[dwtalk]

Its cool you got it working, but at that point why not go the aftermarket route and have better sound quality too?

Good question. Same reason I have a VK56 and not a LS, try and stick close to factory.

Aftermarket would have been a ton easier, but I like the aesthetic of a factory unit.

 

[dwtalk]

Interesting... must have been a pain to get the wiring sorted out.
Since you said "Happy to discuss what the unit offers", I have questions out of curiosity:

1. How much did you spend for all of the parts required to do this (including how much you paid for the head unit?)
2. What specific Nissan year/model/trim was this head unit pulled from?
3. What's the diagonal screen size, and is it capacitive?
4. Is that visible gap between the top of the head unit and the dash trim just bad alignment, or is there really a gap?
5. Are you using the native OEM microphone in the ceiling console for voice commands?
6. You did not mention anything about native navigation (not Android Auto/Carplay based). I know it would be redundant, but did the head unit you installed not have built-in nav?
7. Regarding this little tidbit:
So upfront what's the price tag for these "kits" you plan on selling?

1,2,7 I'll answer in the thread I start when I list them, there is a lot to it so I need to do my own math.

3, unsure if it is capacitive, ill have to put on a glove and test it
4, just needed re-seated since I pulled it out so many times, the bracket needed adjusted. Having the top cover off also allows light in, you wont see the gap in the videos.
5, yes
6, there is no native nav. it would be redundant once you get these new features. Once Google Maps and Waze took over, nav in screens with paid nav updates from dealers just seems silly.

 

[dwtalk]

@dwtalk

I'm kind of interested in the kit you mentioned offering, I already have a bunch of BS going on and sort of the last thing I want to deal /w right now is figuring out all of the wiring for this stuff. I am curious though, is there anyway you can guarantee harness or wiring compatibility with the 2019 models? Because after doing some reading it seems like they made a few arbitrary harness and wiring changes that don't seem to match up with older models.

I posted up the kit information here: FS: Nissan Apple CarPlay & Android Auto Receiver Radio

I totally get that for most, aftermarket would be better for them in terms of dollar / audio quality ratio.

Wiring knowledge would def be needed. You are absolutely right, there are a ton of different Frontier harnesses going on so there needs to be a conversion to the new 40 and 20 pin. I have a male 20-pin included which should take care of 1 of the 2 harnesses easily. The other one will likely be a 24/30/40 pin harness that your radio uses that will need mapped using the wiring diagram. My 2016 had a 24pin.

 

[dwtalk]

This doesn't really go with the OP's original post, but more to Raine's inquiry as to GPS. If you need off grid maps on an iphone(unsure about android availability or hardware) you can use the app called Sygic. It allows you to download the maps for the entire US onto your phone so that it will still function much like a standalone GPS unit even without cell reception.

I also use Google Maps offline feature. Downloads a region and then you don't have to worry about signal loss.

Paying for map updates is a rip off.

 

[dwtalk]

Reading this I’m wondering if you can work out a new type of tire for me too since all this work is kinda pointless when there’s great aftermarket products likely at a fraction of the cost. I’m on my third head until with CarPlay in my truck and just last week put one in my wife’s Prius. (Toyota’s are notoriously PITA for adapting aftermarket head units but there’s kits aplenty.) I’d never go to Nissan for something like this.

But I guess that’s why there’s chocolate, vanilla, and raw cream to make your own flavor.

To each their own. Glad you've found success with aftermarket units you like.

Nissan has some goodies for our trucks though that are factory from other donor models. Vk swap, Titan suspension swap, Z brake upgrade, and more.

I've got a plan in the works to add push button start once I can nab the steering column lock module off a 2020 frontier.

 

[dwtalk]

I love the tailgate cap on the newer trucks. I have also adapted to being midnight. But the mechanical items and aesthetic items are a different story. An OEM head unit is just an adapted brand name unit with a premium price and peculiarities that intentionally make it difficult to traverse into vehicles it wasn’t intended for. I simply don’t see the point paying through the nose for a Nissan branded Panasonic unit when there’s perfectly suitable Kenwood, JVC, Pioneer and others for far less $.

Good perspective, I respect it.

I do agree that the manufacturers make it difficult on purpose. Why not make a factory V8 Frontier? ...because they want you to buy a Titan. Why not put an advanced Infotainment system in a budget mid-size truck? ...because they want you to spend more on a diff model or look at an Infinity SUV. Why not put this in a base trim Sentra? ...because they can get you to upgrade to a higher trim model. They are smart, I'll give them the credit they deserve for the marketing ploy.

