I just wanted to have a thread started to recommend the Rosen head unit if your highlander wasn't a limited and you would like to have a full DVD/NAV setip in your Highlander. I must say I did alot of research and read alot of reviews (not all were good) before deciding on the Rosen and I can say without hesitation that I am very pleased with the decision. Sorry I didn't take pics of the process but I was in a hurry to get it all installed.

The one I got was a refurbished Rosen Toyota Highlander In-dash / 2 din Multi-Media Navigation GPS System - G3 which is Rosen model EB-NHIGH08-G3

Pros

• Easy to install (plugs right into factory wiring, no splicing)
• Full featured NAV/DVD/sat radio/iPod/MP3/etc
• Good looking interface/icons (on the G3 version anyway)
• Hands free bluetooth calling
• Works great with steering wheel controls
• Can output DVD video to rear seat monitors (none are included though)
• Looks totally factory (people are surprised when you tell them it isn't)
• Good price compared to similar aftermarket NAV head units

Cons

• Color match isn't perfect (hard to see except in direct sunlight)
• NAV maps needed to be updated right away, cost $$ (no Canadian maps are preloaded and US ones are a bit old)
• iPod and satellite radio cables are optional and quite $$$

Few other things of note. Be very careful when pulling off your dash plastics as I damaged mine around the start button (stress lines). Also the GPS antenna can be mounted to the underside of the top of the dash (does not need to be outside the car as indicated in the directions). Make sure to use alot of zip ties to keep all the wires from rubbing/vibrating as well (better looking install too).

When updating NAV maps

1) Download the Navi Extras Toolbox and open it on your PC:
https://www.naviextras.com/shop/portal/downloads
2) Make sure your PC has an SD card reader
3) Remove NAV SD card from head unit and insert into the card reader
4) Run the Navi Extras Toolbox on your NAV SD card (register then the program should auto detect what type maps to use, ie H11/H12/etc)
5) Reinsert your NAV SD card back in the head unit and power it up
6) Remove NAV SD card from head unit and reinsert back into the card reader
7) Run the Navi Extras Toolbox on your NAV SD card
8) Buy your maps and install......here's the one I got (you need an account to see it):
https://www.naviextras.com/shop/port...kageCode=62109
9) Reinsert your NAV SD card back in the head unit and you should now have full GPS/NAV capabilities

Hope this helps anyone looking to do the same thing.

 

Just an update, still loving the Rosen unit with Nav but the ***** on the unit were a slightly different color than stock which bothered me.
Switched them with the ***** from the stock radio and they are a hair looser (100% functional though) but overall it looks perfect now.

 

After half a year I still like the unit and couldn't imagine not having the NAV function (saved my bacon many times). I did have a slight issue one time when I didn't give the unit time to boot and went right into NAV and it froze but as long as you give it a few minutes no issues at all. My other complaint would be when using the SD card it's a royal pain to navigate through the songs (can't fast forward easily, no way to jump to certain songs or see a list, would be nice to see the artwork on the display, etc).......hopefully that part will be redesigned and the software updated to make that alot easier. Hopefully someone at Rosen will see this a make the update for us.

Again despite all that I would still recommend it to anyone without NAV in their Highlander.

 

Well I have another update now and it's not so good......somehow both the DVD and the GPS functions have stopped working.

NAV just shows this error when the screen is pressed "Previous instance of IGO 8 has not finished exiting yet. Please try again in a few seconds or soft-reset your device."

Will contact Rosen and see what they will do for me (hopefully warranty fix) but either way I will update this thread as well.

 

I started a thread here to work on the fix since my unit was out of warranty.

http://fixmygps.info/forum/showthread.php?tid=4134

 

I just joined this forum to say thank you to you for following up with your own posta nd updating us despite no answer.

I am in the market for a new stereo, BT radio head but I am looking into android units as they offer much more options

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either CE or Android based systems but make sure you can find ways to update and repair the stuff yourself beforehand because the sellers will likely be of no help whatsoever when the time comes for warranty work (much worse with the Chinese units off of ebay). I learned that lesson the hard way but bonus is that now I have a better GPS system (and fully updatable) than what I started with.

 

non of the android based devices are from reputable companies

I want to be bale to run Waze for my navigation using the internet on my phone or perhaps have it run onmy phone but streamed on the navigation screen ..
Waze has the most updated maps, traffic, police on the road

I also need my original backup camera to view on the screen instead of the tiny screen that comes with the car.

finally I want to be able to switch between my wifes phone and my phones Bluetooth easily

the CE machines are cheaper
all the android machines are above 400$

the CE's are around 300$

 

If you have any questions on this I strongly suggest the forum http://fixmygps.info/forum/index.php

These guys have a ridiculous amount of knowledge on the subject and chances are someone already did what you're looking to try.

 

thanks
took your advice.

with so many Android units on ebay and aliexpress someone gotta have one insalled.