Review on Navigation 2007 2013 2008 2013 Bluetooth Hotspots by Jeff Vasquez

***** UPDATE ***** 10 days after the 6-month manufacturer's guarantee expired, the device failed. All the buttons and handles on the driver's side stopped working, and the backlight also helped them. Before that, the built-in hands-free microphone didn't work either, but I rarely use it, so it didn't bother me. Before that it was a good unit. If you take the risk, the extended warranty is a MUST! Original Rating Installed on a 2008 Toyota Tundra with JBL audio but no factory navigation or factory backup camera. All in all, I'm very happy with the radio and the setup. I know how to work but have never worked with a car stereo and found it very doable. I had many questions about this radio, so I'd like to answer some of them here. Yes, it works great with the JBL audio system. in your tundra. There are two blue wires on the radio wiring harness that you need to connect. They are labeled and not connected to anything. One is labeled AUTO ANT and the other is labeled AMP CNTRL. I just split and connected the ends and everything worked great. Yes, the steering wheel remote control works perfectly. You'll need to assign what you want to do to each button on the steering wheel, but it's not difficult via the stereo menu. No, you don't have to cut any factory wires. The included wiring harness connects directly to your truck's wiring harness. Load times range from 20 to 30 seconds, but you don't have to wait that long to use the rear camera, and the instant lack of music wasn't an inconvenience to me. The device timeout is configurable in the menu from 0 to 60 minutes. So if you return to the car during this time, the download will be almost instantaneous. I'm by no means a music lover but I think the sound quality is equal or better than a standard radio. I've used a MicroSD with MP3s loaded and it seems to handle it very well. No bracket is required to mount the radio to the truck like the OEM radio did. I don't know if it needs to be screwed on, there are clips to hold it in place, but I screwed mine on and it seems a lot more solid. To do this I removed the brackets on the sides of the old radio, they are held in place by three screws each. The brackets on mine were a little deceptive. They looked and felt like they would fit straight onto a new radio with no problems, but when I tried to install the radio in the truck it stuck out too far. There are a couple of small metal grommets on the brackets to align with the OEM radio. These protrusions need to be removed, it only took about 5 minutes with a dremel. I was then able to properly attach the brackets to the new radio. Too bad I don't have any pictures of it. The best I can do is tell you that you need to use more front holes to mount the mount, but the small protrusions lead you to think the rear holes fit better. I hope it helps. It's great to be able to download any app from the Google App Store. The Navi button on the front of the radio can be programmed with any navigation program, but you will need a data source if the program you are using does not also load maps. There is a navigation program in the kit, but I haven't looked into it much. I prefer Waze and Google Maps which work great and connect to my phone's hotspot for data transfer. The only tricky part of the setup was the rear camera. There are practically no instructions for this, so I had to experiment a bit. There are two yellow AV wires attached to the camera wiring harness. One is labeled CCX AV IN and the other is labeled AUX AV IN. CCX AV IN should be used for rear camera, and AUX AV IN can be used for front camera if you want, or left blank. Another thing you need to do is connect a wire on the wiring harness that says "Backup" or "Reverse" to something that only turns on when your car is reversing. I disconnected the reversing camera from the reversing lights and also connected it to this "backup" line. This signals the box to display the rear camera image when your car shifts to REV and back. Overall I am very happy with the installation. I've only had it a few weeks and don't spend much time in my truck so this isn't a long term review. Although first thoughts are very good. I would have preferred a slightly firmer feel for the buttons, but I honestly don't use many of these with steering wheel controls. I don't like the image of the supplied reversing camera, all colors seem a bit blurry. I used an OEM camera in the tailgate handle instead, but the camera that came with it is fully functional. I'm concerned that the screen might be too bright when driving at night, but I don't do it often and haven't since installing it. The overall look is fantastic and suits the Tundra's curved dashboard very well. One minor complaint is that the OEM radio had brackets for the AC control panel, which sits just below the stereo, to mount on either side. This radio only has a bracket on the driver's side. I'm not sure why this is, but honestly it hasn't caused any problems yet. I am very satisfied, wish I had upgraded this stereo and added a rear view camera a few years ago. Hope this lasts and I hope this helps someone.