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.

 

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:

I’ve got 4 units to sell in a kit-like fashion which I'll post up in a few days / a week.

So upfront what's the price tag for these "kits" you plan on selling?

 

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.

 

Finally, another person who is interested in OEM to OEM upgrade.

Welcome to check my previous clueless posts

 

Raine funny you brought up the going into the woods ...... Was about to order a Kenwood multi media without the navigation. (Had an Excelon w/nav in my 2010) Went for a ride yesterday in the western hills in MA and lost both google and apple maps. Not a huge deal but a pia because dirt roads and small back roads aren't really marked well. Making me rethink whether I want to spend the extra $150 on the gps based system.

 

Honestly it's based on where you are. The conditions really dictate the need.

Lots of people these days over-rely on their smartphone for everything because it can do so many things all in one unit (phone, Internet, GPS, calculator, stopwatch, streaming music and video, etc.) but many don't realize that the moment you remove cellular data reception from the equation, so much of that smartphone becomes useless. Granted, most of these people I don't blame them - they probably spend 99% of their time in big cities or sprawling urban areas where cellular towers are widespread so they've rarely if ever experienced not having cellular reception.

But I've been in the woods a lot. I've been in the middle of desert areas a lot. I like driving with the GPS map on even when just driving around daily... so when I had to replace my old nav head unit last summer I went with a new unit that still had built-in Garmin sat-nav. I won't lie - I use Waze and Apple Maps probably 95% of the time I'm in the truck, but if I"m headed to the mountains or the desert I know that the built-in Garmin sat-nav will always work when my phone reception drops in and out.

 

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 only asked OP if the new HU had sat-nav because of all the trouble (and from the "not telling you yet" response, seems like a high $$$ too) that they seemed to have gone through just to get an OEM Nissan HU meant for other vehicle models to work in a Frontier... just to get AA/CarPlay.

With regards to your reply... that fact that you recommended a third-party paid app to be part of a mix of other components to "function much like" native GPS just goes against the whole advantages of having native GPS to begin with 😀

 

@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.

 

@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.

 

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.

 

Wut

 

Here's an article on using Google Maps offiline: How to download offline Google Maps to your phone

 

for apple user one of the best offline navigation altenatives is Here WeGo. the latest version supports Carplay with worldwide offline map.

This Is the Newest Alternative to Google Maps on CarPlay, and You’ll Love It

HERE WeGo has long been available on Android and iOS, but the app recently made its debut on CarPlay, basically becoming the latest alternative to the likes of Google Maps and Apple Maps behind the wheel.

www.autoevolution.com

 

iDatalink (Maestro) has helped bridge the gap(s) toward integration of the complicated interfacing scenarios. Our archaic trucks are not even close to some other manufacturers' models that use the touchscreen for controlling HVAC, for example. I love my Maestro's ability to display OBD data in 2 changeable 5-gauage clusters right on my Kenwood head unit. Pretty cool methinks.

 

Yeah.... our h/u even with RF package sucks.... I DID pay for the upgraded SD card with updated maps.... which actually is really helpful here in SF/CA as there are new streets and construction 24/7.... ONE THING THOUGH I WILL SAY..... is when i'm out in the middle of Tahoe National Forest with no xm or cell signal... the GPS on our trucks STILL WORKS...even on the dirt roads which i think is REALLY cool and helpful .... i couldn't believe that the GPS has the Western States Trail from Squaw Valley to Auburn.... fwiw.... was thinking too WHY don't we have the bigger screen like all the other Nissan's when we paid for the fully loaded one.... sighs....

 

Again- you’re not reading. I quit last year LOL

But seriously... have you seen the price of a pack of cigarettes these days?!? Aside from the health aspect (obviously), I can’t believe how much money I’ve saved on not having to spend on smokes. On top of that, due to the pandemic I’ve saved even more cash by not having to buy gas on a regular basis the last 4 months!

 

When I quit smoking....cigarettes I was paying $8.....A CARTON. I used to smoke 2-1/2 packs a day. It would be a car payment to smoke that much now.

But I wasn’t referring to cigarettes....

 

Smoking is bad, m'kay.
~ Mr Mackey

 

Yes, yes it is, either for a human or a car, except for after sex...

 

I asked an airhead blonde if she smoked after sex...and she said she had never looked.

 

Understandable, most people don’t know where the smoke is coming from.

 

@dwtalk Would your kit work on a 2011 SL? No screen currently on this model, but it has the RF system

 

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

 

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

View attachment 320522

2. 20-pin female harness with any needed added wire.
View attachment 320523

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

View attachment 320524

4. A 40-pin custom harness
View attachment 320525

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.
View attachment 320526

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

View attachment 320527

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.

View attachment 320528


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

Hate to resurrect an old thread, but I wonder if one could direct swap the Sentra/NV200 unit with CarPlay on a 2019 frontier. The 2019 frontiers also use a 40 pin and 20 pin connector and the same antenna plug.

 

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)

 

Appreciate you posting the info for others to see if they want to attempt it later on their own.

 

does anyone know where to buy the right type of connector and crimped female to male wires?

Thanks

 

@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.

 

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....)

 

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

 

TLDR; look at the pic (videos linked below), fully working factory Nissan Android Auto / Apple CarPlay radio. Yes, steering wheel controls, amp, fm, SXM, and backup camera working.

Up until now, I had not been satisfied with the tiny screen stock radio in my 2016 Frontier. The sound was decent but the screen was too small and lacked modern features. Old unit for sale...

