Rear Passenger Speaker - Low Volume Output

[jakedurando]

I have recently noticed a marked decrease in the output volume of the 2nd row passenger speakers. Even with the vehicle parked and the volume turned up (45ish) of the factory system, the sound output is extremely low on just the rear door speakers. The front speakers and the sub and pillar speakers all seem to operate normally. I have had the service technician 'check' the problem but it was quickly dismissed because there was 'some' sound coming from the speakers.

I have looked for a fuse and/or another wiring issue which might be the culprit but have found nothing. Anything else, short of scheduling an appointment with the service shop to actually check the issue in detail?

- Jake

 

[spyne]

You didn't say what year/model vehicle you have, so it's difficult to get into specifics. But it is your first post, so I'll go easy on you

Have you checked to make sure the front/rear balance is set correctly?

 

[jakedurando]

re: Volume Output

Man, I swear no matter what forum that I post in, I always forget the actual information.

2004 V6 Sport

Factory Stereo all around - Adjusting the Fader does of course affect the output volume to the corresponding speakers. When turned to "rear" it sounds as if it skips the middle / rear passenger speakers and just comes out of the two pillar and sub speakers.

 

[turbokidcrx]

Same Problem, we have to get to the bottom of this !!

I've got the same prolem man, low low output from the rear speakers. Obvioulsy it's not the fader, something isn't right. I've got an '03 Limited with the JBL package and my thought was it may be the rear speaker controls that I see listed as a standard option on the Limited. Does anyone have the remote to operate the rear volume/station and/or the wireless headphones ? I think maybe the volume on the rear speakers was turned down via the remote/rear speaker controls bfore I bought the truck and the remote was not given to me for whatever reason. Any audio pros think they know the answer to this one ?

 

[powpowtux]

I am having the same problem, I took it to the dealer and all they said was to adjust the fader...

This doesn't seem right to me.

Anyone have any ideas?

Is there a way to adjust the amp or the HU? Other than the fader.

The volume also seems to be low, I have to turn up to 35 or 40 just to hear with the windows up.

Thanks.

 

[blk05runner]

same here, the rear speakers are very low no matter what you do. fade isn't the answer so that dealer is full of it. I have an 05 Sport!

There might be something connected to those speaker wires but not to sure. I am planning on getting better speakers so until then I can't say. You can just take out one of the rear and connect it to a different/better speaker and see if that make a difference. If so then I think the dealer will have to replace them like it or not.

 

[drake3]

I have an '06 Sport with the JBL and noticed this. However, I think since the JBL is a "surround" amp this may be normal. I have a Harman Kardon 7.1 surround system in the house and if you care to listen to the rear channels when in surround mode then you only hear little volume unless there is a sound really directed to that channel. I actually first noticed it on the 4runner when I was loading stuff in the rear and had the radio on. It sounded like static/low sound coming from the pillar speakers, but I am fairly sure this is normal. I have not tried turning the surround feature off on the JBL system, but it may make a difference. (I should add that I have a very nice disc player that does DVD audio/AC5/DTS and SACD which I listen to multi-channel sound a lot! I have spent tons of time calibrating the system for the room.)

Also, the same thing happened when I put a JVC HD/Sirius head unit into my '93 4runner. This system has a surround mode and when I turned the DSP on in surround mode the output of the rear speakers dropped significantly, but overall the sound produced is actually better.

I am not saying that your systems are not failing, just that due to the surround processing this behavior may be normal.

 

[powpowtux]

Yes, I think you may be right. Now that i think about it my home surround does the same with the rear speakers.

 

[LeesO4]

I have the same problem with my 4runner. I took it to the dealership and they kept it for a couple days working on various things. They called their tech line about the speakers and they were told this is normal. They compared it with some 4runners in the shop and new ones on the lot and they all do this. Kinda sucks for whoevers in the back.

 

[powpowtux]

I thought mine would sound allot better considering its "JBL 10 Speakers blah blah blah"

 

[jrs3159]

Rear Speaker Output

I, too, have a similar problem with weaker rear speaker out put from the factory 6 speaker stereo. I would never have noticed if not for a 'max volume stereo freak' in the back one day complaining about the level from the rear speakers. I took it to the local dealership without results. I thought it might be a bad ground but I could not find one.

Before I go by another head unit; the ones I see advertised all say something like "200w = 50 X 4, 4 channel unit." If it is a 4 channel unit, will my A pillar tweeters still operate? Do I buy speakers that do not have dome tweeters?

'97 4Runner SR5
3.4ltr. V-6
Automatic 4 whl dr
Sport package
Everything is stock
Purchased new
101,435 miles

 

[Frown]

Gentlemen, this is a reply for all of you in regards to your rear speaker output. I have a 06 Sport. One of the very first things I noticed when I got this vehicle is that the rear speakers almost seem non existent. After doing much research, the answer is this:
Our system is a component setup. Up front are the tweeters (High tones), 6x9s on the bottom of the door for mid range tones and 6.5 round speakers in the rear for the low tones. Being that the speakers are so low on the door and that they are 6.5 in size with a TINY magnet, there is terrible output. It doesnt matter what head unit you put into the 4R, those speakers are gonna suck. I changed my HU and it really woke up all the speakers but the rears still suck. So, what can you do......
There are many fixes.....change the speakers and add an amp just for the rears for example. You can keep the speaker setup as a component setup, or change those speakers to a 2 way and change the front to companent speakers (separate tweeter/sub combo), and you could run those through an amp also, or dont add an amp to the fronts and make them a 2 way and not connect the tweeters as they are, or.....it goes on and on. I personally am working on this myself. I just havent found what type of setup I want yet.
As an added note, if you work with Crutchfield, they will sterrr you to install 5.5's in the rear and 6.5's in the front as they do not have the proper speaker adapters to replace your speakers with the same sizes. Seek out 4runner speaker adapters from ebay or Tacotunes, then you can add the same size speakers and get better sound. SO the bottom line is, the rears suck and there is nothing you can do about it except change the speakers and add an amp. Cheers

 

[abisel]

Guys,

I have a '97 with the same problem. Front speakers consist of a mid-range with a tweeter on each side. There is no cross-over in the front speaker connections. The speakers are hooked in parallel, thus lowering the impedance. The rear speakers are just the mid-range. It is my humble opinion that the problem is an impedance miss-match. A possible solution, of which I have not tried, is to install a factory tweeter in the rear speaker circuit just like the front circuit.