Upgrade a Cheap Toy RC Car with an ESP32
Replace the toy's receiver board with an ESP32 and a motor driver and drive it from your phone over Wi-Fi.
Toy-grade cars use simple DC motors for driving and steering. Swap the electronics and you get proportional speed, a web remote and room for sensors.
Toy battery packs can be unprotected. Use protected cells and never short the motor wires. LiPo batteries can catch fire if punctured, overcharged or shorted. Charge in a LiPo bag, never unattended, and always remove propellers while working on the bench.
Mission steps
Open the car
Remove the shell, photograph the original wiring and desolder the motor wires from the old board.
Install the driver
Drive motor to TB6612 channel A, steering motor to channel B, VM from the battery pack.
Wire the ESP32
Direction and PWM pins to the driver, STBY high, ground shared. Power the ESP32 from a 5 V regulator.
Flash a web remote
Serve a page with a joystick from the ESP32 in access-point mode; add a 0.5 s failsafe stop.
Upgrade further
Add LED headlights, a buzzer horn or a distance sensor for auto-braking.
Questions
Does it work with any toy car?
Most cars with two brushed DC motors work. Cars with a steering servo or brushless motor are hobby-grade — see the smart RC car guide.