Stereo Upgrade

#1
Hi I have a 2014 corolla leave and I'm wanting to upgrade my factory stereo but can't find anyone who has a dash kit for it has anyone else found a place that does?
 
#2
Did you try Crutchfield audio? I also have a 2014 with the base 4 speaker system and was really unhappy with the rear deck speakers, just put in Infinity 9633's and what a difference. I'll keep the head unit for now... it sounds that much better!
 
#3
Did you try Crutchfield audio? I also have a 2014 with the base 4 speaker system and was really unhappy with the rear deck speakers, just put in Infinity 9633's and what a difference. I'll keep the head unit for now... it sounds that much better!
Yea I already have a stereo from my previous car but they don't make a dash kit for the 2014 corolla
 
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#4
Which stereo is this? If you have the Entune/Entune Premium you will lose a ton of features changing it (and I don't see a way for a conversion to fix this).

If it is the base stereo, be patient. Usually take a year before you start seeing the aftermarket area grow.
 
#8
@Skeat Can you share your experience putting in 6x9 speakers in the 2014 Corolla?

Crutchfield says that mounting holes will have to be drilled but they fit. How ~WELL~ did they fit and any weirdness with the new holes?
How did you remove the rear deck?

Getting ready to do this upgrade myself and so far I have not found any pics or videos on this 2014 model of Corolla with how-to's...

I plan on doing video of my work to get the ball rolling, but any tips are appreciated so I don't accidentally bust something...

Rmpl
 
#9
The rears should bolt up and have plenty of room. The fronts are a pain in the ass. I'm just happy the Corolla has rear deck speakers and not rear door speakers.

I'll probably upgrade mine soon. Heard these stereos take well powering a new set of speakers and the sound improvement is dramatic. Been looking at component kits for the front and the rear.

I'm hoping they come out with a custom-fit subwoofer kit for the side of the trunk for this year soon. Boxes suck up cargo space and I don't need insane amounts of bass, but I'd like to be able to feel a kick drum.
 
#17
Very cool. For anyone new to the thread (like I was).

Metra now has a dash kit for the Corolla.

The same harness works as for most Toyota's from 1987-up (but not for the Rear View Camera).

For the SWC, the ASWC-1 should work fine.

For the camera - other than the harness mentioned in this thread, you would either want to install an aftermarket camera or maybe solder a composite (RCA) video jack to the factory wiring.
 
#19
Is that the AVH-3400BT? I had that system in my 2008 Matrix. Loved it.

Looks nice! Do the steering wheel controls work with it? I'm assuming that you lost the ability to change some of the car settings with this swap.
 
#20
I'm assuming that you lost the ability to change some of the car settings with this swap.
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/3...nyone-upgrade-factory-stereo.html#post7310137

Probably, but nothing major - you might not be able to set the lights to go off after 7.5 seconds instead of 15 seconds, but ...

If you set them before you removed the radio, they should keep the settings (until you have to replace the battery).

The manual also implies the dealer can change the settings regardless.

Newcorollaowner - what are the red and white RCA's for? (And you said you were going to post a link to the company for this!!!)
 
#21
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/3...nyone-upgrade-factory-stereo.html#post7310137

Probably, but nothing major - you might not be able to set the lights to go off after 7.5 seconds instead of 15 seconds, but ...

If you set them before you removed the radio, they should keep the settings (until you have to replace the battery).

The manual also implies the dealer can change the settings regardless.

Newcorollaowner - what are the red and white RCA's for? (And you said you were going to post a link to the company for this!!!)
I don't know I haven't even gotten the harness myself I sent my credit card information via the companies authorization form but they still haven't taken the money for the harness and far as I know haven't shipped the harness as of yet either as soon as I get the harness and see how it works I'll post my results and information on the company and everything.
 
#22
It looks like the NEX line plans on eliminating issues with stereo integration when coupled with a aupported component to drive everything. That will be cool to see released for our cars.
 
