Hi I have looked through the forum for posts on this. There are some really good posts with some technical answers and due to my lack of knowledge I haven't been able to answer my question! I am due to shortly pick up my 2011 Toyota Alphard 350S Prime Selection 2 Type Gold, not sure if any of that trim matters in relation to the question. I don't think it does as I think it has the 8" Toyota Original Head unit, I'll attach a picture.

The dealer I am purchasing from said they are going to get a quote from someone they use to replace the head unit and said it may need the screen in the rear replacing, which I don't see why. I just want to try to retain as much of the factory features as I can such as Toyota's Intelligent Park Assist feature which I believe uses the front and nearside cameras. The dealer said this wouldn't be possible; however, I have read of people doing it with certain head units or modules. I just want to be able to use the screen for Waze/google and phone connection to be able to mirror netflix/YouTube through to the rear screen and be able to make/receive phone calls(I have an android phone).

Can anyone confirm if there are any known Carplay Modules will still allow me to use the Toyota Intelligent Park Assist feature(the little button near the steering wheel). My Alphard has the front and nearside and reverse cameras from factory too so would they still work too. I have found one that I believe does this by a company called Crownfocus. I believe it basically leaves everything original there to be used and you are just basically switching to and from viewing/interacting with the Crownfocus module by long pressing on the voice command button on the steering wheel?

I hope someone can help with my query and for anyone in future too.

Kind regards,

Terence

A few of us have installed car play/android auto units.

You have to open the flip down screen on the headunit to add an extra Flexi cable to slow you to use the touchscreen.

All normal car functions remain, so I can still use the auto park function ( as soon as you put in reverse, it takes control of the screen).

Cost is around £160 from Alibaba or AliExpress

I'm interested in this aswell, can you post the link for this please

Hi Chris thank you for your reply. That is really interesting and sounds quite a bit cheaper than what I am looking at. The Crownfocus unit I am looking at purchasing is just a module that fits the space behind the existing original screen. I am look at this because this particular module apparently lets you switch between it and back to just the original operating system as if it was never installed; therefore, allowing use of any existing features such as, the front/side cameras and the intelligent park assist system. I spoke with the owner of the company who mentioned something about splitting the screen and connecting a ribbon cable and PCB. This sounds like what you are talking about, I'm unsure which screen this is, front or rear flip down? Is the unit you are referring to a module or whole front head unit/screen replacement?

Kind Regards

The Alibaba unit has two options.

1. An external jog/shuttle controller for the add-on unit.

2. A small touchscreen splitter cable, that lets you switch your physical screen touch inputs between the original headunit functions and the add-on unit.

You open up the screen on the headunit, easier than it sounds; you 'eject ' the front screen, as if inserting a cd or dvd, then disconnect everything and remove headunit.

You can then remove a few screws and get the screen out and open it up.

You then unplug the touchscreen cable and insert a small PCB between the cable and original socket.

This lets you run a thin cable out of the screen that allows you to switch the touchscreen between original unit and the add-on box.

The wiring loom is essentially plug and play after that, if you talk to the support team they will make sure to provide a matching loom for your specific headunit.

Yes, this unit essentially means your original headunit will function just as it did out of the factory, and uses the 'Aux/VTR' function to display content from the add-on unit.

Once set up, android auto automatically carries out the handshake protocols and wakes up the connection.

From when I start car, it takes less than 10 seconds for android auto to appear on my headunit, all connected.

On 5/17/2026 at 11:50 AM, JapToy said:

I'm interested in this aswell, can you post the link for this please

🛍️ Found exactly what I needed on Alibaba — check out this product! 👉 https://www.alibaba.com/x/1lAhnV8

Thank you for all of the details Chris, this sounds like what I'm looking for and much cheaper than the other model I was looking at so probably worth a try.

Do you know if you are able to mirror Netflix and YouTube from your phone with this and if so does it show on the rear flip down screen in the back?

Kind Regards,

Terence

Via android auto you cannot, as it's blacklisted by android, but the unit does have a usb connector and a separate media player.

It does also have screen mirroring, but I've not tried it being an initial go several years back, with the app installed on the phone it does mirror the screen so you can use YouTube etc.

Hey Chris, that makes sense for it to not work through Android auto I suppose on case people are trying to watch stuff whilst driving maybe!

Obviously I'm not interested in attempting that! All I'm interested in is that I could mirror the phone screen to the unit to view things like the YouTube app and Netflix app from the my phone on the rear flip down screen in the car, just want to clarify if you believe this to be the case? If you're not sure I can try and confirm with the seller that you kindly provided and I can report back on here what they say.

Thank You