Axxera Problems

[Junebug0630]

Hi All! We have a 2017 Thor Four Winds with an Axxera AV615BHM stereo system. There is a touch screen on the front dash that is supposed to have blue tooth, backup camera, side cameras, etc all integrated into it. The radio functionality works perfectly when we are sitting still but seems to short out as we are moving down the road. Once we are in motion the screen appears black and won't play music at all. The cameras will still pop on as we're changing lanes so we're thankful for that. But we can't figure out what to do to fix this situation so we can actually use it for music. Most of the RV places around us won't touch it. I did take it to a car audio guy who told me that he wasn't familiar with this type of unit but he would be willing to remove my dashboard and check for loose connections. There were none. Anyone else have a similar problem or have any recommendations?? Thanks!

[rbykid]

Axxera is known for these problems. Do a search for Axxera on this forum and see what others have installed to replace it.

[16ACE27]

What's the status of your USE/STORE switch? The radio uses power from the house DC buss so you need to have that switch in USE for the batteries to power it when rolling. The converter powers the buss when connected to SP.

[Junebug0630]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

What's the status of your USE/STORE switch? The radio uses power from the house DC buss so you need to have that switch in USE for the batteries to power it when rolling. The converter powers the buss when connected to SP.

Yes. We leave the power switch on the whole time

[Laco]

Axxera is not exactly high end equipment. We got by with ours, but even when it worked, performance was not exactly impressive. I agree with the earlier comment, that your best bet would be to replace it. There are lots of options out there, do a little research and find one that fits, and looks and performs the way you want it to. One of my complaints with the Axxera, was, in bright daylight, the screen was just about impossible to see, and no adjustment would fix that, yet other screens are perfectly visible in bright daylight.

[Scubawise]

We had thor replace our radio. So far all is well

[Ajax1000]

I just added a KW-Z1000W to replace my Axxera. I was waiting for my X to stop working, and instead of trying to fix it, I would replace it. I had trouble seeing the screen when driving, and it wasn't touch friendly for my fat fingers. This new radio is Awesome, has Apple Carplay, XM, and so much more. All three cameras work very clearly. I like the 10" floating screen. However, the radio is expensive.


2019 Thor Vegas 27.7. Bought new, 13,000 miles now, no significant issues.

[Scubawise]

Great job!

[Carle]

We had the same unit and it worked, but the quality of sound and reception was not great. It improved a little when I updated it's software off their site. But I still ended up replacing it with a Kenwood DMX7706S. The quality is great, touch screen and all the functionality you will need. Replacement was easy and never done that before. Good luck.

[Mr Sunshine]

My Axxera just bit the dust and my new Kenwood arrived today. Hope the switch is as easy for me!

[TripleGGG]

Good to hear on the Kenwoods. I'm getting a DMX1037S installed Tuesday.

[Datura]

We had the same issues with the Axxera in a 2017 Chateau. We went to a place that specialized in audio for cars/boats. We upgraded (and the bright press issues are fixed and we now have car play and all that. They also swapped out the awful headlights for brighter bulbs. The car audio places had many more options than the RV places did and the money we paid went further and work was done much faster.

[puppygeo]

I hated my Axxera the very next day after purchasing our motorhome. I asked myself why Thor would put such a piece of garbage in this RV?

Anyway, did some research and after a few months, I installed a 10" Jensen CAR1000 unit. Basically a tablet! It does exactly what I want. Runs Android Auto while driving giving me immediate and intuitive access Google Assistant, Google Maps, Spotify and a few other features. Comes with a mic (actually works good too!) that I installed above the driver's sun visor. Easy wiring and includes the backup cam just like the Axxera but a much brighter and clearer picture. Comes with a remote for listening to music while in the coach. It also has the Apple software if that's what you use.

You do have to remove (or partially remove) the dash on a Ford Class C cutaway though, so that was the biggest challenge. IMO it was worth the effort.

[scubes3]

Looks like I lost my first reply to this thread. Try resetting the radio. Reset button located near bottom left front of faceplate. Next to the 'Aux' input. Press with tip of pen or straightened paperclip. Hold for 6+ seconds. This is with the ignition off.

The blue light (or white light if in a 'fault' state) behind the power button will go out after resetting.
Turn on/start RV and power up the radio. It may need to be restarted a couple of times (basically rebooting itself). This is a 'soft' reset/reboot. Preferred method is a hard reboot accomplished the same way but with all power removed from the radio rather than just the ignition off. However a soft reboot solved the problem I was having.

[Homer3]

We also had many issues with the Axxerra, reset several times, etc. Finally got a new Kenwood through our credit card rewards program and paid $100 for Bestbuy geek to install, took less than an hour and well worth the price. It's a shame that you have to replace a nearly new item but the aggravation just wasn't worth it. The final straw was when the back up camera went out. The Kenwood is so much better, even has grids for a more perfect union with your RV parking space.

[K6NCX]

Not likely to be the issue, as the side cameras display.

[K6NCX]

It sounds very much like the leads are swapped. You say it works OK when parked, but not when driving. When does it change?If it stops working (except for showing cameras) when you turn on the ignition, the ACC and monitor trigger (AKA REVERSE) leads are probably swapped.

[Lt Keefer]

I'm not an audiophile so for me the Axxera radio is just fine. The back up camera works, so do the side view cameras. It plays tunes off a USB stick and I can connect my phone to it via blue tooth. Try the reset as mentioned, you may also update the software via a download from the manufacturer.

[GordSanClemente]

I ditched the Axxera pretty quickly. It would work for a few hours, then loose audio. I would yank it out and it might start working again, might not. Wiggling wires didn't seem to change anything. I suspect it was a cold solder joint somewhere in the unit, and it was more heat related than anything else.

I switched to an android based 10" floating screen double din head unit from Atoto. Way more than I wanted to spend, but I liked a lot of the features. My biggest issue with it was the low end intel processor that was used. It was not under powered for the features. It probably was over powered. I was more concerned about the heat and power usage. The ARM based units would be better power usage/heat wise, but there were some complaints on line that you could have too many things running and it would be slow or stutter.

Atoto is a China company, but great service if you are ok with detailed answers by email the next morning(seems almost guaranteed). They even have a way to upload your video to show them your problem. (Nice)

It solved my audio problem (proving it was not wiring).

The only feature you lose with these non-RV specific head units is the lack of a switch to keep the backup camera on constantly. I like to have this on, since I can not see our toad while we are driving.
Of course leaving the backup camera on 100% meant that you really weren't able to use any other feature of the radio.

My solution was a cheap 7in monitor that is always connected to the backup camera.

I like not having to hit any buttons to take a look. It is just always there.

[Scubawise]

Thor replaced my Axxera. So far it has amazing features and Bluetooth to your phone works great!;

If I have any issues what was the cost of the Atoto?
Does it fit in or stick out the radio slot?