I do think though that long term the aftermarket options will become bleaker. Ever since the 2010's? Chrysler 300 came out and began integrating features of the BCM into the head unit, the trajectory has been set. Car alarm and audio shops have dried up compared to what they once were. The radio/receiver, called "controller" by Nissan, is one of the main computers on the car. This computer will increasingly become more customized and integrated with the other computers in the car. Many cars now exclusively have climate control systems through the head unit / controller. It's not a bad thing necessarily. My wife's Lexus has option for Mark Levinson sound system, it sounds great. This Bosch unit runs a linux port and seems to be a fairly well built controller (If I could only jailbreak it, it would open large doors, but alas my penetration testing on it has not gone well. They've employed some strong security measures like certificate pinning which has prevented me from hacking it).

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next-gen 2021 Frontier. If you look at the Navara there is a strong tie to the combination meter display for menu options and display output from the head unit. In the Benz X-Class there is even more discomfort as a standard aftermarket unit would be awkward to sit in the same orientation as the stock unit.

I'd say we should learn up as much as possible on how these units work so we have options (stock and aftermarket) in the future

 

[dwtalk]

"Why not make a factory V8 Frontier?"
Because they don't have to, because there is no mainstream demand, and because the Frontier has been selling well as is. They've sold the Frontier for 16 years now with the same 4.0L V6 and essentially the same body and trim (aside from the mild refresh in 2009+). They've sold this truck for this long because people are still buying them equipped the way they have been since 2004. If there was any demand for a V8 Frontier (actual market demand, not niche enthusiast demand) I'm pretty sure they would have done it by now.

I've got 3 mid-size V8 4wd/awd vehicles. 06 4Runner, 15 GX460, and now 16 Frontier. There is demand with towing, crawling, etc. but CAFE standards make it hard for manufacturers. Check out the prices on the v8 4runners or v8 pathfinders, kinda silly high due to demand and rarity.

A few other manufacturers had a v8 in their mid-size truck at some point. Dakota, Colorado, etc. If you've been around a while, hot-rodding mags used to regularly cover V8 swaps for rangers and S10's. A lot of the interest stems from the 70's-80's when trucks were as fast / faster than most cars due to govt restrictions. I guess those drivers have gotten old and need to stick to the right lane The fast factory trucks used to have neat names too like Lightning and Syclone.

Hard to say if people would buy it if it was offered, but certainly engine diversity has been interesting in other trucks like the #1 selling F-150 offering the Eco-blows and coyote. I'd buy a tacoma tomorrow if it had the 5.7L in it, but they are absolute dogs with their v6 and you have to put the pedal down 110% to build any rpm for power.

I'm just glad to see that Nissan went with the 3.8L v6 and didn't turbo the 4 for 2020+

 

[dwtalk]

Used head unit or not.... As I mentioned above, I like the larger winglike tailgate cap on the newer Frontiers so I went to the salvage yard database to find some wrecked late model Frontiers with the wing. They want $150 for the two pieces! Not much difference from the cost new, so I suspect that late model CarPlay head unit out of a Sentra is still considerably more expensive than a new JVC. I just bought one for $250 plus $50 for adapters and misc for a Toyota. Along the same line, someone here recently was talking about putting a factory GPS head unit. Yikes! First, why when you can do CarPlay or Android Auto. Second, I had one in a Murano. $200 a year for map updates.

I’m amused by the obsession of installing upgrades stamped NISSAN.

EDIT ...wrong link

 

[dwtalk]

Posting the parts here that someone would need if they want to do this on their own. I sold through the radio's I had, so am going to centralize some more information here about the parts needed for the conversion. As promised, when I sold through, I would upload additional details if someone wanted to do it themselves.

1. Nissan factory head unit:
2591A5UD0A or 2591A5UD0B

2. 20-pin female harness with any needed added wire.

3. The 20-pin male harness with wires needed.

4. A 40-pin custom harness

5. 2 x Nissan USB connectors for the back of the unit (you may already have one in the back of your unit). These came from a supplier in China and took two months to arrive, FYI.

6. A programmed board and a soldered Arduino mega board for the analog to digital conversion of steering wheel controls and a breadboard with 1k resistors for each steering wheel channel hooked to the analog input 0 and 1. You also need aSeeed studio CAN-Bus Shield V2 to create the Nissan media can-bus, these parts require programming and soldering. Once completed it will look something like below. I put a home-made case around mine eventually.

The wires are:
Incoming Steering Switch A - blue
Incoming Steering Switch B - white
Incoming Steering Ground - black
Power - ACC
Ground
Outgoing Media Can-H
Outgoing Media Can-L

7. Camera re-wiring and install instructions. This was actually harder than I expected so I documented it all and will provide photos/instructions.
Instructions available here: AA-AC Frontier Upgrade - Camera
I did see that newer vehicles 2017+ may have a 'camera det' on the wiring diagram. This may be a solid shield all the way to the camera. Someone with a 2017+ would need to poke around to verify.