#24
Not built in, but with the iDataLink Maestro. They still have not released one for our cars yet, but if you pair that with a Pioneer NEX head unit, it is supposed to pretty much keep all of your factory options. The steering wheel buttons, voice command, nav, back-up camera, bluetooth microphone, and supposedly the car settings as well.

The iDataLink is supposed to be the answer to OEM stereos that integrate other things into the head units.

Hell ... if I change my HVAC settings it shows up on the head unit.
 
#25
The iDataLink is supposed to be the answer to OEM stereos that integrate other things into the head units.

Hell ... if I change my HVAC settings it shows up on the head unit.
It is and isn't that great a system ...

http://forums.themustangsource.com/f803/kenwood-double-din-dash-kit-524857/

You can't necessarily tell all about it from that forum thread, but ...

  • So far, it only works with the really high-end radios. If I am going to install a $700 Pioneer NEX or $1400 Kenwood DDX, I can just use it's navigation software and not worry about Totota's. Similarly, I can install a Pioneer AVH-3600, AVH-4600 or $400 and a $30 AliExpress rear camera for less than I can install the IDS kit and the Pioneer NEX.
  • The IDS doesn't ADD much to the system. For example, the Mustang radio has SYNC (voice command) but doesn't display album art. The Kenwood DDX displays album art but lacks SYNC. With the IDS, I gain a bit b/c I can EITHER use the Kenwood USB port and see album art (but SYNC won't work) or use the SYNC port and use voice commands with the Kenwood (but album art isn't displayed). In the first case, I haven't gained anything from the IDS Maestro that I couldn't do with a basic Metra harness. In the second case, I have SYNC with a Kenwood stereo that is easier to add amps to, but I haven't gained anything display-wise.
  • The Mustang displays climate control info on the radio and the IDS Maestro allows that with the Kenwood. The Corolla doesn't display climate info in the radio. I would expect an IDS system to allow you to set the same settings (i.e. whether climate control starts in AUTO, whether the lights delay for 7.5, 15, or 30 seconds, etc.), but I would NOT expect it to show that the climate control is set to 70 (although you can see that on the HVAC display below the radio so no big point in that).
  • They did add some useful functionality for the Mustang/F-150 -for example, it will display TPMS info for each individual tire and will display digital RPM and Engine temps on the screen by tying into the OBD II connector.
  • I don't work for IDS, but I don't see the Corolla very high on their list of priorities for a number of reasons:
    • I don't see the target demographic being that high. There are exceptions, but for the AVERAGE Corolla owner (who probably has never heard of this forum) - they want a car to get back and forth to work and get good gas mileage and not break down, and if the radio makes sound - that is good enough.
    • If you want to upgrade the radio in a Corolla - it's $20 for a dash kit and $10 for a harness and less than that if you shop around. Most users aren't going to pay $200 to keep the rear view factory camera vs. $35 to replace it.
    • There isn't a lot of integration in the Corolla (which is a good thing). In the Mustang, if you replace the radio, you can't really tell what the HVAC is adjusted to (you might not be able to adjust the HVAC). On the Corolla - you can't CHANGE the delay on the lights if you replace the radio - not a big deal for most people.
    I think they will work on it, but I would expect more popular and more integrated cars to have higher priority.
 
#26
The Corolla does display climate info (at least on the Entune Premium it does).

Maybe I oughta wait until NEX and Maestro improve. It is a relatively new system so I expect that not everything will be perfect the first round of their release.

I also see the base Corolla and Standard Entune being worked on first, since those user have more of an incentive to change versus the Entune Premium.
 
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#27
The Corolla does display climate info (at least on the Entune Premium it does).
I didn't realize that.

Maybe I oughta wait until NEX and Maestro improve. It is a relatively new system so I expect that not everything will be perfect the first round of their release.
I don't know that it will improve - but it isn't a horrible system now. However ...

