Can entune in XSE/XLE be installed/work in '19 LE?

#1
3 months ago, I bought a 2019 XSE with the embedded nav - it doesn't rely on your phone for nav. The radio is wonderful and my favorite thing about the car. The rest of the car is comfortable and feels solid, but due to issues I won't go into here, I am generally unhappy with it - enough so that I'm thinking of "downgrading" to an LE and taking the financial hit. The car I have in mind is a leftover '19 with "Entune Audio Plus w/Connected Navigation" ie I would need to use Scout GPS for nav. Does not have the embedded nav.

I have asked the dealer I purchased my current car from if they can simply swap out a new XLE/XSE radio for the one in the LE, ie I would of course pay for the new radio to be installed in the LE, and was told no, can't be done. I checked with that company's aftermarket place (the guys who installed my remote starter, and who do tons of aftermarket radios and such), and they also told me no. Because I don't necessarily trust this dealer (they are lazy as hell and have proven to be jerks overall), I don't therefore trust their response on this.

Meanwhile, this beautiful galactic aqua mica LE with roof and upgraded radio has popped up at another dealer in my state. Test drove it. Ride is also rough, oddly, as it is w/the XSE, but I asked them, can the XLE/XSE radio be installed in it? They checked with their aftermarket people (I don't know what else to call them), and was told yes, for $1700. I called that place myself and confirmed - says it can be installed as it's merely a "plug and play", no problem.

Meanwhile my brother checked with another Toyota dealer on this, and was also told, can't be done. Or if it is done, won't work properly.

Can anyone shed any light on this? I see that youtube has videos from some installer company that shows them step by step removing the basic entune radio and replacing it with the embedded-nav one. It shows the nav working, at least as the car sits there - they don't take it down the road and show you it in motion, but it's there on the screen.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
 
#2
Anything can be done including this. You’d need to add satellite and gps antenna modules though. But the main problem would be that HU is VIN linked. Though you can easily “pretend” and use your former VIN in your new car, it might potentially be problematic for the person getting your old car. Hence their reluctance.

Not of my business indeed but I don’t get why you would take a serious $$$ hit plus the trouble of transferring equipment to get a less equipped version. LE, XLE, XSE, they are all the same exact cars with same behaviour… except for equipment so your request kind of invalidate your point. I really don’t see what improvement or difference you expect, unless your current one is some kind of a lemon, in which case you have warranty and enven lemon law. Anyway, that's up to you.
 
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#3
Hi Jolly, and thanks so much for the quick response. I'm a bit car ignorant as far as terms. What is "HU"?

My reasons for disliking the XSE include the rough ride/feeling of wobbly tires (especially around 22 mph up thru 40mph or so - have been back and forth w/the dealer multiple times about this to no avail, though they did for some reason replace the 2 front tires believe it or not - I did not ask them to do this - after telling me that my tires were "junk" to begin with - direct quote. Have never had sport tires before and never will again.

Also dislike the leather seats. Had I known the car came w/leather, I might not have requested that the dealer bring the car up from the other state. Yes, this is my failure to do the basic research, but my only other car with heated seats (2003) had cloth seats. I stupidly didn't know any Corolla would come with leather seats.) When I test drove the car here in my northern state in late Feb, the seats were truly ice blocks as it was about 7 degrees out and the seats it turns out, take on the temperature of the outside, until they are artificially heated. Now that it's getting warm out, the seats are sticky in the heat. Cloth seats are never too hot or cold. What a concept. My last car was a 2005 Corolla with cloth seats. I bought it in 2004 and had it for 15 glorious, problem-free years, and am sorry as hell I traded it in, but the mileage was piling up (close to 300k) and I knew I'd get a great deal on the leftover '19s given that the 2020s have been completed redesigned. And I did get a great deal.

