I bought the Pioneer AVH-1550NEX with the Metra installation kit and wiring harness. I went with Pioneer because I've had 2 other Pioneer units and they all work well with iPhones. I was uncertain about this unit because it can play DVD's, however I only wanted the CD option (call me a dinosaur, I have a rather extensive CD collection). I love the touchscreen, Carplay and the ability to play SiriusXM through my phone [completely side comment, satellite radio may be better on the phone than a satellite receiver because you can download control the quality of the downloads through the app]. Maps work well and I still need to try out Waze. However the big caveat is that it needs to be wired into the emergency brake to enable the video option and also the "control settings" for the head unit. Kind of annoying, but I understand their reasoning.
So, the installation is fairly straightforward, pull the existing head unit out of your car. I removed both the environmental controls and the radio for ease of installation. I installed the new Metra Dash kit brackets (I needed to use a Dremel to cut notches into the support arms), and soldered the harness according to the directions from Crutchfield. Basically wire color to wire color. You don't need to use the cassette wires, and I didn't use the steering wheel wires either. The wire for the emergency brake, I ran behind the dash and tapped it into the wire above the emergency brake pedal. You need to be a bit of a contortionist to do this part. Although I soldered everything else, I used a plastic wire tap to make this connection. The attached image is an example of the type of wire tap I refer to...you need to use the correct size for the wire gauge. I think I used a red one.
Then I ran the microphone wire through the dash to the drivers door, under the vinyl molding near the drivers weather-stripping, and brought it up through the plastic windshield pillar on the drivers side. It comes out near the sun visor. My next project is to get a clip to mount to the sunvisor. Nobody seems to make clips that fit our sun visors, so I may need to make a 3D printed clip. In the interim, my microphone is mounted on the plastic window pillar.
