2019 or 2020?

I agree... I had a '19 ORP and just sold it for a '20 ORP a couple of weeks ago. The wiring is indeed quite different, and the Premium sound system sounds WAAAY better in the 20 than the 19.

 

Interesting observation about the premium sound system. I was comparing the 19 and 20 Limiteds on several counts and when testing the stereo thought the 20 sounded better. But it was on different days and I wasn't sure if it was my imagination, cause I wasn't aware of hardware differences beyond the big new screen. Either way, it's a good stereo. The systems in most of my other cars have been pretty poor.

Regarding the infotainment system generally, this one is prob my favorite so far. The one that came with my 2019 Subaru was good overall -- responsive and maybe with a better UI than the Toyota, but it had one really annoying feature: the radio would come on every time you started the car. It didn't matter that you turned off the radio before shutting the car off. It would come on anyway. It was nuts. I emailed Subaru and said, uh, if your customers turned off their seat heaters before shutting off their cars, would you automatically turn them on the next time they restarted? If they closed their sunroof, would you reopen it? Why on earth do you think they want their radios to come on automatically?

Subaru said thanks for your feedback. LOL. It was only by searching a forum like this that I learned you had to hold down the power button for 5-10 seconds to force the infotainment system to go to sleep before shutting off the car. Turning off the radio would never be enough on its own. Silly.

 

@Singleminded I haven't had any issues with my 2020 head unit, and I've been driving the vehicle for 6 months.

A friend of mine had issues with his iPhone X and the head unit, but an update from Apple fixed it, along with a flash from the dealer. Since then it's been good, and that was in February.

I don't think the other guy is a shill for a company, I think he's just had a bad experience and making sure he spreads as much negative press as possible. I can say when my friend was having his issues, he sounded the same way and with good reason, it was frustrating.

In the end, the 20 system is a lot better than the 16 I had driven for the 4 years before, and aftermarket units aren't a flawless as people make them out to be but can offer great features like Maestro OBDII links and stuff. however, I like the clean look of the OEM fitment, which is superior due to the fact it's built like that from the factory, no cheap plastic bezeled adapters, etc, so I'll suffer on with my 20', which hasn't let me down yet.

 

You must be a really high maintenance dude if you think the 2020 head unit is garbage.

This is actually my first vehicle that even has a touch screen head unit, so it's pretty badass to me. I focus on driving when I'm in the vehicle, though, so the stereo/head unit is always one of the LEAST of my concerns. Still, it's a damn nice thing(and much safer) to be able to look over at that nice big screen for navigation and music selection instead of having to mess with my phone. The stock unit does a lot more than I ever expected, so I think I'll probably enjoy using for long term.

 

I assumed this forum is like a lot of others - don't mention our competitors. So I also assume you guys know the "other" forum I am alluding to. That's the best place to search for threads on the head unit problem. A few examples that are across the board, not limited to one person:

Constant disconnect, connect, disconnect from bluetooth as long as the truck is running. Affects a lot of Android users, not so much Apple.

No ability to control volume while the extra long splash screen stays up. If you leave the truck with AC/DC blasting and get in later with your family, you sit there spinning the volume knob while nothing happens for ten seconds.

The inability to label SXM stations, so the only identifier is the channel number.

The very rudimentary phone book. Examples: No ability to designate one phone number out of two (or more) associated with a person as the primary number. If Singleminded has two numbers, home and cell, I cannot tell the phone book to call Singleminded's cell every time I touch his name. I have to hit his name, then hit his cell number. Every time. Example two: worse yet, if Singleminded has only one single phone number, I cannot call him by touching his name. I have to touch "singleminded" which then shows his only phone number, then I have to touch that number.

Under the radio menu there are various submenus like presets, replay, etc. You will almost always want it to show your list of presets so you can change channels. But instead, the head unit randomly switches to other submenus when you go to other main menu items. So you're listening to the radio with presets listed across the bottom. You then switch to the "Home" button or "phone" or something else. When you come back to the radio screen, chances are you will not have your presets on the bottom of the screen because it randomly switches to another submenu like "replay".

Lots of people with firmware upgrade problems. They are supposed to be OTA, but many are several versions behind and cannot force the radio to upgrade. No rhyme or reason why some are having to go to the dealer to force the upgrade.

Three bands of equalization. Really? In a $40k vehicle?

The functioning of the navigation/maps is just a joke for a whole host of reasons.

