changing head unit on 05 camry sportivo

[0r10n]

can anyone help with this. im looking at changing the stock head unit on the 05 camry sportivo. thing is its a double din and ive got a single din to put in. my questions are:

how do i remove the stock head unit?

can i wre in the steering wheel controls to the new head unit? if so, how?

will the new head unit fit in perfectly or will i need the side spacer things?

where can i get a single din pocket to fill the bottom?

if someone could help i will post pics and do a proper install guide.

any help would be great. thanks guys.

[Terry]

i can tell you how to remove it, i dont know how to install the new one or anything to do with wiring though

the single din should fit without the need for spacers...but theres only one way tp be sure :P

for a empty pocket, you could try some car radio stores or maybe the wreckers, shouldnt be too expensive.

i was thinking about the steering wheel controls on my car too...

it probably would depend on your new radio, if it supports that function.

ok, as for removal, you need to put a cloth over a flathead screwdriver as not to scratch anything, then start prying in the positions indicated by the green arrows, the red circles indicate where the clips are.

then after youve taken off the radio panel, there should be 4 bolbs holding the radio itself in place.

[0r10n]

thanks terry. what a champ you are. i should be hooking it all up tomorrow so ill let youknow how it goes. i ended up finding a single din change pocket at hifi super market which should hopefully fit ok.

[MACRI]

Hey how'd you go with the head unit?

If you need any help, let me know, and I'll take a few snaps for ya..

I changed the head unit in my 04 Sportivo...

Got 4 X 50Watt Pioneer headunit. Powering the Front and back (changed the rears to 6 X 9 Sony Explode Speakers 3 way), and have a 12" sub (sealed box) in the boot..

As I said, if you have any issues, let me know, and I'll help you out with some pics or adivce!!

Mod away!! :D

[Richo]

Hey how'd you go with the head unit?

If you need any help, let me know, and I'll take a few snaps for ya..

I changed the head unit in my 04 Sportivo...

Got 4 X 50Watt Pioneer headunit. Powering the Front and back (changed the rears to 6 X 9 Sony Explode Speakers 3 way), and have a 12" sub (sealed box) in the boot..

As I said, if you have any issues, let me know, and I'll help you out with some pics or adivce!!

Mod away!! :D

I just installed an mp3 player in my missus' car and am now dreaming of one in my 04 Sportivo. I have had Pioneers in the past and am have been very happy with them, so your experienced could be very useful.

Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated. How did you go with the steering wheel controls? I have become very reliant on these and would be devastated to lose them. An aftermarket's remote just isn't the same...

Cheers.

[MACRI]

Hey Richo,

Yeah I went tight A$$ on mine and opted for the stock standard... so I didnt get any controls... only stock stereo system (knowing I was going to rip it out, because one of the guys at toyota showed me how!)

Yeah most of them come with remote now, so I just use that....

It was fairly easy (even if you follow the pics above).. although I have one problem (dont know if anyone else does)... I bought a "pocket" for the car, because obviously the stock one is 2 din, where as the new one was single...

And I found a toyota one which fitted in no problem, but I have GAPS on either side of the stereo..

So I just got some cardboard and colored it black, so you wouldnt see the gaps on the side.

Anyone else have any ideas?...

Oh, if you ever disconnect the watch, remember to connect it back up, as the remote locking wont work if its not connected... thought would just chuck that in!! :D

[perthcamry]

ummm I should show you a pic of mine. You can buy the sides and an insert pocet from a stereo dealer prob a few $'s.

[Richo]

Yeah I've seen on the net some device for about US$50 that apparently allows you to connect the steering controls to an aftermarket head. I don't think this applies to the Camry as these controls are wired rather than wireless??? (correct me if I'm wrong) and the "device" works using wireless.

I have seen a single-din aftermarket head in a camry on another forum on the weekend and I must say it looked pretty bad (although the deck was ancient) - any pics would be appreciated just to see how it looks. All the double din decks I saw on e-bay were either big $$$ with dvd screen etc or had more lights than a disco ball and looked crap.

Would be devastated to miss the steering wheel remotes.

One other thing - with your deck upgrade did you do speakers as well? I'm just interested to know how an aftermarket deck sounds with standard speakers, or is the quality increase negligible? I guess my other option would be to purchase the mp3 Toyota version for big $$$.

[perthcamry]

Hey....

Picture on the way.

I upgraded the speakers as I am a fan of my home hi-fi and wanted something I could enjoy. I did get the aftermarket steering wheel control adapter but it does not work so well as it is not by wire but by light, so you can imagine what happens on a bright day......NOTHING

I upgraded the speakers as well and have an i-pod adapter (as I have many gig's of music) I also put in a small sub JVC 10" which is not dooffy but has great deep bass notes for like Reggae , Jazz or whatever. Also a JVC 50 x 4 amp for rear speaker driving and sub

I am going to get some soundproofing to help make the female vocals smoother and also see if I can improve the steering wheel remote situation...

