New Maestro Radio Solution

[CLO T4R]

I'm in a 2018 4runner and used the TO2 harness for an alpine headunit I just installed but i think the typical two connectors that don't end up being used from the harness are the Orange for illumination and the yellow/black for the foot brake, unless your radio harness requires those two. What loose end connections do you have from the TO1 harness and the Kenwood Harness?

I saw the antenna adapter when I went through the pages when my dash was apart. The install guide didn't make it that clear that splicing was required.

Did you end up with a connector in the TO1 that didn't mate to anything?

 

[Gtoninn]

There were two loose ends that I didn't solder, the vehicle speed and foot break.

But I had an entire white connector that did not mate to anything.

I went out and I bought splices that got the camera working. Waiting on the antenna adapter to come in and then I'll pop everything back out and install that.

I also couldn't get the stock GPS plugs to mate with the kenwood. They seem to have extra plastic ridges on the top of the connector that prevented it from mating. I'm going to test the navigation in Android Auto to make sure it works today. Might not need it at all.

Only thing left is to route the USB-C cable to the console so I can store my phone in there. Thanks for the help!

 

[CLO T4R]

I just looked up your wiring diagram and you're correct, the vss and foot brake dont have connections to the kenwood. The white cable should be a speaker cable?

I don't know if the maestro antenna adapters would work for your GPS...you might need to use the gps antenna it came with.

Good luck!

There were two loose ends that I didn't solder, the vehicle speed and foot break.

But I had an entire white connector that did not mate to anything.

I went out and I bought splices that got the camera working. Waiting on the antenna adapter to come in and then I'll pop everything back out and install that.

I also couldn't get the stock GPS plugs to mate with the kenwood. They seem to have extra plastic ridges on the top of the connector that prevented it from mating. I'm going to test the navigation in Android Auto to make sure it works today. Might not need it at all.

Only thing left is to route the USB-C cable to the console so I can store my phone in there. Thanks for the help!

 

[llDemonll]

Does anyone have some sort of video walk-through or list or something to "demo" what additional features these radios can actually do? Seeing a list is cool and all but seeing them in action is much easier to say "Oh yea, that's something that would be nice to have"

 

[CLO T4R]

Does anyone have some sort of video walk-through or list or something to "demo" what additional features these radios can actually do? Seeing a list is cool and all but seeing them in action is much easier to say "Oh yea, that's something that would be nice to have"

The whole purpose of the Maestro is to try and keep all your stock controls/inputs as much as possible. It all comes down to the headunit. If the headunit you choose allows data connection from the maestro rr unit, you can get vehicle info such as tire pressure, voltmeter, fuel and other gauges.

 

[Gtoninn]

I just looked up your wiring diagram and you're correct, the vss and foot brake dont have connections to the kenwood. The white cable should be a speaker cable?

I don't know if the maestro antenna adapters would work for your GPS...you might need to use the gps antenna it came with.

Good luck!

I have all of the speaker wires connected. I am talking about one of the actual molded connectors that are part of the T01 harness. The instructions point out that I should have 4 connected but I believe I only have 3. Like this

So far navigation through Android Auto works. As does the stock directional display from the 4Runner in the small center cluster above the radio. If I look at the GPS display of the radio itself however, it says I am always pointing north. Not sure if that is worth it for me to put an extra GPS module on my dash. I might try to figure out the stock GPS plugs when I go to wire in the Antenna adapter.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[GearJunkie88]

I also couldn't get the stock GPS plugs to mate with the kenwood. They seem to have extra plastic ridges on the top of the connector that prevented it from mating. I'm going to test the navigation in Android Auto to make sure it works today. Might not need it at all.

I used a connector that came with the Maestro ACC-SAT-TO2. This allows you to use the factory GPS antenna with the Kenwood.

 

[Gtoninn]

I used a connector that came with the Maestro ACC-SAT-TO2. This allows you to use the factory GPS antenna with the Kenwood.

I think this is where some of the problems come from. According to Crutchfield this doesn't fit my vehicle. While I know that is not true, it seems like there is some compatibility mismatch for the earlier 5th gens. Once they went to TO2 it seems like they figured everything out.

I think I am going to leave them unplugged since I am doing all of my navigation through Android Auto. It just uses my phones GPS antenna.

 

[CLO T4R]

Not sure if that is worth it for me to put an extra GPS module on my dash. I might try to figure out the stock GPS plugs when I go to wire in the Antenna adapter.

I've read that if you're phone is connected via carplay/android auto, it uses the headunit gps antenna connection. So it's good if you're in a location that has little to no service.

 

[Gtoninn]

Yeah I saw that it uses a combination of the two, but of course if the phone doesn't have signal the headunit GPS might still be able to acquire a signal.

 

[arehman11]

I used a connector that came with the Maestro ACC-SAT-TO2. This allows you to use the factory GPS antenna with the Kenwood.

So you've got it connected and working with your factory GPS antenna? I really want an aftermarket headunit but didn't want to place an ugly gps antenna on or in my car somewhere. Now if only I could confirm the oem BT mic would work as well.

 

[Superjet]

There is a metal shelf directly behind the radio up high a little where the OEM GPS antenna sits. It's under the top plastic dash. Just set the new one in the same spot and you'll never see it again.

 

[GearJunkie88]

So you've got it connected and working with your factory GPS antenna? I really want an aftermarket headunit but didn't want to place an ugly gps antenna on or in my car somewhere. Now if only I could confirm the oem BT mic would work as well.