My point would be the NEX and Maestro is a decent system if you want to keep factory navigation - but you are paying the premium for the navigation system, plus the cost of the NEX (roughtly $700 and the Maestro - maybe $250?) compared to maybe $400 for a Pioneer AVH DVD and $100 for a Garmin.

The best way to explain the Maestro is in terms of a front-end or menu system - i.e. if you are familiar with arcade games http://emuloader.mameworld.info/ or Linux desktops - http://www.howtogeek.com/163154/linux-users-have-a-choice-8-linux-desktop-environments/ It is similar to that - essentially, it overlays the factory info on top of the Kenwood/Pioneer radio.

This is basically third generation:

- The first generation was basically non-existent - you could leave the factory radio and install a new radio and different speakers and use the new radio for music and the old one for climate controls, but not really functional.

- The second generation was like this: http://www.metraonline.com/part/Ford_Mustang_Dash_kit_99-5823CH - you get an LCD screen with the kit to handle the climate control function.

Maestro is the third generation - the OEM info integrates with the new Pioneer/Kenwood radio and uses it's touch screen controls. The problem is it is hard to go BEYOND what is there - the OEM and the stereo OEM tend to compartmentalize things and give IDS a small area to work with.

To use the example I mentioned above - The Focus Titanium displays album art and used SYNC voice commands - so do the KIA's. But the Mustang doesn't - with or without the Maestro. Maestro would have to either be able to change the Pioneer/Kenwood USB port interface to accept SYNC commands, or change the OEM USB port to read album art and pass this to the Kenwood/Pioneer to display. They aren't there yet, not sure they will be.

(What you might be more likely to see are radios based on Android or WinCE - which would allow you to use any apps for voice recognition and USB playback.)

I also see the base Corolla and Standard Entune being worked on first, since those user have more of an incentive to change versus the Entune Premium.
I disagree. The base Corolla can be changed for a $400 radio and a $35 dash kit with nothing lost and nothing additional gained from Maestro (except maybe the TPMS/Engine gauges). Standard Entune really only gives up customization like how long the courtesy lights stay on, etc. But a lot of users aren't going to want to give up navigation to get better audio.

OTOH - if they come out with the navigation software first, I think that benefits you.
 
#28
I thought the point ot using a Pioneer NEX with Maestro is that you REPLACE the factory radio ... not have the old stereo and a new one mounted somewhere else...

The NEX line-up has non-nav and nav,
 
#29
Didn't explain it properly and got tripped up on navigation as I purposely try to avoid wasting money on cars with that option.

Two things that might have confused you in my reply - BEFORE Maestro, you had to have the new radio and the OEM radio both installed to replace the OEM radio.

After Maestro - Maestro acts as an overlay that passes data (such as climate control) to the new Pioneer NEX radio. The system currently doesn't use data from the old radio, but that might change ...

i.e. - on Fords, if SYNC/Sirius uses a separate module, that feature is retained by Maestro and passed to the new Pioneer, but if SYNC/Sirius is built into the OEM head unit, that feature is lost when the OEM radio is removed.

However - they haven't done it yet, but I'm not sure why it wouldn't theoretically be possible to re-locate the OEM radio and pass info like Toyota navigation to the new Pioneer radio - it would involve more programming for the Maestro team and the physical installation would be more involved, but in theory it could be done.
 
#30
@newcorrollaowner - I'm pretty sure I know what the RCA's are for ...

They probably allow you to use the Toyota AUX input with a receiver with rear RCA INPUTS.

Metra has a 70-8114 Harness that does the same thing.

New question - As I understand it (I have an E-mail in to Metra), they have a 71-035LC wiring adapter that connects to the woofer plug in the front door and is a good solution for the 4-speaker cars.

If you have the six-speaker cars, the woofer is wired from the tweeter, so you either have to cut and splice the tweeter wiring or run new speaker wire to the front doors (which defeats the purpose of the speaker adapters).

