Estima question

[footy7777]

Hi there,

 

Just bought a 2004 Toyota Estima. Can anyone explain what the button on the right side of the steering wheel means? It has a picture of the car with two arrows pointing inwards at the front of the car. Also, are the manuals from www.jpnz.co.nz any good? Just checked and price is $62 incl p&h.

Thanks

[DAY50K]

That's for your front camera. When the button is pressed the camera should come on when you are in D and not going faster than about 20 Km/H. I got this feature on mine but it doesn't work for some reason. Still trying to figure out what's wrong.

[DAY50K]

I ordered a manual from NZ as soon as I got the car. I've been waiting for 3 months now and still haven't received it. I think I shouldn't have bothered as by now I have managed to figure most things out from the original Japanese manual and from reading forums like this... :)

[footy7777]

On ‎3‎/‎02‎/‎2016 at 8:23 PM, DAY50K said:

Just spoke to the dealer I bought the car off, and apparently the entertainment unit he installed (Motor Formula  SU62) only supports rear camera :-(

Pete

That's for your front camera. When the button is pressed the camera should come on when you are in D and not going faster than about 20 Km/H. I got this feature on mine but it doesn't work for some reason. Still trying to figure out what's wrong.

 

[DAY50K]

Well, there you go. Mine still has the original Japanese unit so it is nicely integrated with all the car's features. I'm leaning towards keeping it the way it is as it suits my needs quite well. A project for the future is to trace the fault of the front camera not working. All the equipment is there but it looks like there may be a bad connection somewhere.

[DAY50K]

I just had a Google look at the Motor Formula head unit. It looks like a nice setup. Do you have the volume/mode controls on the steering wheel and if so, do they work with the installed unit? I guess they had to put a new reverse camera in to work with it or did it integrate with the existing one? I've read that the original Toyota camera is quite a complicated setup and is hard to make it work with an aftermarket unit mostly because of the park assist (distance gridlines and steering wheel position sensor).

[Prestige Motorsport]

Good to see you were able to work out what that button was for :)

On the Japanese import Estima the button is typically located near the driver's right knee rather than on the steering wheel, next to the powerslide door and side mirror controls. I've attached a pic.

The front and rear cameras work well with the factory screen and just operate automatically at low speeds in forward and reverse, so it is a shame yours had had the head unit swapped as it's a very nice feature. I had a 2002 Caldina GT-4 with the same system, very handy for parking and at intersections with limited visibility.

Edited March 4, 2016 by trentmeyer23
Removed advertising.

[DAY50K]

Thanks for the response. I guess I have some kind of upgrade on my Estima as the button near the power door buttons is blanked off and instead I have the steering wheel buttons. I’m still working through the wiring to see if there is a loose contact somewhere. Everything behind the Head Unit seems OK. My bet is in the possibility that the front bumper has been removed at some stage and the wires to the camera have not been reconnected. Still investigating as time allows.

[footy7777]

On ‎5‎/‎02‎/‎2016 at 9:03 PM, DAY50K said:

I just had a Google look at the Motor Formula head unit. It looks like a nice setup. Do you have the volume/mode controls on the steering wheel and if so, do they work with the installed unit? I guess they had to put a new reverse camera in to work with it or did it integrate with the existing one? I've read that the original Toyota camera is quite a complicated setup and is hard to make it work with an aftermarket unit mostly because of the park assist (distance gridlines and steering wheel position sensor).

Sorry for the delay in responding. I was assuming the forum would email me when people replied ;-(

Anyway, all the steering wheel controls work ie volume up/down, changing channel/track, and mode. I contacted the company via eBay and their technical support guy rang back and was very helpful. He said the front camera is NTSC so would need to be replaced if I wanted it to work with their unit, and even then, it would have to be through AV2, so no steering wheel integration.

The unit is great so far though - I've got the SU62. Lots of nice features, including SD card reader. Here's the link on eBay. It says for Holdens, but is working fine in my Estima.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DVD-GPS-navigation-player-car-radio-stereo-for-Holden-Commodore-VY-VZ-Monaro-V2-/281249994804?hash=item417bce5834:g:-f0AAOSwuYVWm2Gd

 

[DAY50K]

Thanks for your answer. That’s good news about the steering wheel controls working with your unit.

Pretty clear the original NTSC cameras will not work with aftermarket units. Seems that everyone who replaces the HU also changes the camera(s). Ah well, food for thought. In case I decide to change the HU one day I’ll keep this particular one on my list.