Well, I finally got around to ordering/installing the HU that I've been "shopping" for a little over a year. I started looking around my birthday (in February) last year, but finally pulled the trigger this year. Unfortunately, life has been so busy that I've just recently completed installation and had a chance to take pictures. Here are the specs on the setup I decided to go with
Head Unit:
Kenwood Excelon DDX491HD
Rear View Camera: Video Stream Technologies
i-one
Steering Wheel Control: ASWC-1
The Head Unit
I decided to go with a non-nav unit because I read a LOT of people having issues with the new Kenwood navs. The nav on my phone works really well, so I decided to save a couple hundred bucks and go with the dvd receiver instead of the nav receiver.
I did purchase
THIS universal phone mount for the Runner. It sticks right to the silver trim and works great. It swivels 180 deg so I can have the phone there for streaming or turn it sideways for gps - works great and only cost $25!
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HU Likes
I really like all the different features that this HU offers. I stick mainly to playing my music off a 32GB flash drive that is stored in the glove box, but it is nice to be able to change it up and stream Pandora if I'm sick of the same old, same old. Plus HD radio is like HD tv - you don't know what you're missing until you actually have it.
Sound quality that comes out of my factory speakers has improved 10 fold, but I'll probably still upgrade to some PolkAudio db651s in the near future.
HU UI is good and easy to find your way around for setup and customization.
I haven't used the dvd function yet, but the screen is crystal clear for the music and rear view camera, so I assume dvds will looks great too!
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Dislikes (little gripes)
USB: It seems to take the usb drive a while (like up to a minute or two) to load every time I get in the car. It does remember where it left off, but it takes a while to load. I'm sure its just because I have 30+GB of music on there, but what can I say, I'm impatient. Although, it is probably safer to let it load so I'm paying closer attention to the road/other drivers than the radio when I first start up the vehicle. Another bummer is that some artwork didn't transfer/show up when playing. I'm not sure if there is a particular way to ensure you transfer album artwork with the music, but I need to look into that. I like to see the album artwork, so it is a bummer when it doesn't show up.
BT: Ok, so this may be an issue with the settings that I need to figure out, but I haven't really had a bunch of time to play with the thing yet. You can set the BT settings to play through all speakers or just the front, which is recommended for phone calls. Unfortunately, it seems like its an either/or selection. So, I can either have phone calls play through all speakers and not be able to hear the conversation, or have the BT set to just fronts and the music quality when streaming goes way down because its only playing through the front speakers. Also, no artwork displays when streaming music, another bummer.
* I am streaming from an Android phone. If I had an iphone and the iphone cable, I think the artwork would also show up, but I'm not sure.
Rear View Camera
Seems to work great, I just need to get my bearings so I know what type of tolerance I have for my maneuvering. This is just going to take a little getting used to. Also, the camera has the green, yellow, red lines to show how close you are to obstacles, which was one of the reasons I chose this camera. Unfortunately, with the 4th Gen 4Runners, there isn't really a central location to mount the camera, so the lines are off. If I followed them, I'd wind up taking up 2 parking spots. This is a small inconvenience as you should always use your mirrors to back up anyway. I just got the camera so it was easier to see how much room I have back there when backing straight up. That said, I'd like to find a way to remove the guide lines, since thy aren't centered. Again, that may just be a setting that I have to look into.
Steering Wheel Controls
Let me start by saying this was one of the biggest hassles of the installation. The instructions that come with the module were/are shit. No, that's putting it nicely, they were the worst instructions for ay device I think I'ver ever had to buy and install. Unless you are an audio guru, I'd suggest having your unit installed by a professional or a buddy that knows what the hell he is doing because the instructions are worthless. If you are going to attempt hte install yourself, buy this from Crutchfield, so you actually have the tech support you need. I had to rely on this site, the web and YouTube. I finally got it, but it was a hassle. I found
THIS write-up on here very helpful. This is what finally cracked the case for me and I got it working. You've been warned...
Ok, so enough of my jabbering, here are the pictures... I'm happy to answer any questions.
HU Off
Main Menu
USB Music
Pandora
Rear View Camera
Rear View Camera Display
