Anyone who has replaced the factory stereo

[JohnO356]

I want to replace the stereo in my car with a double din receiver/cd/cassette unit. First, though, I have a few questions for any of you who may have already done this: Did putting in a good head unit improve your FM reception? Have any of you added an antenna to replace the one in the rear window? If so, which one did you buy and where did you mount it? Did it help the reception with the factory stereo? Found a lot of threads about the bad reception, but none answered these questions.

I've had a lot of Toyotas, but this one has the lousiest FM reception of any of them. Playing cd's or tapes continuously on one of my long trips bores me. Need to hear a DJ or the news (even commercials) now and then to break the monotony.

Thanks.

[metalbones]

I replaced the factory stereo but the FM reception stayed the same. Without replacing/rerouting the antenna nothing will change as the stereo you use for the aftermarket deck is the same one used for the factory unit. The reception will not get better if the signal source is at fault.

A side note: I also tinted all of my windows with metallic (titanium-based) tint and did not notice significant reception decrease, it remained the same.

While you won't get better FM reception you will notice better sound quality overall though. Good luck with your mod.