Could you check with the harness company (or does anyone know of a solution) and see if they would be willing to make an adapter harness using the tweeter input connector for speaker wiring?
 
#31
@newcorrollaowner - I'm pretty sure I know what the RCA's are for ...

They probably allow you to use the Toyota AUX input with a receiver with rear RCA INPUTS.

Metra has a 70-8114 Harness that does the same thing.

New question - As I understand it (I have an E-mail in to Metra), they have a 71-035LC wiring adapter that connects to the woofer plug in the front door and is a good solution for the 4-speaker cars.

If you have the six-speaker cars, the woofer is wired from the tweeter, so you either have to cut and splice the tweeter wiring or run new speaker wire to the front doors (which defeats the purpose of the speaker adapters).

Could you check with the harness company (or does anyone know of a solution) and see if they would be willing to make an adapter harness using the tweeter input connector for speaker wiring?
I've replaced all my speakers in mine with infinity's I had to wire my speakers into the tweeters to make the door speakers work. I'll check with the company who made the harness for the rvc and swc retention to see if he can make a harness for the tweeters I hadn't even thought about that thanks for the idea. I'll keep y'all posted I'm supposed to get the harness Monday. I'll let y'all know how it works and how to contact the company who made the harness.
 
#32
Thanks - really interested to see how the harness works out, along with cost info, etc.

Also - I'm not positive, but if the company wants to sell these harnesses - they probably work for older Corolla's (and maybe any Toyota), so you might want to figure a way for them to announce it to other sections of the forum as well.
 
#33
Thanks - really interested to see how the harness works out, along with cost info, etc.

Also - I'm not positive, but if the company wants to sell these harnesses - they probably work for older Corolla's (and maybe any Toyota), so you might want to figure a way for them to announce it to other sections of the forum as well.
Ok I'm seeing if he can make the tweeter harness and to see how people can contact them to buy the harness he made for me. How and where would I need to post this for other corolla owners?
 
#34
You might want to contact Scott O'Kashan - one of the forum moderators on that.

I would verify that it works, and then I would suggest posting it to the 2009-2013 Forum, etc.

But ...

I don't know exactly how far back the harness will work.

I don't know if it works with other models - for example, if it works on the Camry, you might want to post info about it to a Camry forum.

Ultimately, though - that is more an issue for the company in marketing their product than it is an issue for you letting people know about it (but I don't know the particulars of the arrangements - i.e. if it's your brother's company or something, you might want to do all the marketing you can.

(They also MIGHT want to look into patenting it - although it might be viewed as too obvious to get a patent, and that can be expensive, so they might do better just being first to market and coming out with innovative solutions prior to other companies coming out with them.)

(Also - economics of scale come into play here - i.e. if your brother made them in his basement, that's great if 10 or 15 people on here want to order one - not so good if Best Buy want to order 30,000 units of them, etc.
 
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#35
More thoughts -

First and foremost, you want to make sure this works!!! I know the pictures show it working and I assume the company might have used your camera and your head unit to test it. But there is very little worse than making a post and getting say 10-15 orders for these, and then finding out it won't work with some cars and having to refund customers money (and then the company gets a reputation for not making good products and the fact that the initial ones were bad and the later ones were great doesn't matter).

Also - I'm curious how the Steering wheel controls work with it.

For example - this is the standard corolla HU replacement process:
Get new head unit and Metra 95-8245 Dash kit to install radio.
Get Metra 70-1761 Harness to power radio.
Get Metra 40-LX11 Adapter to connect antenna.
Get Metra 80-8114 Harness and ASWC-1 Interface to keep steering wheel controls and AUX port.
Either splice and convert existing wires, or install aftermarket video camera.
Either splice and convert existing wires, or use head unit USB as OEM won't work.
Use head unit BT interface as Toyota BT mic won't work.
Install aftermarket Sirius Tuner as OEM will be removed.

