No Bass in JBL Rear Subwoofer & Rear Door Speakers

[6thGen1419]

Respectfully, you're entitled to your opinion & I appreciate a contrasting opinion as you might be correct but it is evident based on others posting here that I'm not the only one with the same circumstances, experience & opinion concerning the sound system & it's performance.

If, and I repeat IF, the sound system is designed & working as it should then it's my opinion that I don't like how it was designed. It is also my opinion that I don't like not having precise control of where the bass is coming from & an independant volume control for the subwoofer itself with crossover options. With only a standard fader control & very basic 3 EQ setting adjustments I'd hardly call the system “premium” in my opinion.

Those with differing opinions are entitled to them & if they enjoy their “premium” systems then that's great...but consider the following from Grok A.I.:
Bass frequencies should come from the rear-like a subwoofer in the trunk or behind the back seat-for deep, clean low-end without messing up the front speakers' mids and highs. Angle it toward the cabin for punch. Subwoofers handle twenty to eighty hertz for that deep, rumbling bass, but you can tweak the crossover to about eighty hertz to blend cleanly with midrange speakers. Keep it low to avoid muddying higher frequencies.

The subwoofer in the JBL sound system does indeed come from the rear subwoofer in the back side of the cargo area, but it is tied to the front speakers and front speaker controls, which makes sense.

There are others in this thread that also don't understand how this JBL sound system works.

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[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

The subwoofer in the JBL sound system does indeed come from the rear subwoofer in the back side of the cargo area, but it is tied to the front speakers and front speaker controls, which makes sense.

There are others in this thread that also don't understand how this JBL sound system works.

The location of the subwoofer is not in question here.
The volume performance of it & why it is tied to the front speakers is what I question. It should be independent of all of the other speakers with it's own crossover options & volume control. As it is, changing the fader to the rear & the system reducing the bass to practically a whisper is totally ridiculous.

 

[6thGen1419]

The location of the subwoofer is not in question here.
The volume performance of it & why it is tied to the front speakers is what I question. It should be independent of all of the other speakers with it's own crossover options & volume control. As it is, changing the fader to the rear & the system reducing the bass to practically a whisper is totally ridiculous.

You're turning down the subwoofer by adjusting the fader to the rear.

I was responding to your AI quote: "Bass frequencies should come from the rear-like a subwoofer in the trunk or behind the back seat-for deep, clean low-end without messing up the front speakers' mids and highs". That's exactly how the JBL system in the 4Runner works already.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

You're turning down the subwoofer by adjusting the fader to the rear.

I was responding to your AI quote: "Bass frequencies should come from the rear-like a subwoofer in the trunk or behind the back seat-for deep, clean low-end without messing up the front speakers' mids and highs". That's exactly how the JBL system in the 4Runner works already.

Again, and phrased differently this time, moving the fader to the rear which reduces the volume of the subwoofer is ridiculous. It should not be tied to the front speakers.

 

[6thGen1419]

Again, and phrased differently this time, moving the fader to the rear which reduces the volume of the subwoofer is ridiculous. It should not be tied to the front speakers.

Hey, it's a free country and you're entitled to your opinions.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

Hey, it's a free country and you're entitled to your opinions.

As you are to yours, fellow 4Runner owner. It's okay to agree to disagree.

I'm just here to gather information from others who own the vehicle, it's options & may be having the same issue(s) I'm having with mine in an effort to resolve what I believe is a problem in the spirit of collaboration...not to argue or create animosity within this community & if I can help or provide advice here then I'm happy to do so as I appreciate those who do the same for me.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

Again, and phrased differently this time, moving the fader to the rear which reduces the volume of the subwoofer is ridiculous. It should not be tied to the front speakers.

@ Brian Day: Thanks for the like. Good to know I'm not the only one who thinks the system is not designed correctly.

 

[Brian Day]

My factory subwoofer works but I'm not impressed . I'm looking at adding an aftermarket one .
Otherwise I like the quality of sound .

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

My factory subwoofer works but I'm not impressed . I'm looking at adding an aftermarket one .
Otherwise I like the quality of sound .

Yeah mine works also but the volume & performance of it is very weak.

The bass in the rear passenger doors is very weak also (granted that could be by design with a crossover because the subwoofer is in the rear though I'm not sure).

If I had designed the system:
The dash, door & liftgate speakers would be powered by an independent amplifier & EQ control from the subwoofer.
The component speakers in the front doors & dash would be on the front fader control & using a high pass crossover of 80 or 100 hz.
The component speakers in the rear doors (passenger & liftgate) would be on the rear fader control & also using a high pass crossover of 80 or 100 hz.
I'd have a single 10" subwoofer or a pair of 8" subwoofers independent from the fader control, powered by its own independent amplifier using a low pass crossover of 80 or 100 hz for it & independent volume control.