Yes, the OEM antenna works. You can also use the aftermarket antenna and place it in the location [MENTION=131466]Superjet[/MENTION] referred to. It will be hidden and will work just fine.

OEM mic will work if you want to trace down the wires, cut them, and splice in wires that lead to your head unit. Too much work and too risky for me so I used the aftermarket mic. You could put the aftermarket mic in the same location as the OEM mic, but I didn’t get good reception there. I don’t recommend wasting your time on that.

 

[cwdavis19]

Finally ready to take the plunge

Hey folks, I've been following this awesome thread off and on since 2017, and I think I'm ready to take the plunge and finally ditch my TERRIBLE factory head unit. I'm driving a 2014 Limited with JBL/Nav, etc. I'd like to preserve as much of the factory controls as possible (am open to replacing the mic, if it will be an upgrade in terms of voice quality).

My questions are: 1. Four years is a long time for AV tech- Are there any updated parts/new versions that I should be looking to get, instead of going verbatim for SuperJet's original 2015 shopping list at the beginning of the thread? 2. Which 2019 head units should I zero in on to maximize the functionality of the Maestro in my 2014 4Runner?

Thank you very much for your expertise!

 

[Superjet]

Same parts.
Go with Kenwood, they always have the most features with Maestro, like dynamic parking lines.

 

[KP Texan]

I'm installing a Kenwood DMX905S with Maestro RR in my 2012 Limited w/non-JBL touchscreen, and had a couple questions:

1. With this setup, can I disable the parking brake lockout and, if so, how do I do it? Without the Maestro, I'm pretty sure I could just ground the Kenwood parking brake wire but I think the Maestro interfaces with the wire itself.

2. Since I have a 2012 and am using the TO1 harness, they say I need to connect 4 reverse camera wires to the factory wiring that aren't simple plug and play with the included harness. Is there someway that I can do this without having to cut into the factory wiring (maybe with aftermarket harness plug)? I do know that iDatalink told me not to use Posi-taps or Scotch locks for this, so I would need to strip and solder.

3. Where are most of you mounting the Maestro itself? Just zip tying to the rest of the wires, or actually mounting it in there some other way?

4. I'm not going to use the factory aux input, so can I simply remove these RCAs from the Maestro harness? I've got some Tesa tape and can re-bundle the wires if I need to.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Friggin Idiot]

1. With this setup, can I disable the parking brake lockout and, if so, how do I do it? Without the Maestro, I'm pretty sure I could just ground the Kenwood parking brake wire but I think the Maestro interfaces with the wire itself.

1- Yes, at your own risk. You can connect the Kenwood Parking Brake Wire back to the ground and do not connect it to the Maestro. This will disable the Kenwood video/typing lockout during motion. However, the video lockout is reactivated if you have a phone connected via AndroidAuto (not sure about Apply CarPlay).

 

[KP Texan]

I'm installing a Kenwood DMX905S with Maestro RR in my 2012 Limited w/non-JBL touchscreen, and had a couple questions:

1. With this setup, can I disable the parking brake lockout and, if so, how do I do it? Without the Maestro, I'm pretty sure I could just ground the Kenwood parking brake wire but I think the Maestro interfaces with the wire itself.

2. Since I have a 2012 and am using the TO1 harness, they say I need to connect 4 reverse camera wires to the factory wiring that aren't simple plug and play with the included harness. Is there someway that I can do this without having to cut into the factory wiring (maybe with aftermarket harness plug)? I do know that iDatalink told me not to use Posi-taps or Scotch locks for this, so I would need to strip and solder.

3. Where are most of you mounting the Maestro itself? Just zip tying to the rest of the wires, or actually mounting it in there some other way?

4. I'm not going to use the factory aux input, so can I simply remove these RCAs from the Maestro harness? I've got some Tesa tape and can re-bundle the wires if I need to.

Thanks for the input!

1- Yes, at your own risk. You can connect the Kenwood Parking Brake Wire back to the ground and do not connect it to the Maestro. This will disable the Kenwood video/typing lockout during motion. However, the video lockout is reactivated if you have a phone connected via AndroidAuto (not sure about Apply CarPlay).

If by "at your own risk" you mean don't actually type while driving, rest assured I would never do that. I just don't like the idea of having to set the parking brake to get functionality, since I would most likely have it in park already or my passenger would be doing it.

Also did I read somewhere that the Maestro does not retain the factory USB port (in my case located in the glove compartment)?

Additionally, does anyone have any input on my question about the reverse camera wiring shown above?

Thank you!

 

[matoolie]

I installed a Kenwood DNR876S in my 2014 about 2 months ago. I just stuffed the Maestro in the dash to the left of the headunit.

The Kenwoods have 2 USB ports directly on the back of the headunit. Using Metra USB adapter you should be able to use the OEM USB port. I was able to.

I connected the black Kenwood USB port to the OEM USB as the black one is for CarPlay and/or Android Play.

I use the second gray Kenwood USB as an auxillary input if needed. The gray USB input cannot be used for CarPlay.

I always use wireless connection for CarPlay, but the wired connection is there if I want it.

Also with the Kenwood and Maestro you will be able to access and change vehicle settings that normally requires a trip to the dealership or a laptop with Techstream. Assuming you connect the Maestro to the OBD port.

 

[Superjet]

Also with the Kenwood and Maestro you will be able to access and change vehicle settings that normally requires a trip to the dealership or a laptop with Techstream. Assuming you connect the Maestro to the OBD port.

2014 and up only