Kenwood DNX-8120 - Installed!

[darkie3495]

archangel37,

i'm glad there's another 8120 owner because i have a few questions that kenwood hasn't been able to help with (answers were very vague and didn't really anwer my questions).

have you been able to change the background image? tried to upload images through the usb port from a flash drive but when the menu for the drive comes up, none of the pictures are listed.

Also, whenever i select ipod, it starts playing the first song in alphabetical order. do you know if there is a setting to start off with a playlist instead?

Congrats with the purchase!! I never knew you could play ipod videos while driving without the bypass. I just bypassed it thinking it was the only way.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[archangel37]

archangel37,

i'm glad there's another 8120 owner because i have a few questions that kenwood hasn't been able to help with (answers were very vague and didn't really anwer my questions).

have you been able to change the background image? tried to upload images through the usb port from a flash drive but when the menu for the drive comes up, none of the pictures are listed.

Also, whenever i select ipod, it starts playing the first song in alphabetical order. do you know if there is a setting to start off with a playlist instead?

Congrats with the purchase!! I never knew you could play ipod videos while driving without the bypass. I just bypassed it thinking it was the only way.

Thanks,

Kevin

I haven't tried uploading any custom images yet - maybe try a CD?

I don't know if there is any setting - but when I select iPod, it always starts from the last song I was playing. Sometimes it won't start automatically though.

Yeah, I would have figured Kenwood would have locked that feature down - thankfully they didn't!

Sorry i couldn't be more help!

 

[darkie3495]

I haven't tried uploading any custom images yet - maybe try a CD?

I don't know if there is any setting - but when I select iPod, it always starts from the last song I was playing. Sometimes it won't start automatically though.

Yeah, I would have figured Kenwood would have locked that feature down - thankfully they didn't!

Sorry i couldn't be more help!

i'll try the CD route if i can find a blank CD-R (probably find one at work or something).

it plays from the same spot if i leave my ipod in my truck, but i take the ipod into work everyday so when i plug it back in it goes straight the first song. oh well.

Does the camera feel secure with the doublesided tape? i always thought that if i mounted it with tape it would just fall off. yes, i'm a little paranoid. I ended up mounting it in the stock location. a buddy of mine is putting in the same setup and doesn't like the idea of cutting the trim and wants to do the doublesided tape method so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

[archangel37]

i'll try the CD route if i can find a blank CD-R (probably find one at work or something).

it plays from the same spot if i leave my ipod in my truck, but i take the ipod into work everyday so when i plug it back in it goes straight the first song. oh well.

Does the camera feel secure with the doublesided tape? i always thought that if i mounted it with tape it would just fall off. yes, i'm a little paranoid. I ended up mounting it in the stock location. a buddy of mine is putting in the same setup and doesn't like the idea of cutting the trim and wants to do the doublesided tape method so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

Ah, I see. When I unplug mine and put it back on, it goes straight to whatever was last playing on my iPod. Weird.

Speaking with my installer, I discovered he did not use double-sided tape. He actually drilled a small hole and secured it that way. He too was concerned about it not being sturdy enough - I'm glad he did!

 

[ssnider]

For those with the Kenwood 8120: I am thinking about purchasing this unit from Cartoys and was wondering how much it cost you out the door tax and everything? I just went to Cartoys today and they quoted me $2,199.00 out the door.

Also were they able to set it up so the steering wheel controls still worked with the new deck?

How is the Bluetooth? My girlfriend got the Motorola bluetooth installed in her car and it is somewhat hard to hear her. I was wondering if this system had the same problems.

Thanks in advance.

 

[darkie3495]

For those with the Kenwood 8120: I am thinking about purchasing this unit from Cartoys and was wondering how much it cost you out the door tax and everything? I just went to Cartoys today and they quoted me $2,199.00 out the door.

Also were they able to set it up so the steering wheel controls still worked with the new deck?

How is the Bluetooth? My girlfriend got the Motorola bluetooth installed in her car and it is somewhat hard to hear her. I was wondering if this system had the same problems.

Thanks in advance.

out the door it was $2100.00 based on 8.9% tax. That includes the following parts:
8120
Dash Kit
harness
scosche jbl interface
swi-jack (needed for steering wheel controls)
ipod adapter
back up camera

I got my deck and the swi-jack installed. steering wheel controls work the same as factory, you just have to hold the button down a little longer than stock for it to change tracks/volume. I installed the backup camera myself (don't trust anyone to cut my truck).

Bluetooth works great. I've been told that the sound is clear on the other end.

Good Luck!!

 

[ssnider]

I am in Seattle and see that you are in Washington as well. Where did you get it installed?

Are you happy with it? Do you reccomend the Kenwood or have you seen something else you liked better?

I found the deck on e-bay for $1,000 so I think I am going to buy it there and have it installed professionally hopefully bringing my costs down to around $1,700.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

I am in Seattle and see that you are in Washington as well. Where did you get it installed?

Are you happy with it? Do you reccomend the Kenwood or have you seen something else you liked better?

I found the deck on e-bay for $1,000 so I think I am going to buy it there and have it installed professionally hopefully bringing my costs down to around $1,700.

It's going to cost $700 to install? That is crazy.

 

[ssnider]

Looking at my quote there is only $340.00 on there for the labor. There must be and addtional $360 worth of other materials.
I know they have to get some kind of power adapter to let the new aftermarket deck work with the stock amp and that is about $120. Then there is the wiring harness and some other adapter so the controls on the steering wheel still work.

Cartoys is probably not the cheapest shop in town so I am going to see what a couple other places can do it for.

 

[darkie3495]

I am in Seattle and see that you are in Washington as well. Where did you get it installed?

Are you happy with it? Do you reccomend the Kenwood or have you seen something else you liked better?

I found the deck on e-bay for $1,000 so I think I am going to buy it there and have it installed professionally hopefully bringing my costs down to around $1,700.

I got it installed at cartoys up in everett. not the cheapest like you said but i got a discount since i bought the 4Runner at rodland toyota. I'm really happy with it. Garmin navigation and parrot bluetooth are the best IMO. checked out a few other brands when i was shopping around but i just preferred the kenwood.

I paid the extra money to get it from car toys so if anything went wrong with the deck, i can have them swap it out immediately rather than returning it to an online store (no deck for a week sucks!!).

that $120 is the scosche jbl adapter. the guy at cartoys matched the online price of the metra version on the circuitcity site (checked it a few mins ago and it wasn't there). they were selling it at $59.99 back when i got it installed. you might be able to save a few buck and buy the metra version online (TYTO-01).

 

[Shimajilosan]

I am struggling through a DNX8120 installation now.

Question(s) on the SWI-JACK: Did you connect the blue/yellow wire from the SWI-JACK to the Kenwood remote wire? Also, how did you connect the SWI-JACK wires to the harness on the 4Runner?

TIA!

 

[ImOnAPlain51]

Glad you guys are enjoying these. I couldn't find a decent priced 8120 from an authorized dealer anywhere so I just ordered the Kenwood 812 and the navigation add-on. It is supposed to be the exact same thing though. I got the 812, the navigation adaptor, and ipod cable from Al-eds.com (authorized dealer) for $1229...anyone interested can use the code "avic411" at check out for a pretty big discount. The code is good till the end of the month.

A local audio guy quoted me $200 to install and bypass it all.

 

[4Runner1371]

You can just install it yourself like me
took me 5 hours because I was doing it at night because I couldn't wait til the daylight.
Fairly easy if you know where everything goes.