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There is a unique charm in fitting new software into older hardware. While Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can technically be installed in any vehicle equipped with an aftermarket head unit, achieving a native appearance on an older factory screen is much more sophisticated. This is particularly beneficial for the 100 Series Toyota Land Cruiser, allowing drivers to use smartphone apps without sacrificing the factory touchscreen for climate controls.
Incorporating smartphone apps into a Bush II-era Land Cruiser is surprisingly straightforward. A simple dongle can be connected to the back of the SUV’s head unit. Although drag and gesture inputs may not function perfectly on an old resistive touchscreen, it still works. The most challenging part of the installation process involves disassembling the dashboard for access. Here’s a demonstration of one such setup in operation:
The result looks somewhat low-resolution, but this actually complements the interior’s overall aesthetic.
Older Land Cruisers are particularly well-suited for this type of retrofit due to the integration of vent and fan controls within the touchscreen. This complicates head unit replacements compared to other vehicles. However, the ability to retain the original dashboard design while adding CarPlay functionality is appealing.
This topic recently caught my eye when it was discussed in a Facebook group for Land Cruiser enthusiasts and on the off-road forum IH8MUD. Initially, I believed the original poster had developed a technique to integrate CarPlay into the old system, but it turns out it’s simply a widely available adapter that not everyone is aware of yet.
Kudos to Augie Badura for thorough research in finding and successfully installing this adapter to confirm its functionality. For those driving a 100 Series Land Cruiser and wanting enhanced connectivity with modern smartphones, this appears to be an excellent solution. Additionally, if you are interested in how CarPlay and Android Auto can be integrated into later models like the 200 Series Land Cruiser, similar updates are possible.
While there are likely various companies providing these solutions, consider exploring NAViKS for 100 Series trucks and BeatSonic for a 200 Series kit. These could serve as a good starting point. Although disassembling the dashboard of a 200 Series may be more complicated, at least this type of work tends to be cleaner than repairs made under the hood.
For those who, like me, are intrigued by the ability to use Google Maps while keeping the original appearance of an older vehicle’s dashboard, feel free to share this information in discussions about phone mounts and inventive ways to integrate new head units into classic cars.
As a millennial, it’s a challenge to acknowledge, but vehicles from the early 2000s are now considered classics. It’s official: we’re getting older. However, today’s vintage cars are generally easier to manage than the classics of the past. In simpler terms, driving a 2004 model in 2024 is far less troublesome than navigating a 1984 vehicle would have been two decades ago. We can attribute this improvement to significant advancements in comfort and reliability that occurred around the turn of the millennium. This clarifies why one may wish to add CarPlay to a 100 Series Land Cruiser. Yet, there’s also a unique appeal in maintaining the original cockpit design, and preserving the factory look will undoubtedly help these vehicles age gracefully.
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