I also noticed the trim kits look kind of cheap but have not seen one installed. having done the speakers, amp and sub woofer i think the sound is much improved. when you checked the frequency how did the stock radio change the frequency? i had to cut the freqency's for the door speakers with the amp filter below 125 hz or the bass was just to loud and boomy. does the stock radio boost bass? i hope you can post some pictures of your pioneer radio installed. also any info you can share about stearing wheel control, and back up camera moduals would be of great help. the one thing i read was the problem with the dual radio antenna's not working well with aftermarket radio's.

 

I also noticed the trim kits look kind of cheap but have not seen one installed. having done the speakers, amp and sub woofer i think the sound is much improved. when you checked the frequency how did the stock radio change the frequency? i had to cut the freqency's for the door speakers with the amp filter below 125 hz or the bass was just to loud and boomy. does the stock radio boost bass? i hope you can post some pictures of your pioneer radio installed. also any info you can share about stearing wheel control, and back up camera moduals would be of great help. the one thing i read was the problem with the dual radio antenna's not working well with aftermarket radio's.

The OEM would cut highs and bass to prolong speaker life. I have not done any measures myself. Others have.

As far as the other parts from Metra.....
-70-1761 does get you a harness from dash plug in a aftermarket head unit.
-ASWC1 gets you all steering functions
-DD-9582488 is the dash kit we are discussing

I was hoping another brand like Scosche would have an alternate, but nothing on their site. American International has one, maybe a little better looking, but not much. tThe more flush the better I think....but, the design does make it less prone to glare. Yet the HUnit has tilt ability.


As far as the motor on these units.....

They are usually very solid. I have had other makes and they last the life of the car and then some. I have had SoundStream head units that have failed, and they were the Ultra high end at the time. Pioneer is more tried and tested. Besides, you don't HAVE to use the screen to do anything, its a feature. But being that its a removable face, I'm pretty sure they did a solid and made it robust for repeat use.

Some pix....

 

just checked out that Pioneer avh-4100nex. that has all the features i want. not a bad price but a little afraid of the durability of a motorized screen.

 

Android car dvd for Toyota Highlander 2015 car stereo Car head Uni

 

I ordered both the Metra and the American International.
Looks like Ai has a thicker bezel on the top, and I think might look better overall. I will post updates once I have both in hand.

I received my steering wheel adapter, the bipass for Ebrake vid cut off, and the dash to HUnit harness.


I think I should be able to do this myself.

I'm just wondering....
Since I had my system installed and wired using the stock Entune plugged in...

is the way I have it wired the best way for sound signal to the speakers? For some reason I remember in past systems, that there maybe a more optimal way to wire things to an aftermarket HU?

hmmmm?

 

When I install a new head unit I will run rca cables (two sets, one sub) and not use the speaker level inputs to my amp. Should be less destortion. Your making it really hard for me to wait. Will we be losing the small display behind the stearing wheel? What have you decided to do about the dual antenna? Some one posted that the radio reception will be poor without a new antenna. So many questions.

 

I think the display on the speedo is independent from the Headunit.
Dual antenna I think is for HD radio. This 4100nex does have HD built in. I don't see another input for antenna other than the one. I'll have to read the manual or something.

 

Just an FYI, this model is getting phased out with the 4200 I think. So you can get a deal on these for under $500. If you go with something a bit risky, they have them on Ebay starting @350, vs $699 regular.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the head unit. your really a bad infuence. must not buy, must not buy. i will have to look into that 4200. i didn't see anything about hooking up the rear camera?

 

The 4100 and 4200 are identical. The 4200 will not be on sale for a long time as they are still hitting the shelves, and they will be at a full $700 or so.
If you itch to get the 4200, you might as well swap them out every year

This has 2 camera inputs and an Aux. SO the rear is a direct plug in, and you have option of adding front. I have not decided on what to get for front, with GPS, with record, how many seconds on off after...so have really cool features like PapaGo and so on..

I'll see if I can post a picture of the rear, but they are on Youtube as well.

 

So I pulled the dash apart, and Thanks to Resboi, I did it without breaking any tabs. The AC's trim that comes up the dash on driver side was a bit tough, but with care and wiggling, it came off. The vents like to come out with the wider side nudged out first, then the narrow side.

The stock stereo is about 1/6th the weight of the NEX I'm replacing it with! Wow!

Anyway...had a Q.

Can I drive the car with the Radio and AC out of the dash? Just wondering if the ECU is not getting any PANIC warnings or some sort of Elec issue that I might cause.

 

And if someone can fill in the blank to the above image questions I have.

would be helpful

 

Can I drive the car without the dash installed?

Hey guys/gals, I need a little help....
Just took out my dash for a new stereo install

But I didn't finish.

Anyone know if I can drive the car without my dash and Entune connected ? Or will it log a code error or something? Is it completely OK?
Had a couple wiring questions in that thread as well. If anyone could help out...much appreciated.