In 2019 I noticed they started offering the larger screen Panasonic units in the frontiers, but they still lacked Android Auto and Apple CarPlay features.

However, last year only Nissan offered an optional Android Auto and Apple CarPlay units in some non-frontier upgraded trim models.

I purchased several and began getting it wired with full functionality in my Frontier. If I can have a fully working VK56 in my 2016 truck, how hard could it be to get a radio fully working? Well… hard. This project took over 9 months. Partially because I was without the truck for Vk56 upgrade but also COVID delays and research time.

There were some obstacles to overcome, but it has been working great. My truck has more features than my wife's Lexus now

Video of the radio and various features in action:
https://vimeo.com/user120311845/review/441881198/455faab14b
https://vimeo.com/user120311845/review/441881153/a2f37fd2ae
https://vimeo.com/user120311845/review/441880882/d81bea916d

Some features with this unit:

• Dual USB (one in center console, and now one on right where 12v outlets are, pic at bottom of post)
• Android Auto / Apple CarPlay (this is a huge upgrade for me as a Spotify listener and a Waze user)
• Cop / speed trap alerting!!! (using Waze, pic at bottom of post)
• Larger screen (for backup and general navigation)
• Wifi (the unit will update itself over wifi so it doesn’t become outdated)
• Excellent voice command navigation (I didn’t use this much before, but it works great for changing audio and phone calling)
• Backup assist (when configured with vehicle dimensions, shows you where on road you will backup to with Anticipatory line and distance to obstacles)
• Customizable touch home screen (rearrange icons and layout)
• Similar amber LED glow colors that come on with the lights and screen dims the same as before

Things to overcome to get this unit working:

• Need to convert amplified to low-level to work with rockford amp. This means the unit will work in non-rockford systems though as well without adding an amp.
• Complex wiring harness needs created. Not a plug and play with any connector except the USB one. The 20 pin harness needs re-mapped along with the 40-pin harness. Having a 2019 Panasonic unit may not help much either.
• Antenna connector is different from normal Nissan/Infiniti for some special reason and needs modified or replaced.
• The camera, dunno why but Nissan made this difficult on the frontier.
• Steering wheel controls - This by far was the most difficult to overcome, I purchased some 2019 combination meters / gauges to try and debug but eventually ended up creating my own media-can bus (M-CAN which uses Nissan proprietary commands) and converting analog control input to digital.

Happy to discuss what the unit offers, but I feel this is the ultimate factory radio upgrade. I’ve got 4 units to sell in a kit-like fashion which I'll post up in a few days / a week. Those buyers will be the first to get the secrets of the analog->digital conversion and support to get this fully up and running so I can cover the costs of the research of the project.

This can also be used for the NV200/NV2500 and Sentra / Versa as they use the similar sized radio.

View attachment 320058

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.

 

Hello! I am now doing the same thing as you and I need your help! Please tell me what signals via the CAN bus need to be generated for each button on wheel. I'm currently programming my arduiono, but can't find the signals. I really need your help. I would be very grateful if you could provide the firmware file for Arduino.

 

This is an interesting thread! I'm not trying to revive an old thread but I do have a question.

I found this after already completing a similar install on my NV2500 cargo van. I bought one of these 2591A5UD0A Carplay/Android Auto compatible head units from a salvage yard. It came from a 2021 NV200. For some reason, Nissan never offered this in the larger cargo van. I made my harness and got everything hooked up and working correctly. The issue I'm having is getting the new head unit to actually save the new camera settings. The NV2500 is much larger than the NV200 and the camera is mounted on the opposite rear door. So the back up lines are not in the correct location. I've figured out the right settings, and I can go into the secret menu and change them. Everything looks great after accepting the changes and exiting out of the secret menu. The back up lines are in the correct location. The problem is, they are not saved after turning the ignition off. It goes back the the default settings for the NV200 each time I start the van again.

Is there some extra step I'm missing to make the radio store the new camera settings permanently? Could this be a defect in the specific radio I have (seems unlikely since everything else works perfectly)?

I would really appreciate any comments/advice on this issue. Thanks!

 

BTW, for anyone considering this swap, these head units seem to be available at reasonable prices again. I find them listed for around $260 - $300 or so. That makes it worth considering when weighing aftermarket versus a factory swap.

It's also worth noting that Nissan uses non-standard 2 ohm speakers. Most aftermarket radios are designed for 4 or 8 ohm speakers. Crutchfield recommends replacing the factory speakers if you are installing an aftermarket radio. I'm not sure it's an absolute requirement or just a recommendation so Crutchfield can sell you more hardware. Just another thing to consider if you are contemplating a swap like this to add Carplay/Android Auto functionality.

 

BTW, for anyone considering this swap, these head units seem to be available at reasonable prices again. I find them listed for around $260 - $300 or so. That makes it worth considering when weighing aftermarket versus a factory swap.

And in the end you still have an OEM head unit with out-dated features, old technology, and zero improvement in sound quality, for what? So that you can say "oh but look it's OEM Nissan head unit in my dash yay"?

There are so many accessible options on the market that are far superior to spending/wasting time replacing an inferior OEM head unit for another OEM head unit of the same quality level. You can get an aftermarket name-brand head unit with more features, up-to-date features, and much better sound quality for that same $300 or so.

But if you really, really just have to have an OEM radio in the dash for some reason, then I guess that's what you want.