gasconguy

Okay, I am dropping it off today for the full install - HU, 4 door speakers (no components), 4 ch amp and a mono amp for sub. They had no hesitation in saying that I do not need the ADBOX1 or the TYTO harness - they did say something about a regular Toyota harness, but the TYTO ain't cheap and I assume, because they didn't build it into the quote, that the one they will use is different... I will update.

BTW - if anyone needs an original HU or amp, let me know. Again, no ML, no Nav. Cheers.

gasconguy

Well if anyone out there is on the fence about gutting the factory system and putting in something aftermarket, let me just say It was expensive to get all the stuff and have it installed, and utterly worth it. Better sound, Bluetooth handsfree, awesome.

chris948

Did they pull out the amp? I'm not worried about losing acc power (that's easy to rewire), but losing stuff like seat belt and lights on beeps kind of make me concerned.

Carver

Totally agree. Another advantage, once its done, installing new tech is as easy as popping in a new HU. My three year old Kenwood is already outdated and come September with the release of the iPhone 6 I will install a unit that incorporates the phone as the 'brains' of the system. The phone's apps will display and operate from the HU but if it's just a short trip and all I need are my tunes and phone I can stream them with the phone in my pocket. Love this stuff!

gasconguy

Good morning -

They didn't remove my factory amp because that was pretty involved. Plus, it allowed them to keep everything sitting there in case I want to put it all back in.

I have lost nothing. Not one thing is not working. They even reset all my windows for me!

They installed the two amps in the headrest carriers in back so they are completely out of the way. Perfect spot for them I think.

The Metra faceplate ($22) is a perfect match, and the steering wheel controls are all intact. Again no ADBOX1 or TYTO harnesses were needed. All chimes and lights work perfectly.

I am with you, the main reason for doing this was to get the whole system to a manageable place so that anything I want to do now I can do on my own. New HU, amps, whatever.

I spend two hours a day in my RX so this was important for me. Installation was outRAGEOUSLY expensive, but I took it to some very impressive pros. They had no issues whatsoever and blew it out. Very happy; driving now is perfect...

chris948

Congrats. Would definitely like to see pics or a receipt of what exactly they did use. That sounds like a lot of splicing wires together that no longer have a harness termination, even the obnoxious dude with the youtube videos who basically rewired the RX for amps used some extra electronics between the factory and aftermarket amps.

What's a headrest carrier?

gasconguy

They said they would use a regular Toyota harness but it was not a separate item on the invoice. And to be clear the factory amp is completely disconnected and not being used.

I will post some pics.

The headrest carrier, at least in my mind because they have a similar space in the Honda Pilot, are the pop-up storage spaces at the very rear of the cargo area. The are not very deep, and slanted in a way that the headrests will store just right when you need to lay the rear seats down.

gasconguy

Don't be making fun of some of my 1993 ghetto equipment. It all works!

RX330iPad

Looks good! They also put my amps back there, but my guy added a little fan to make sure it stays cool.

LophatRX

So , I am looking to install a new deck in my 04 RX. I would like to by-pass the factory amp and install my own. But I was wondering about wiring the speakers. I wonder if anyone knows if there is a speaker wire connection behind the factory stereo or is it only from the factory amp location. I am looking to install an aftermarket amp near the same spot as the factory amp. I put a sub amp in there before, this time I am just going to put a small 4 channel amp maybe even a 5 channel amp if I add a small sub to the system again. But I am trying to get away from using the beat sonic or other adapters and just get the face plate and the steering wheel control adapters and save a few hundred bucks.

gasconguy

I am not 100%, but fairly certain that all the speaker wiring comes from the amp. This system is a PITA to mess with.

LophatRX

I added a subwoofer one time. It tapped into the wrong wires and had an RCA converter but I should have tapped into the front speaker wires and not the rear speaker wires. All I need to do is to put my own amp to replace the factory amp without having to run all new speaker wires. I could if I want to just trying to save time if I can just hook into the factory speaker wires via splicing or plug adapter if possible.

Phantom_89

Just did this today. This thread and a couple others really helped me out in gathering all the right adapters and wires.

I used:
- Metra Axxess ASWC steering wheel control
- Metra Lexus 04-09 DIN and DDIN MOUNTING KIT
- Metra Axxess TYTO-01
- Esky EC170-08 Camera - didn't install yet still waiting on delivery.

Just grounded the parking wire didn't use anything special for that.

LophatRX

Wow that wiring looks worse that a spider web. Oh well, I am use to dealing with bunches of wires. Gonna dive into this project soon.

Phantom_89

oh and I got the Kenwood DNX571HD.