 

Take the car for a spin. If it doesn't blow up and you come posting back about it, you are okay.

The car's mechanics isn't controlled by the infotainment system so I think you should be okay. Even if it throws you any code, it will all clear up when you plugs things back in. The dash gizmos are only a display and shouldn't hidden vehicle operations.

 

Ok...If I didn't get any replies (thanks), I was gonna have to either put it back together, or just drive it in the AM to drop the kids off. Likely just drive it....
...Thinking it might toss a code...I know how th VW fam of cars can clear codes and not interfere, but not sure with these. So....
Thought I'd ask.

 

Yes you can, make sure you disable/set the AC using the panel before you unplug it. At least on the 2nd gen, it would hold its last value when last connected....albeit 3rd gen may be different.

 

I drove without radio second generation Highlander. I had to plug in the ac and airbag plug otherwise it was a warning in the dash.
and congrats on the new radio! I am waiting for a wireless carplay radio. until then the alpine aftermarket I have will do!

 

Good to know, and thanks for th AC tips.

I will hope to have it in tomorrow or a couple days.
As far as the plastic, I have the Metra in hand and the Ai model comes in tomorrow so I can compare them. The Metra has plastic side brackets . Although the trim plastic is not a great difference from the stock plastic. Once its in place it should be pretty solid.

Did anyone get a chance to look at the pictures and help me figure out what the plugs are? (Large image a few posts up)

 

I'm a little confused.. Did you already install a metra harness? Where do the ones in the red circles come from?

Typically, you want to buy a harness that will plug into the existing factory harness for the radio. Those wires can then plug into the new radio's harness.

 

The 2 I circled in red are the car's dash connections that will plug into the Metra harness.

The one on the top left is the antenna. It goes from dual to a standard aftermarket (motorola) type plug, but the other 2 large ones, I don't know what they are, and I'm guessing the little gray one is a USB from the dash just below?


As far as the dash kits...
I'm thinking I might like the Metra more as the top doesn't have a bezel. This I thought might look bad vs the Ai with a bezel all the way around. But since the HU is flat, it might look better without the top bezel. I will post pix later today of both with unit, hopefully on the dash.

 

The last plug on the right might be the backup camera.
Here are the 2 options I see online....

 

BTW, I plugged the aftermarket Pioneer(fyi, the OEM is made by Pioneer for the LE) in to take a listen...
I thought I would have to play a cd, or something and listen for the difference...
NOT AT ALL...
Its a WORLD of DIFFERNECE!

And I thought, I better be ready for some close listening....
Just baffling how in 2016(errrr '14), and a source signal quality is greatly compromised.

I can't believe the OEM is even made by Pioneer/JBL.

 

This should have what you need

 

Thanks for the diagram. I ended up ordering a full harness with mic, camera and partial steering (plus the axxess for full). So almost everything is plug and play. The adapter cost 58!
Wish I did it before I spliced in and then did all the calcs for a 12v to 6v ohms law conversion, guessing amp load, with heat sink and soldering....I learned a few things, but!

Stereo is in with everything back together...But, I have to wait for the harness to arrive. Take it back out and then replace it again.

Tomorrow I also receive the AmerInt dash kit, and this will give me a chance to take a look at it. The Metra is a bit unimpressive. Although the Ai also uses plastice brackets, this is something I thought could have been some metal material. Also the opening of the Metra has some gaps. The video on Youtube by Metra NOR the instructions sheet discuss where the brackt specifically goes on the HU. So this was a PITA to try and align. Specially since the HU has a tilting head, which is really nice, and makes it more OEMish(as much as it can be), all the functionality makes it a super nice HU.

My dsp settings will need to be redone, but likely put a flat line in, as the HU has a built in Xover, Time alignment and all sorts of DSP features, in 13ch vs the 31...I don't know. That might be something to take on little by little. But I ran new RCA's so the DSP will need to be reset to something.

 

...then did all the calcs for a 12v to 6v ohms law conversion...

...what?

Don't tell me you made a rudimentary voltage divider to get 6V....if so that is NOT the solution you want to do for this.

...or you talking about simply converting currents between various voltages for a load?

 

I was going about it with resistors and rely on a constant load of between 1 to 2 amps.
But something told me not to do that. Since I didn't have a load to drop the volt and test if I was in fact getting 6v, I decided to read more.
More searching....
I came across this

...I would have to order and wait for parts. So...
With the added features of this adapter, and I wanted to get this done sooner than later, I just ordered it. It has a 12v to 6v built in.

(FYI, what I learned is that IF I want to take on things like this I would need to do a lot of study drilling on basic electronic laws and lessons to be able to do such things without blowing something or myself up. But, I don't mind getting a bit in trouble with stuff from time to time, and watch some videos or read and follow directions to make things

 

I take it you didn't get this unit at Crutchfield? They have complete installation kits which include wiring harness and brackets...plus complete instructions for the vehicle it's going in.