8. Antenna connectors. The receiver supports an amplified antenna, but we will use it in a non-amplified manner as the frontier has a long antenna.
Showing the difference here. Need one on left, frontier on right. This seems impossible to find, but I have two of them if someone is interested in purchasing.

9. Secret menu access instructions to input the correct values for the backup camera. I did some research and had to figure these all out. There are secret screens to modify the unit from acting like a car backing up to new data to act like a crew cab wide radius frontier backing up. I'll post up in a bit.

What you may want/need still:

OPTIONAL: A dash mount USB plug (to replace a 12v outlet on passenger side). I purchased the item below off of ebay and it worked well after a shim.
USB AUX Adapter Socket 3.5mm Jack Car Dashboard Mounted Extension Cable MA1101 | eBay

OPTIONAL: A amp level to factory amp audio converter such as the SCOSCHE SLC4 (needed if you have a factory rockford amp or aftermarket amp that requires line-level). I turned the gain all the way down on mine and it works great with rockford.

Open items to be aware of:
The diagnostics of the unit will report Combination meter not working 100% since we are just imitating it
The antenna will report an open circuit as we are not using an amplifier and don’t hook up the 12v power to the radio amp (not needed unless you want a shark fin antenna)
I am not sure what would happen in NissanConnect, thinking this feature won’t work

 

[dwtalk]

To get into the secret menu of the radio, you hold down MENU and then push the volume button in and turn the wheel left 90 degrees then right 90 degrees a few times.

Once in, you can get to advanced configuration screens such as this:

The settings we will need to update are for the camera. Specifically these values need to be changed from the Sentra to fit a crew-cab frontier.

They are mostly measurements in mm which I determined by actually measuring the vehicle.

Width: 1849

Wheelbase: 3198

Rear overhang: 1270 (measured from center of axle, about 50” till end of bumper)

Max Steering Wheel Angle: 630 (one and ¾ turns)

Radius Turning Fact: 150 (just over 30% more than Sentra. Curb to curb on sentra is 34.8ft and crew cab frontier is 43.6ft) -- I had to guess here, maybe needs refinement.

CamX offset: 89 (we are about 3.5” left of center on tailgate)

CamY offset: 165 (we are about 6.5” above vehicle height midpoint)

CamZ offset: 1130 (overhang minus 5.5” for bumper)


Others:

Min front tire change: 1 (I may update this to 2 in the future so not as sensitive on when to kick in the anticipatory line)

 

[dwtalk]

@SoCal your spot on about the analog to digital conversion that I did. It is an Arduino uno that I used to do the analog to digital conversion. I had to get an exact Sentra to be-able to reverse the Nissan MCAN protocol and heartbeat. I tried a few times with other models and they had different digital signals on the media bus. I then used that info and the resistance values across the frontier steering wheel controls to build a program that would assist in the conversion. Lots of adapters on the market to go from digital to analog or digital to consumer grade protocol (SONY, pioneer, etc), but no one had anything off the shelf that would convert analog to nissan specific digital signal.

 

[dwtalk]

I also recently switched from a Android to an iPhone. CarPlay arguably works better, seems faster and like it gets less interruption. The CarPlay must use the black USB port in the back of the unit and not the brown where android auto can use the brown port on the back. Also the brown port is always on, so leaving something plugged in like an amazon echo auto will drain the battery (ask me how I know....)

 

[dwtalk]

I am extremely interested in doing this mod to my 2019 Frontier. Can someone help point me in the right direction. I'm not squeamish when it comes to modding things. I have some experiences with arduinos. Can I possibly get the code? Also, any written documentation? Thanks for anyone's help?

Welcome lee_stow. The head units to do this mod have gotten quite pricy. I have posted up a bit about settings and wiring though. The 2019 has a different wiring (40-pin) than the earlier frontiers so I would start there and ensure it is a project you want to tackle.

What other mods do you have? Jumping into this project as a first post is an interesting start

Feel free to DM

 

[dwtalk]

Do you have any kits for sale at this time? Also, your links to vimeo videos aren't working.

Updated the video links, thanks for noticing.

I don't have any kits available. I've moved onto other projects (fixing OD disable, and adding tow mode is my current one). I think the consensus from most was that aftermarket gave more bang for the buck after the head units shot up in price. I've seen these units regularly go for 500-1000 as they are somewhat plug and play on some sentra models that did not have these features.