I also dislike the push button start. Never had it before. I know cars are going this way - all cars in future will likely have them - but the number of times the car has beeped at me for various things relating to my simply opening the driver's door - sometimes it's obvious, like I've left the sunroof open, when it only beeps once. Other times, there is no reason at all for the car to be beeping at me. I will exit the car, it's beeping like mad, not telling me what I've done wrong. I will shut the car, open the door back up to see if the beep is still happening, and it's not. I've combed the manual about this, spoke with the dealer about this and the rough ride - nothing. There was also an issue the first 2 weeks I had it, where I could not get into the driver's door. Not kidding. Dealer assumed I was nuts, of course. It turns out they also couldn't open up the driver's door when it was cold because they learned when taking the door apart that some idiot at the factory had applied glue in the wrong place - it ended up all over the lock mechanism. They had to clean it up, and since then, no issues getting into the car, but trust me, my inability to get in to the point of having to climb into the passenger side of my 2 days old car, and then having to go into a loaner car for 3 days before they finally figured it out started me off on the wrong foot w/this car.

The financial hit wouldn't be that bad - nothing I can't handle. I was just trying to determine if the XSE radio can go into a plain Jane LE, but it sounds problematic, as you have stated. What is HU, again?
 
#4
Forgot to mention the engine revving like mad long after cresting a hill while on cruise. I've been driving cars with cruise for 30 years. This has never occurred before. I was at the border heading into Canada a couple of weeks ago. I set the cruise at 40mph as that is the speed limit as you approach the border (within a mile or 2 of it) and I don't want to do anything that would make me stand out. Had crested a hill and was long past it - road now was gently/slightly sloping downward. Set it at 40. Within seconds engine began to rev to 3 or 4k rpms and unlike in prior times when it did this, it stayed at that high rpm for probably 30 seconds. It didn't stop until I turned off the cruise. Dealer says it's normal. It's freaking unnerving, and I have to wonder if there isn't an issue w/the engine, or may be with time. Again, I kept my last car for 15 years and would have kept it longer had the 2020 redesign not occurred. I want my next 15+ year car and worry the engine is messed up in some way, or will be over the long haul.
 
#5
rough ride/feeling of wobbly tires
the car came w/leather
I also dislike the push button start.
it's beeping like mad
HU = Head Unit (the radio itself).

So from that, it’s part buyer remorse, part unpleasant experience. Leather (vinyl actually), push-button start, “sporty” tires are reasons why people order an XLE/XSE in the first place ! The cruise control, with a lot of engine braking, would be the same, and numerous beeping would probably not change between models. Just saying

An option might be to simply swap the larger wheels/tires of your current car for ones from a LE or, if you change car, to get an aftermarket radio. Anyway, good luck!
 
#6
I have never had any sport car in my life, nor had any interest in one. I bought this car too quickly, clearly. My motivation was heated seats and a sunroof, and getting myself another Corolla, since my last one was so perfect, consistency reliable, etc. I didn't know I could get those options without getting the sport model. I had no idea the sport tires sucked so badly. The test drive I took was on a sort of rough road (rte 1 in my town), so I didn't take note of the tire issues then. I have asked if I can simply put normal tires on the car, and was told no unless I change the wheels, and god knows what all of that would cost vs the relatively small price I would pay to get an LE or an XLE. Anyway, still deciding on my options, but thanks for engaging with me on this.
 
#7
never had any sport car in my life, nor had any interest in one
Don't worry... it's still a Corolla, far from a sport car despite the "S" in name ;) As I said, beside equipment there is no fundamental difference between LE, SE, XLE XSE but it's true that 17'' wheels make for firmer ride (with less mpg) vs 16'' or 15''. They still are "normal" tires though. Which mean you can find better 17" or worst 16"...
 
#8
Thanks again. Am hoping some "comfort tread" sport tires can be had in future, if I do decide to keep the car. It's that radio that I love the most. Were I able to easily get it in an LE, I would have already traded the XSE in, weeks ago. I don't know how Scout GPS works - the LE I've looked at has the upgraded radio with split screen, et al., just not the embedded nav.
 
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