Aftermarket stereo in 2020 - pics and tips
 

I'm hot, pissed, and not happy. So bear with me. I spent six hours today installing the new IData Maestro kit, all the adapters, Alpine 5 channel amp, and everything else in my 2020. I'm going to document this because there are problems compared to the earlier year 4Runners - namely, some of this shit doesn't fit. It's been a frustrating day but I'm 85% there and hope to have it completed in a day or two. Not going to entertain comments about why I switched head units. The shortcomings of the OEM head unit have been documented to death.

The first problem is with the USB adapter that everyone has used for late model 4Runners, the Metra AX-TOYUSB. It does not work. Toyota changed the OEM wiring harness to a completely different plug so that the Metra adapter does not work. I can work around that by running a USB cable to an empty dash slot. Here is the '20 OEM plug:

https://i.imgur.com/J2fPsDL.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/O9gfW0n.jpg

But by far the biggest problem is that the '20 head unit and A/C components have changed so much that the Scosche 2106B dash kit doesn't even come close to working. The first problem is with the hazard lights button, which Toyota has apparently made big changes to:

https://i.imgur.com/uUgBRHb.jpg

Scosche dash kit on the left, OEM on the right. As you can see, there is no way the OEM hazard button will fit in there. So you have to drill out the Scosche unit, do the same to the OEM unit to remove the black cover, and hope the OEM unit fits on the Scosche dash kit. But it doesn't, so you have to drill out the holes in the Scosche dash kit for a future plastic weld of the OEM hazard button into the Scosche dash kit. You will also have to modify the dash kit by cutting out the top and sides of the hole for the hazard unit so the OEM setup will fit. See below:

https://i.imgur.com/rIetcxG.jpg

Which brings us to the next problem, the A/C vent thumb wheel covers. The OEM ones do not even come close to fitting the Scosche kit. At all. You will have to drill out the Scosche dash unit holes to make them bigger, cut various parts off the OEM covers, and reshape the bottom so that they will fit. And then there's the matter of reattaching them to the Scosche kit with plastic welding (via solder gun) because there is almost nothing there to attach with. I have not figured this out yet.

I got the amp, speaker wires, RCA cables, power/ground wires installed and the amp mounted under the passenger seat. I got the Maestro unit and wiring harness, Sirius tuner, and everything else installed too - then ran into the above problems. So I ordered another Scosche kit (because my wife managed to scratch mine by moving it), tucked all the wires/harnesses away, and reinstalled the OEM head unit.

New dash kit comes in tomorrow and I should finish the installation by Saturday evening, now that I know what needs to be modified. I've not seen anyone do this project on a '20, so I'll keep supplementing this thread with info and pics.

I thought perhaps it would be very hard to change out the 20 oem head unit. OEM's are making them so proprietary for their dashes anymore it is almost ruling out changing out head unit's to aftermarket. Thanks for posting. Will follow.

I really think it's going to be fine once I modify the Scosche dash kit. Obviously this would be much easier with a dash kit that fits, but I'm going to make this work for now. It's been fairly miserable so far though.

Sorry, forgot to load this pic in my first post to show the hazard surround and the A/C thumbwheel covers that need a lot of modification to fit:

https://i.imgur.com/sTPoY7F.jpg

The advent of more integrated OEM head units, where vehicle settings and other features are built into the OEM head unit itself, was actually a driving factor in my previous purchase of a WRX and now a 4Runner. Although many think the new 4Runners have fancy tricked out head units, the fact they're even still replaceable, as shown by OP, is a feature that many manufacturers have almost entirely done away with by integrating such things as HVAC controls into them.

That being said, the 2020 models do have some settings in their head units such as turning on/off DRLs (in USA) or changing your key fob lock/unlock settings (one click unlock driver or all doors, etc).

Have aftermarket head units caught up to being able to interface with these settings? Or maybe you'd want to edit those preferences before pulling the OEM unit, or maybe those settings revert to default and then are unmodifiable after changing head units...

Finished up the project yesterday so I'll add in some pics. The sound is fantastic but as stated above, this is a very difficult job due to the terrible Scosche mounting kit. I will add a few comments and warnings at the very bottom.

Here's the mess of wires, adapters, and boxes you'll be having fun with and figuring out how to tuck into the dash:
https://i.imgur.com/ULuBT7w.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3RpVVa2.jpg

Mounted in the dash:
https://i.imgur.com/ZgIn9gt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PkmC5Ng.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CIigjlG.jpg

A sample of the gauges you can add:
https://i.imgur.com/zKy4TQL.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PWxDY7W.jpg

And here's my sub setup, a 12" JL W0V3 mounted in an ancient JL box. It's attached to the seat back and fits perfectly flush up against it:
https://i.imgur.com/6IYeSBl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RNE98Jm.jpg

The rest of the setup is Infinity speakers all around, and an Alpine PDR V9 amp that is 100x4 and 500x1 and mounted under the passenger seat.

My last comments on the Scosche mounting plate. In addition to all the problems noted in my first post, I have to say the quality of this thing is just terrible. There is casting flash everywhere that must be trimmed in order for anything to fit. Otherwise the A/C vents won't fit, the top "shelf" just below the clock won't fit, etc. Even mounted up there are spots where it just doesn't fit right against the dash. And the silver finish is extremely fragile. Turned upside down and on a brand new microfiber cloth for mounting components, there are still two spots where the silver finish actually just rubbed away. Very disappointing, but I hear the Metra kit is even worse.

So there you go.

Couple of Maestro programming tips:

When programming the left side steering wheel buttons, for the up/down (not volume) buttons, change it from "seek+" and "seek-" because all that will do is move the radio/Sirius tuner up or down in increments on the dial. You want to change the up/down to "preset+" and "preset-" so it moves up or down your presets.

On that same note, reverse them when you do the above. Make the "up" button "preset-" and the "down" button "preset+". That way pushing the up button moves to presets that are higher up on your screen and pushing the down button moves to presets lower on your screen. If you don't reverse them then you have a weird situation where pushing the "up" button moves to presets towards the bottom of your screen and vice versa.

@OP, why not buy an earlier model hazard switch from Toyota, along with the correct A/C vent parts? Be a much cleaner install.

Post up the A/C vent thumbwheel cover part numbers please.

What are you doing with the OEM head unit? Willing to sell/give?

I have a friend that owns a audio store been dealing with him for years. I have had a lot of audio installs done by him over the years. He told me that manufactures are making it so hard to upgrade installs to try and having customers removing there factory systems but he said there able to get around things. He said most installs people leave there factory headunit in and just upgrade every thing else. Also another popular things also is customers are just adding a powered sub to there factory system and sounds really good. I was planning on changing out my19 Z06 Corvette bose system but all he is doing is adding a powered sub and it will sound much better. The way it sounds he said he would not replace the speakers. Just add the sub. I already had the whole inside sound deaden and that made a big difference.

I'll buy your OEM radio if you're selling.

Sounds like some frustrating challenges along the way. But the install ended up looking great. Thanks for documenting the process and sharing.

I don't think I would be willing to give up the huge visual downgrade of an aftermarket radio in the 2020 over the sound gains. I modified a factory 2012 radio to fit in an aftermarket radio into the spot where the OEM screen was. Looks almost factory minus the non-functioning side buttons and some bad cutting on my part.

I've done a lot of full installs in the last 35 years and this was by far the most challenging. The results are very much worth it though. Some good news is that I reached out to Scosche about the problems I documented and they responded, asking for my comments and pictures to help them understand why things don't fit. We'll see if anything positive comes of it.