Japanese infotainment
Radio, media and vehicle-setting menus all in Japanese — awkward the moment you need a setting you have not used before.
Japanese Imports · Dublin
Japanese import, now in English.
Bought a Japanese import? The menus are in Japanese, the FM tuner is on the Japanese band, the navigation is built for Japan and CarPlay is usually switched off. None of it is a fault — and each part is a separate piece of coding or fitting you can do one at a time or together.
Dashboard in English Irish FM band CarPlay activated Factory look kept
One import · four jobs
before → after
Infotainment menus 日本語 English
FM radio band Japan Ireland
Apple CarPlay Off On
Cluster warnings 日本語 English
Japan · 76–95 Ireland · 87.5–108
JP band
Irish band
What lands on the boat
Five things a JDM import brings with it.
They are unrelated systems that happen to share one cause — the car was specified for the Japanese market. Knowing which is which saves you paying for work your car does not need.
Japanese FM band
Japan broadcasts roughly 76–95 MHz, Ireland 87.5–108. Only the narrow overlap tunes in, so most of the dial reads as silence.
Japanese navigation
Maps, points of interest and voice guidance built for Japan. On many imports it is the part owners simply stop using.
Japanese dashboard & cluster
Trip data, fuel economy, hybrid monitoring and — more seriously — warning messages, all displayed in Japanese.
Apple CarPlay not active
Either never specified, or the hardware is there and the option was left switched off — that decides coding vs hardware.
All of it is separable
None of these has to be tackled together. Most owners start with whichever gets in the way daily — the radio or the dashboard.
Three jobs, three pages
What can actually be converted.
Each one has its own page with the detail, the compatibility caveats and the pricing. Start wherever the car annoys you most.
Apple CarPlay & Android Auto
Either switched on in the car's own coding where the hardware is already there, or added behind the original screen where it is not.
- Maps, music, calls and messages on the factory screen
- Activation by coding where the car supports it
- A hidden module where it does not
- Original screen and controls kept either way
Japanese FM to the Irish band
The tuner is recoded from the Japanese band to the European one, so the whole Irish dial comes in on the original radio.
- Full 87.5–108 MHz range unlocked
- Correct European tuning steps
- Station names via RDS where the unit supports it
- Reversible if the car is ever exported
Dashboard & cluster to English
Instrument cluster, warning messages, trip and hybrid displays and infotainment menus converted in software — not covered with stickers.
- Warnings you can read without guessing
- Menus, settings and trip data in English
- Honda Fit, Vezel, Grace, Toyota Prius & Aqua among the common ones
- Most compatible jobs done the same day
Not every import supports every conversion — dashboard work in particular depends on the model, year and firmware. We confirm your specific car before quoting.
How it works
From a dashboard photo to a car that reads English.
Same route whichever combination you go for. Compatibility is confirmed before anything is booked, so you are never quoted for work the car cannot take.
- 01
Send a photo
A clear shot of the dashboard and instrument cluster, plus the model and year.
- 02
Compatibility check
We confirm what converts fully, what converts in part and what needs hardware.
- 03
Book one visit
Whether it is one job or all four, the car goes in once rather than repeatedly.
- 04
Checked with you
Menus, warnings, radio and CarPlay are run through together before you leave.
Compatibility
Imports we work with.
Mainly Honda, Toyota, Suzuki and Mitsubishi, with hybrids supported on selected vehicles. What matters is the dashboard generation and factory head unit — not how the car got here.
HondaToyotaSuzukiMitsubishiNissanMazdaSubaruLexusDaihatsuIsuzuHondaToyotaSuzukiMitsubishiNissanMazdaSubaruLexusDaihatsuIsuzu
Honda FitHonda VezelHonda GraceToyota PriusToyota AquaToyota AlphardNissan NoteNissan X-TrailMazda DemioSuzuki SwiftHonda FitHonda VezelHonda GraceToyota PriusToyota AquaToyota AlphardNissan NoteNissan X-TrailMazda DemioSuzuki Swift
and other Japanese imports
Japanese import FAQ
Japanese imports, explained.
Still unsure? Message us on WhatsApp — we usually reply in under 5 minutes.
Ask on WhatsAppWhat does a Japanese import actually arrive with?
Typically four things at once: the infotainment and dashboard menus in Japanese, an FM tuner set to the Japanese band so most Irish stations are out of reach, the factory navigation set up for Japan, and Apple CarPlay or Android Auto either absent or switched off. None of it is a fault — the car was simply built for a different market.
Can everything be converted, or only some of it?
It depends on the vehicle. The radio band is the most widely fixable. Dashboard and cluster conversion depends on the manufacturer, model, year, dashboard generation and firmware, so some imports support full English conversion and others only partial. We check your specific car before quoting anything.
Do I have to do all of it at once?
No. Each part is a separate job and plenty of owners start with whichever bothers them most — usually the radio or the dashboard language. Doing several together in one visit saves you coming back, but nothing is bundled by force.
How long does it take?
Most compatible dashboard conversions are completed the same day. A radio recode is usually quicker. If several jobs are combined, the car is booked in for one longer appointment instead of several short ones.
Which Japanese brands do you work with?
Mainly Honda, Toyota, Suzuki and Mitsubishi imports — Honda Fit, Vezel and Grace, Toyota Prius and Aqua are the most common. Hybrids are supported on selected vehicles. Every car still needs a compatibility check first.
What do you need from me to quote?
A clear photo of the dashboard and instrument cluster, plus the model and year. That is usually enough to tell you what can be converted, what needs hardware and what is not supported on your particular car.
Contact
Convert your import quote.
Tell us about your car and what you're after — we'll come back with honest advice and a clear, no-obligation price.