Whole threads about the very delicate screen that scratches very easily. I have not experienced this.

Just a couple of things off the top of my head. And these are all experienced/reported from people (including me) on the latest firmware and having brought to the dealer to report the issues - and are told there's nothing that can be done. Does it make it unusable? Of course not. But it's inexcusable compared to the functioning of even a $300 aftermarket unit, much less a nice midrange or high end unit.

Edit - just saw nightrunner's comment. What's with you guys resorting to insults when someone has a contrary opinion?

 

Good info, thanks for posting it. I suspect that many people are like me -- they expect poor software design in their car's infotainment system but don't find it much of a problem in day to day life because they are using Apple CarPlay, which IMO as an avid computer user is an outstanding system. I've lived with infotainment systems in a 2013 Subaru, 2015 VW, 2016 BMW, 2019 MINI, 2019 Subaru and now a 2020 Toyota. All of them were frustrating and almost amusingly bad in their design, rescued only by the CarPlay on those that had it. My experience so far shows the Toyota system to be no worse than the others overall and in some respects better. But again, I use CarPlay so I don't much notice the other issues. And for the radio I generally use the steering wheel controls and the display in the instrument panel. Hopefully I'll remain lucky on the crashing / updates issue. Fingers crossed.

While I haven't used a modern aftermarket system, you don't have to convince me that they have a better UI. The problems with car-manufacturer systems are so absurd that anyone else should be able to do a better job.

As a reminder, the original debate was about the 2020 4R system vs the 2019 4R system. It wasn't about the 2020 system or other OEM systems vs the aftermarket. In that specific contest (again, what the OP was about) the 2020 seems to win hands down. That's IMHO and apparently those of others on this forum who have weighed in. Doesn't mean it doesn't have the kinds of problems you describe, just that it has many advantages over the 19. And that's the discussion we were having -- how to choose between the 19 and 20.

Thanks again for posting the helpful info.

 

No sweat man. Thanks for the comments. I just see a lot of "'19 vs. '20" threads and one of the biggest reason people give for going with the '20 is the new head unit. I just want people to understand that it's not all it's imagined to be. Yes it has car play and android auto, and a 1" bigger screen. But don't let that be a deciding factor in light of all the other issues it has.

And by the way, do a quick look at the IData Maestro units. They're freaking magic. It allows you to put an aftermarket head unit/amp in place of the OEM unit and retain all functionality of the OEM unit on the aftermarket one. All the adjustments, screens, steering wheel controls, setup OBD gauges on the screen, etc. And no I don't work for them. Just impressed with their technology.

 

That was hardly an insult.

More of a light-hearted jab, if anything. Not meant to be taken serious or hurt any feelings.

I haven't had any of those issues that others have, nor do I have any of the complaints that others have had. To me, it's the best thing ever, but my vehicles have always been very simple and I keep them for a very long time. Last vehicle was an 09 Accord, 2 trims up from the base model, and I drove it for nearly 11 years. Before that, an 03 Mustang Mach 1 that I've had since 2005(still have it). Both had basic LCD displays, and no bluetooth. The 4Runner stock unit may not be as "bleeding edge" as what companies like BMW and Mercedes have, but for me it's FAR from garbage. All about perspective.

 

I can agree. I haven't experienced any of the issues that people have been reporting from a problematic standpoint on my 20... On my 19 however, they had to replace the radio 3 times, seeing that it would automatically restart, it would lock up, stop responding or just disconnect my calls in the middle of a conversation. It was quite annoying.

Cheers,

Sean

 

I got an over the air update last month that fixes this.

I wonder if the USB update from the Toyota website would help with this.

Yes, but Android Auto fixes that super well.

True. Crazy as it may seem, it might be worth buying a screen protector before you even have your truck.

 

Wow there sure is a lot of complaining about high tech Foo Foo crap. I ordered my 2014 Wrangler from the factory with no tech, It even has hand crank windows. I get the feeling a few of you guys would not know how to use them.

 

My 65 Corvair has a high tech AM radio with push buttons to preset SIX different stations. And it has two 6 x 9 coaxial jensen speakers.

 

My first brand new car had roll up windows and no AC. And that was in 1991. (I can't picture the radio -- did it have a cassette player?)

 

No, 1965 was before cassettes. It's just an AM radio. The car did come with some nice options though, like a passenger side review mirror, and turn signals that turn off by themselves after turning a corner.

 

See what you started?