All depends on how far you want to go with it.

good alpine 6x9 at the back will be $170 and you can put them in the front too. Trouble is then you think amp.

If you change the head unit to an alpine or something you will triple your power output but it will be cleaner power so you want to crank it more without even noticing......

Hope that is helpful. I guess you have to set a budget and what you want out of it.

$599 will get you an alpine head unit with i-pod conection

[perthcamry]

Picture of it......

[Richo]

Cheers PC...thanks for the tips.

Your single din head looks great - much better than the shocker I saw on another forum.

At this stage my main driving force to upgrade my desk is for mp3 support (I've got the 2.4L so no mp3 for me). Can the iPod adapter thingy work in a factory head and what sort of cost is it? That way I can kill 2 birds with 1 stone - get mp3 into my car and also have an iPod :) Obviously the sound won't be as good with the factory head but I can live with that for the time being. I too have about 10GB on my computer so would be handy to have that in my car.

[perthcamry]

10 gig , I have like 200 gig + , I love my music !

You can get i-pod to connect to your factory through an FM modulator but its so crap that I would not bother.

Through the alpine unit (all up $599 including adaptor) - steering wheel control is extra but you can get that later.

The sound is bang on CD quality this way ;) and I am picky when it comes to it.

So $599 and your in it’s worth it.

[MACRI]

Hey dude...

I'd love to know where you got the side inserts from....

Any chance they are avialable in Melb?..

I only got crappy black carboard at the side of mine, which is slowly fading with the sun! lol...

Would appriciate it!!..

[eggbert_99]

Hey dude...

I'd love to know where you got the side inserts from....

Any chance they are avialable in Melb?..

I only got crappy black carboard at the side of mine, which is slowly fading with the sun! lol...

Would appriciate it!!..

you can get them from any toyota dealer ..

part numbers

Headunit Spacers/Butterfly Pieces:

86221-52050 LH Side

86221-52060 RH Side

[adman]

Hi there

How did you go with connecting the steering wheel controls up.

Adam

[Richo]

Hi there

How did you go with connecting the steering wheel controls up.

Adam

I have ordered a PAC SWI-PS from the US for the steering wheel controls. This is wired and not wireless. I hope to install it with an aftermarket Pioneer deck within the next couple of weeks (waiting for the part to arrive). I'll let you know how it goes but from what I have read it works very well (touch wood).

[akuma]

any luck with the steering wheel controls ?

[Richo]

The unit has arrived from the US - I am having it installed on Friday. I'll let you know how it goes.

[SLong]

Hi all... with regards to the head units... are the plugs at the back of the head units the same for all Toyota's? For example, would the head unit on the new Corolla's fit in to a 2004 Camry?

Asking as my current head unit is playing up a bit and wanted to upgrade it. I want a double-din unit so that reduces my options - and I'm not willing to spend over $800 so that took away those double-din units by Pioneer, Alpine and Eclipse.

Saw the new Corolla's and really liked the head-units 6-disc changer with built-in bluetooth, mp3, input for mp3 players, etc..

[Richo]

I'm pretty sure you can - I bought the pockets and sides today from Toyota parts and the guy was saying that you could. I would still recommend an aftermarket unit - you can get one with all those features (and much better sound/performance) for much less than $800. Check out eBay for deck prices - I picked up a Pioneer DEH-7950UB from a Perth seller for $370 - this same deck was on "sale" at Strathfield for $699. This has everything but bluetooth (you can buy this as an accessory for about $150), has USB output so you can whack anything up to a 250GB hard disk or an iPod for mp3 support.

[SLong]

Thanks... I'll go check 'em out.

[Richo]

any luck with the steering wheel controls ?

Yes and no unfortunately.

The steering wheel controls to the interface appears to work (i.e. the LEDs on the interface respond as expected), however with my Pioneer deck I don't think there is a wired remote input. This is despite numerous websites (including the interfaces's manufacturer) claiming it will work on this Pioneer deck.

I have sent an email to Pioneer to hopefully get clarification as I will really miss the controls otherwise.

Apart from that the install went well and the sound is awesome.

[perthcamry]

My alpine unit works via some interface and a pick up on the dash. Not sure how they did it but it does not work in bright sunlight as I think its via infra red.

[Richo]

My alpine unit works via some interface and a pick up on the dash. Not sure how they did it but it does not work in bright sunlight as I think its via infra red.

Pioneer have just confirmed that my model does not have a wired remote input, thus my interface is useless. Nice waste of money that. Pioneer unfortunately were extremely unhelpful - in addition to taking a week to reply and putting me on their spam list even though i stated not to, they came back with this stellar reply:

"Thank you for your email,

Pioneer Electronics Australia Car Audio range does not support OEM steering wheel remote controls or any other third party interfaces"

What are the details of what you are using Perth Camry? And where do you have your IR emitter?

I am missing my controls, they are so handy.