 

[moosepwr]

Ok I am currently sitting in the backseat and chilling and the music is sounding fine for a rear seat.. I hear the base from the back and the front. But if I sit in the front and fade it to the back I hear nothing but centered it sounds fine.

Do you have a sunroof?

 

[6thGen1419]

As you are to yours, fellow 4Runner owner. It's okay to agree to disagree.

I'm just here to gather information from others who own the vehicle, it's options & may be having the same issue(s) I'm having with mine in an effort to resolve what I believe is a problem in the spirit of collaboration...not to argue or create animosity within this community & if I can help or provide advice here then I'm happy to do so as I appreciate those who do the same for me.

You're right that not all interior car sound systems tie the subwoofer to the front channel speakers like Toyota does.

 

[Brian Day]

My 07 FJCruiser tied the subwoofer to the rear speakers . Plus it had a switch to turn the subwoofer on and off

 

[WayneAllan]

We're in agreement here. I've listened to & played with mine after reading that the sub is tied to the front speakers. Even with the fader set to default position (center) and the bass level increased by +3 the sub in the rear sounds quite anemic & the rear door speakers' bass is non-existant. IMO the default fader position makes it sound like all of the bass, mids & highs are coming solely from the front & I can't hear anything from the rear. The sub does work as I can see the cone & surround movement on the lowest of lows but the bass is extremely weak even for a small sub. I agree with a previous poster here about the "premium" system being in name only. My 2003 Tundra with regular factory speakers had no stock sub with 6.5" speakers in the front & access cab doors that pumped more bass out than the rear doors & sub does in this 2025 4Runner “premium” JBL system. Makes no sense to me & what I've always understood about how the soundstage should be set up in car audio...bass in the rear with mids & highs in the middle & front of the vehicle.

Agreed, it's not really debatable, unless there is something wrong with ours, and others have a sub that actually works lol, and c'mon, the adjustments are very limited, I will admit I am biased as I typically have an after market high end JL Audio system, currently sitting in storage, which is mostly why I haven't paid too much attention or complained to the dealer, I will be replacing it all eventually anyways, that said, these days premium stock sound systems are not half bad, and the rear subs are decently functional and allow independent adjustment, my Subaru and Audi both had better subs (that actually produced sub-sonic frequencies) and sound processing, with 7 band EQ's and separate sub level adjustments, again it's not really debatable that this one is weak comparably

 

[FoozGrind]

i just had my 6 year old go in the back of our 25 Camry and stick her hand on the sub in the rear dash. When I faded to the rear she said the sub stopped making noise she had her hand on it. I could clearly hear the rear door speakers. When I faded to the front all I could hear was the full jbl system like if I had it centered except she told me she could feel the music now. So it appears even in our 25 Camry with jbl it does the same as my 4Runner. Again I am not audio except I just figured I’d check it out. Both are 2025 remodeled vehicles with jbl

 

[mattfuria]

Yeah mine works also but the volume & performance of it is very weak.

The bass in the rear passenger doors is very weak also (granted that could be by design with a crossover because the subwoofer is in the rear though I'm not sure).

If I had designed the system:
The dash, door & liftgate speakers would be powered by an independent amplifier & EQ control from the subwoofer.
The component speakers in the front doors & dash would be on the front fader control & using a high pass crossover of 80 or 100 hz.
The component speakers in the rear doors (passenger & liftgate) would be on the rear fader control & also using a high pass crossover of 80 or 100 hz.
I'd have a single 10" subwoofer or a pair of 8" subwoofers independent from the fader control, powered by its own independent amplifier using a low pass crossover of 80 or 100 hz for it & independent volume control.

I have a Limited and have noticed the same thing with only high-end in the rear speakers. If there is any shift in the fader towards the rear (or even towards the front) the volume is significantly cut to the sub. If the fader is towards the front or the back, there is hardly anything coming out of the sub or any large rear speaker (liftgate or the rear doors). I think it improves when the fader is centered, but I still hear the front speakers over everything else it seems. I can feel the bass hit towards the front, but not towards the rear.
I was in the dealership over the weekend for my 5k rotation and had them take a look. The guy checking me in said that it definitely sounded weird to him and had to get his boss. His boss said they hadn't seen that and that's how it was supposed to sound, I said "Just high end, No bass?", he said yes. They eventually agreed to go check some on the showroom floor when it opened (along with the rear window seal fitment) and would let me know what they found (I'll update here when I hear something).
The service manager also slipped up and said they just had a Land Cruiser in for the same issue with no fix. Reading through the forum while I waited, if there is an issue hopefully the Lexus fix will trickle down to LC & 4R.

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