What Do We Think of Our 2025 Toyota 4Runner’s Multimedia System?
Key Points
- The 2025 Toyota 4Runner comes standard with the Toyota Audio Multimedia system, which uses an 8- or 14-inch dashboard touchscreen, depending on trim level.
- Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity are standard, and a three-month trial of SiriusXM satellite radio is included.
- The multimedia system works well enough overall, but user-interface and smartphone-connectivity issues prevent it from being class-leading.
We’ve experienced the Toyota Audio Multimedia system in a number of the automaker’s vehicles, and the system is also in our long-term 2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium. And since our 4Runner is the Premium version of the TRD Off-Road, it has a 14-inch dashboard touchscreen instead of the standard 8-inch display.
Related: What Makes Our 2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium … Well, Premium?
We’ve owned our 4Runner for roughly 10 months, so we’ve spent a lot of time using the multimedia system. It works well enough overall, but it’s not class-leading due to both user-interface and smartphone-connectivity issues we’ve experienced.
Our User-Interface Experience and Issues
- Takeaway: We wish the multimedia interface had a home screen, and the large 14-inch touchscreen has gotten mixed reviews.
The system’s touchscreen interface includes a strip of vertically arranged icons on the left side of the screen that lets you switch between various functions (things like audio, navigation and phone connectivity), but what’s not included is a home screen where you can see the multimedia system’s various functions at a glance. A home screen is a relatively common and useful feature, and we wish our 4Runner’s system had one.
It’s also a little strange that you must enable the audio system before using it — it’s not automatically available when you start the 4Runner. It’s just one extra step, but it’s one that’s not necessary in other vehicles. However, I did appreciate the ability to sort radio stations by music type, which is useful when you’re unfamiliar with the available broadcast stations, as you might be on a road trip.
The multimedia system’s large font is easy to read at a glance (one of our editors called it “old-people-friendly”), but the large 14-inch touchscreen has received mixed reviews. Some editors like its supersize dimensions and overall clarity and brightness, but one editor thought it looked like a “tacked-on tablet” and noted that it was hard for her to reach the far side of the screen from the driver’s seat. Multimedia controls are largely consolidated in the screen, though there’s a big volume knob directly below it, which we appreciate.
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Smartphone-Mirroring Problems
- Takeaway: Inconsistent Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connections have been a problem experienced by a number of our editors.
The Toyota Audio Multimedia system’s standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity is a plus, but wireless connectivity has been hit or miss for us, with a number of our editors who have either iPhones or Android phones reporting problems reconnecting to the system. Restarting the 4Runner sometimes reestablished the connection; in other instances, the connection was just delayed or smartphone mirroring needed to be reactivated in the multimedia system’s device settings. It’s been particularly finicky.
Updated Audio Multimedia System on the Way?
- Takeaway: The redesigned 2026 Toyota RAV4 gets an updated Audio Multimedia system that brings some significant improvements.
Infotainment systems continue to advance, and the latest version of the Toyota Audio Multimedia system debuted in the redesigned 2026 RAV4 compact SUV. The system gets an updated interface and features we wish our 4Runner had, like a home screen with customizable widgets. We’ve spent some time with this system in the new RAV4, and it’s a solid improvement over our 4Runner’s.
But if you want this tech in a 4Runner, you can’t get it just yet; the 2026 4Runner has the same Audio Multimedia system as our 2025 model. Here’s hoping the updated system migrates across Toyota’s lineup soon.
More Coverage on Our Long-Term 2025 Toyota 4Runner:
- We’ve Driven 10,000 Miles in Our Long-Term 2025 Toyota 4Runner. How Efficient Is the Hybrid?
- I Took the Toyota 4Runner Hybrid on a Road Trip for Thanksgiving. It Hurt.
- Removing Scratches in Our Long-Term Toyota 4Runner’s Paint
- What’s It Like Off-Roading in a 2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road?
- Is the Toyota 4Runner’s JBL Flex Portable Bluetooth Speaker Any Good?
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