The phone and voice directions from the Carplay are virtually unusable. Even at max volume they are little more than whisper loud.

Hopefully this will be one of the improvements. If not, it may lead more folks to a BRZ than an 86 if sound quality from the audio system is a priority.

I doubt it is a major consideration for most but those of us with long commutes would at least be able to have something functional.
I really think it was simply a matter of the system not being compatible with the existing setups in the cars and it not being worth the trouble or expense of changing the whole setup for the one year. The bypass is done at the dealer level by using a basic, cheap adapter right at the amp. I would hope that in the new cars the whole system was designed from scratch to work with the HU.

I think it's safe to assume that the majority of people looking at these cars do not have the sound system as any kind of priority, maybe not even a consideration. Definitely one of the very last thing on people's minds.

Until it works like crap then it suddenly becomes a priority. They made a big deal about having Apple and Android capability but the reality it is that it is almost unusable due to their shortcuts.


Don't think that everybody that buys the car is a racer boi wanttabe and it may be more important than you think to many many owners.

I fit into the latter. Probably my BRZ/86 will never hit a track and since the 2 are mechanically identical, it will come down to color selections, creature features, pricing and dealer reputation that will guide the decision making process that selects one over the other.

Yep.
I spend many many hours a week in my car and put on more miles in a year than some do in all the time they have drove it since 2013.
Is fun when people that drive 6,000 miles a year say they don't care about comforts since it is a "driving" car!

Well, that's why I bought a separate highway cruiser...

I can resonate with this somewhat; when I learned there was Bluetooth in the car, I was immediately interested in Bluetooth for the car, but primarily for phone calls. Now it is a feature I rather not be without.

What creates great difficulty with these cars is imo not the quality of the speakers, but the amount of sound that the car generates itself simply by driving.. wind, tires, engine, etc.

Lend me some funds so I can get a second car :)

I do not want nor need a highway cruiser. I just want what the car has to actually work.

I could manage with the crappy sound from the HU if at least I could hear my phone. Never was an issue in the FRS I could hear as clear as a bell and it could get turned way up if needed. The 86 max volume is about what the FRS was on around 5. It is literally a whisper.
The radio sounds like it is played through a tin can since the woofers in the door are not boosted. My 58 Ford with it's tube set, AM only radio with one paper speaker in a steel dash sounded better!

My ‘16 FR-S sounds pretty good also. How do you know if the amp is connected? And they must have changed the BU camera on the 2016’s, mine displays on the head unit. Did Toyota go back to the mirror display in the newer 86?


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It is only the 2020s HU that disconnects the amp.
Yes the postage stamp display is now in the mirror.

That is so weird Toyota would disconnect the amp! It doesn’t make any sense. [emoji848] Subaru has it connected.
What do you think of the postage stamp display? [emoji28] I guess the idea was that you can keep your eyes on the rearview mirror, but if the display is too small it won’t help much.


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