The LandCruiser 70 Series has been sold in Australia with a factory head unit that has always trailed the rest of the vehicle. The chassis, the driveline and the axles are built to outlast almost anything on the road. The screen in the middle of the dash is not, and for most owners it is the first thing that starts to feel dated.
This guide covers the whole upgrade, from what the factory unit actually gives you in each era of the truck, through to the parts that have to come with a new screen if you want the cabin to work properly afterwards.
At a Glance
- PVS MK4 head units fit the 76, 78 and 79 Series from 2008 to 2026, in 9 inch and 12.1 inch sizes.
- They run Android Automotive OS, which works on the unit itself rather than mirroring a phone.
- Wireless and USB CarPlay and Android Auto are both supported, so a phone still works if you want it.
- Steering wheel controls, a reverse camera and a microphone are separate decisions, and worth making at the same time.
- PVS head units carry a 36 month warranty.
MORE: MK4 vs Alpine, Kenwood and Android Units Compared · CarPlay and the 70 Series: How to Go Wireless · Reverse Cameras for the 70 Series
What the factory head unit gives you, era by era
The 70 Series has run the same basic cabin architecture for a very long time, and the head unit has been updated far less often than the driveline. Which era your truck comes from decides how much you are actually gaining.
Early trucks in the 2008 period were built around a simple audio head unit. There is no screen worth speaking of, no reversing camera input, and no data connection of any kind. Anything you want beyond radio and a USB stick has to be added.
Later trucks picked up a small screen and Bluetooth, which was a real improvement at the time but has aged quickly. The screen is small by current standards, the interface is slow, and mapping means a phone on a bracket somewhere on the dash.
The most recent trucks are the best equipped they have ever been, and they still leave a gap. If you spend real time off the bitumen, the factory unit does not run the mapping apps most owners rely on, and it has no path to the accessories a touring build tends to accumulate.
Android Automotive OS is not Android Auto
This is the single point most worth understanding before you spend anything, because the two names are almost identical and they describe completely different things.
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay both mirror your phone. The phone does the work, the screen shows the result, and if the phone is flat or out of range then so is the head unit.
Android Automotive OS runs on the head unit itself. Google Maps, the Assistant and the Play Store are built in, and with a SIM in the unit it has its own data connection. That means mapping apps like Newtracs or Wiki Camps, or music and video, run directly on the screen with no phone involved at all.
For a work truck that spends its week in town it is a convenience. For a touring build heading somewhere with patchy coverage, having navigation that does not depend on a handset is a genuinely different proposition. The MK4 supports wireless and USB CarPlay and Android Auto as well, so nothing is taken away by choosing it.
Nine inch or 12.1 inch
Both MK4 sizes fit the same 76, 78 and 79 Series range across the same years, so this is a question about how you use the cabin rather than whether it will go in.
The 9 inch keeps more of the original dash proportion. If you like the factory look, or you use the upper dash for switches, gauges or a UHF, it is the tidier answer.
The 12.1 inch is the better screen for mapping. A larger map on a corrugated track is easier to read at a glance, and split screen navigation alongside music or vehicle data is far more usable. It does dominate the dash, which some owners want and some do not.
There is no performance difference between them. Choose on how much dash you are willing to give up.
The parts that need to come with it
A head unit on its own solves one problem and exposes several others. These are the decisions worth making at the same time rather than a year later.
Steering wheel controls. Reaching across to a screen on a rough track is genuinely annoying, and older trucks never had wheel buttons at all. A wireless steering wheel controls module adds them without running new looms through the column, and there are OEM-style control options for trucks that suit them.
A reverse camera. Once there is a screen in the dash, adding a camera is a small job on top. On a tray back or a truck with a canopy it is the accessory owners say they should have fitted first.
A microphone. Cabin noise in a 70 Series is significant. An external microphone mounted near the driver makes hands free calling usable rather than something you apologise for.
Speakers. A better source feeding the factory speakers will only get you so far. If the audio matters to you at all, a plug and play speaker kit is the cheapest meaningful improvement you can make alongside the screen.
Fitment and installation
The MK4 is designed as a plug and play replacement for the factory unit across the 2008 to 2026 range, using the existing wiring rather than a cut and join loom. Removing the original unit takes a 10mm socket.
That said, how involved the job feels depends on what else you are fitting at the same time. A head unit on its own is a straightforward afternoon. A head unit with steering controls, a camera and new speakers is a bigger piece of work, and worth planning as one job rather than four weekends.
If you are buying several parts together, the multimedia combo kits bundle the common pairings, which saves working out the compatibility yourself.
Warranty and what happens afterwards
PVS head units carry a 36 month warranty, which is longer than our 12 month default on most products, because a screen in a dash is expected to live a hard life in this vehicle.
Software matters as much as hardware on a unit like this. Updates are handled through PVS rather than a generic supplier, and support comes from people who work on these trucks rather than a general call centre.
Where to start
If you are still deciding between brands, the comparison guide linked above puts the MK4 against Alpine, Kenwood and the generic Android units side by side, which is the fastest way to work out what matters to you.
If you have already decided the factory screen has had its day, start with the size question, then work through steering controls, camera, microphone and speakers in that order. Most owners regret the order they did it in far more than the parts they chose.
You can see the full 70 Series headunit range and the combo kits on the store. If you are not sure what suits your build, info@pvsautomotive.com.au will get you a straight answer.
