous one back up as it didn't seem to get much love. 

[RUToyota]

Finished result looks good...nice one...

[Jim meister]

Good job mate :-) love it.

[Jim meister]

I keep my cigarettes in the top box part. It holds six packs which last a weekend away. Have you had any lift problems?

[ezzkazz]

Looks really good but Im not sure I want to lose my top pocket. The stereo you have in there (not sat nav), whats it like? I was just looking at getting that one but wanted to know if its any good?

[JayG]

I only ever used to keep my sunglasses in that top storage thingy so I much prefer the sat nav over the storage. 
The stereo in those pics, I've actually since replaced it with a Pioneer SPH DA230DAB which really is a truly outstanding piece of kit.

The one in the pics had a few downfalls:

1. The clock on it doesn't seem to count properly and ends up about 10 mins fast within a week.
2. The sound quality I thought wasn't bad until I heard the pioneer I replaced it with. The sound quality difference was massive.
3. It advertises Bluetooth phone pairing, but can't take an external mic, the internal mic was useless, no one could hear me properly.
4. It auto loads your phone's contacts but not the contact names, so all you get is a list of numbers.
5. Out the box, the top door tweeters don't work and produce a constant hiss unless you modify some wiring.
6. It doesn't support DAB or any radio text. So it doesn't say station names like "Radio 2" it'll just be the numbers.

The good:

1. It had really good media support. USB / Micro SD / CD / DVD / Aux In and bluetooth.
2. Played almost any video or audio file I threw at it. 
3. The album art features for music worked great.
4. Is not double din size, it's designed specifically for the Celica centre console so no adaptors or wasted space.

If you don't plan to use it as a handsfree kit for your phone and you don't care about the clock being out of whack. For music and video, it does the job but you will need to sort the tweeter wiring out unless you love white noise hiss. In fact, that might only be an issue if you have the premium sound system with the amplifier in the boot.

But I can't say I'd recommend it. You'd get a far superior sound from any named brand head unit I'm sure.
I absolutely adore the Pioneer I replaced it with and can't recommend it enough.

I bought the one in the pics for around £130ish if that helps prevent you getting ripped off or paying more for it elsewhere.
Mine is sitting in its box that you can have for postage cost if you decide you still want to go for it.

 

[ezzkazz]

 

Thanks for the info on the stereo, much appreciated.

I think the only thing with regards to your points about downfalls that would annoy me would be the hissing. I dont think I have the premium system as I dont have anything in the boot. Would you seriously post it for just the shipping cost? I cant afford a huge amount for a replacement for mine as my cd doesnt work at all Ive been stuck the radio for I dont know how long so I think it might be worth a punt if you are happy to post it. Would I need to buy one of those wiring looms?

For future reference I would be interested in what pioneer unit you have now.

If you want to pm me your details for payment that would be great and if I decide its not for me, I too would return the gesture and offer it for postage to someone else. Thats of course if that is what you meant by having it for postage cost.

[JayG]

The Pioneer I replaced it with is this one: Pioneer SPH DA230
 

And yep I totally did mean you can have it for just postage costs. If you want to ping me your address in a PM i'll find out how much that'll cost to send. I'm looking at MyHermes as they do door to door collection which is going to be more convenient than me having to take it somewhere to send.  Based off what I can see on their website it sounds like it'll be £6.99. I'll confirm that with you though once I've got your postcode.

I think I've got a spare wiring harness you can have too. I still have the original box the radio came in too.
I have paypal if that works for you.

 

[ezzkazz]

Wow, thanks a lot, you've made my day.

I would love to have it and postage wise, whatever is easiest for you Im happy with. Over a year listening to a radio, this will be bliss!

Thanks for info on the Pioneer, I will check it out.