This was my first time installing an aftermarket unit in a vehicle. The last time I purchased an aftermarket head unit, I paid Circuit City to install it. Heck, the last time I purchased an aftermarket head unit, Circuit City was still in business!
Cost: $354.98
- Sony XAV-AX100
- Crutchfield's Ready Harness Service
- Metra 70-1761 Wire Harness for Toyota/Scion/Lexus/Geo 87-up
- Toyota Kit 2000-Up, DD
The "Ready Harness" service is a wonderful service in which Crutchfield wires your harness to a connector that fits your stereo. I did not have to splice a single wire; all I had to do was "Plug and Play". $24.99 for this.
I must give Crutchfield a 100% review for this. I called them multiple times during installation and they were very eager to help. The only "issue" I had was that the factory screws that came with the Sony unit were not long enough; Crutchfield advised a specific screw size I go to the hardware store and purchase. I purchased four screws at Ace Hardware for about $0.44.
If purchasing this radio, I cannot recommend enough Crutchfield. They included the wiring harness and "bracket" for free. Might I also suggest never paying full price at Crutchfield? I routinely use a serviced called Raise
(Link Here) to purchase Crutchfield Gift Cards at reduced prices. Typically you can purchase gift cards from them for 5% off. I've never had a problem with them. They also routinely give discount codes for an additional 5% or even 10% off. I highly recommend doing this.
Unfortunately, I did not take any photos during installation. I did not splice the "parking brake" wire into anything; It is simply sitting in my fuse panel area. So far, I have noticed zero issues with not hooking it up. I imagine if I tried to use the head unit for videos, it may not work since I did not splice this wire in. I've heard Android Auto may use this wire as well. So far, zero issues with CarPlay regarding the parking brake wire.
So...photos!
Looks great. Works great.
I brought the included microphone to this location. I'm amazed at how well this thing picks up my voice in the location. This is where I suggest pulling it too. Popping the "dashboard" off is easy during installation. There were no additional screws on top of what Crutchfield had me remove. I simply (and carefully) tugged on the dashboard panel to remove it to pull the microphone to its current location. If I can do it, anyone can.
There's my current setup, based on my "
Smoker's Kit" mod.
Afterthoughts.
Make sure you leave a female USB end near your gear selector or elsewhere. You'll want it for firmware updates. Also, as a note, on firmware updates, make sure your flashdrive is:
FAT16 or FAT32
MBR instead of GUID
I'd use a 2GB or so flashdrive.
CarPlay works great, most of the time. Sometimes things don't make sense, but overall I'm very happy with this setup. Maps and Siri work great.
Eventually, I may move my USB port to another location. Not sure, for now, this works great.
Shorter USB cables are better. Might I suggest
this specific
Anker Powerline+ II cable? One foot length, it's nice and "braided", and built super well. I love it. These are, without a doubt, my favorite lightning cables. Micro USB versions also available for you Android folks.
I am very, very happy with this head unit and installation. If I can do it, anyone can. Crutchfield provides you with detailed instructions on how to remove panel by panel.
