Can you fit apple car play to an alphard 2006

[Colin gotts]

Can I change the radio display from Japanese to an apple car play if so how much and where would I get it done please. 

[Rojie]

3 minutes ago, Colin gotts said:

Can I change the radio display from Japanese to an apple car play if so how much and where would I get it done please. 

 

Hello Colin,

 

Welcome to the Forum

[Clutha]

Hi Colin,

after a lot of unsuccessful faff identifying our radio make & solutions to updating it I got a Carpuride unit.

I connect my iPhone to it & get Apple play. It works fine.

Downside is visible cable connections for phone & power.

If you go for low cost unit the speaker isn’t great so I occasionally take a small Bluetooth one along. 
It’s windscreen mounted and the provided gear is good. I’m happy with it.
Probably a fraction of the cost of total change of head unit

[Colin gotts]

Hi. Thanks for this much appreciated 

Colin 

[ThuMentaliss]

I replaced all of the Toyota head unit system for a Alpine head unit with built in tom- tom sat navigation and facilities to operate APPLE PLAY, ANDROID.+ three cameras, the rant of the story is don't do what I did, my Alphard is over 12 years old  I suppose Im lucky as I'm able in most cases to repair most of the faults that arise with a Alphard  but I'm sorry to say that 12 year plus vehicles old soon become a 'cash cow's and you will never get your money back

[Arthur]

Hi Colin

 

I had a 2007 Alphie imported/converted by Calder Campers in Feb 2022.  They changed the Head for a Pioneer Unit which is Apple Carplay compatible.  It came with a new replacement camera and works with the existing steering controls so no wires showing - microphone is fitted to the drivers A pillar.  Unit plus fitting cost me £450.

[Chris.ac]

I'm not making a recommendation, as i don't have an older 10 series. 

 

But you can buy relatively cheap headunit from AliExpress. 

Eg.

 

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EIwOv40

[Ben23]

I'm considering this myself and there seems to be three options:
 

1. A standalone dashboard mounted unit such as Carpuride. Advantages: cheap; very easy to fit; can take it with you if you change cars. Disadvantages: Wires everywhere; might tempt thieves because it's easily removed; audio still goes via the built-in head unit which is also still used for reversing camera etc.

2. An all-in-one replacement designed to fit the AH10, built into a replacement fascia. Advantages: neat, moderately easy to fit, should theoretically come with the right plugs, can have a much bigger screen than the existing unit. Disadvantages: cheap Chinese no-name units, might have questionable sound quality. Often come with a replacement reversing camera because they're not compatible with the existing one, though the existing one can probably be used with the addition of a 12V-6V converter.

3. Fit a Double DIN adaptor and then choose any Double DIN head unit to fit it. Advantages: also neat, can choose any branded units like Pioneer, JVC, Alpine etc. Disadvantages: Almost certainly requires many adaptations to the wiring. Screen size probably limited to the size of the existing hole in the fascia. Can be expensive.

[Clutha]

Option 1

2 wires 😂

[Ben23]

On 2/4/2025 at 5:51 PM, Clutha said:

Option 1

2 wires 😂

My head unit doesn't have an aux in on it, so I think the only way to plug in would be via the RCA connectors in front of the second row seats. So it's not so much the number of wires as the fact that it would be trailing through the cabin...

[Clutha]

1 hour ago, Ben23 said:

My head unit doesn't have an aux in on it, so I think the only way to plug in would be via the RCA connectors in front of the second row seats. So it's not so much the number of wires as the fact that it would be trailing through the cabin...

Wire hiding can be a satisfying job😂

On our car I needed an extra 12v socket for dashcam, there was one available in the boot. I got a set of rubber seal release plastic tools and after 30 mins job done. 99% hidden.