Now - the key point is the ASWC-1 - http://www.metraonline.com/files/products/ASWC-INST10_web.pdf - There are basically 15 different settings on the ASWC-1 for different types of OEM radios. If your harness uses the ASWC-1, it is probably fine. If it doesn't, your harness might work great with a Pioneer, but not at all for a Kenwood - so either you have to make separate Pioneer/Kenwood/JVC/Sony/Clarion harnesses, or you need some type of selector module in your harness (or you make the harness for Pioneer only and specify that it works with an AVH-3400 and should work with other Pioneers, but use at your own risk with anything else.
 
#36
More thoughts -

First and foremost, you want to make sure this works!!! I know the pictures show it working and I assume the company might have used your camera and your head unit to test it. But there is very little worse than making a post and getting say 10-15 orders for these, and then finding out it won't work with some cars and having to refund customers money (and then the company gets a reputation for not making good products and the fact that the initial ones were bad and the later ones were great doesn't matter).

Also - I'm curious how the Steering wheel controls work with it.

For example - this is the standard corolla HU replacement process:
Get new head unit and Metra 95-8245 Dash kit to install radio.
Get Metra 70-1761 Harness to power radio.
Get Metra 40-LX11 Adapter to connect antenna.
Get Metra 80-8114 Harness and ASWC-1 Interface to keep steering wheel controls and AUX port.
Either splice and convert existing wires, or install aftermarket video camera.
Either splice and convert existing wires, or use head unit USB as OEM won't work.
Use head unit BT interface as Toyota BT mic won't work.
Install aftermarket Sirius Tuner as OEM will be removed.

Now - the key point is the ASWC-1 - http://www.metraonline.com/files/products/ASWC-INST10_web.pdf - There are basically 15 different settings on the ASWC-1 for different types of OEM radios. If your harness uses the ASWC-1, it is probably fine. If it doesn't, your harness might work great with a Pioneer, but not at all for a Kenwood - so either you have to make separate Pioneer/Kenwood/JVC/Sony/Clarion harnesses, or you need some type of selector module in your harness (or you make the harness for Pioneer only and specify that it works with an AVH-3400 and should work with other Pioneers, but use at your own risk with anything else.
It works great the backup camera works and the steering wheel controls minus the Bluetooth work it's supposed to work on all brand of stereo's including Pioneer, Sony, Kenwood, JVC, Clarion etc I'm waiting to hear back about the tweeter plug and how for other's to order the harness they made for me.
 
#37
Does anyone know why BT is not working on these cars?

I assume the new radio has BT and probably has a BT button on it's remote control.

The steering wheel switch in theory should be able to be programmed to work any function on the new radio that the remote can control.

I know in some cases, Metra had to do a firmware update to the ASWC-1 to get BT to work, but I'm not sure why it would be a problem with the Corolla?
 
#38
There might not be a standard yet for Bluetooth controls on aftermarket stereos ... but I don't see why that won't change in the near future. Aftermarket stereos have only had built-in Bluetooth for the last couple years now. Before you had to buy a separate bluetooth component and hook that in to the stereo. Now it is all integrated.
 
#39
It's probably an odd oversight on the aftermarket car manufacturer's part.

I looked up the owners manual on a Pioneer radio that I liked:
  • Generally, any feature that is on the remote control for the unit could be programmed to the steering wheel controls (for example BAND isn't a common OEM SWC, but you can probably program one of the buttons to operate it.
  • BT commands are typically NOT included on the head unit remote controls.
  • However, most (almost all) modern cars with BT include the red and green BT phone buttons on the steering wheel.

Not a huge deal, but it always bugs me having buttons in the car that no longer work ...
 
#40
Yeah, considering that all OEM premium stereos have steering wheel bluetooth controls (and even base models are starting to come with this), you figure they would start implementing it... Maybe in another couple years?
 
#41
Yep - then again, that's what I've been saying about voice command - Toyota has Entune, Ford has SYNC, Kia has UVO, Dodge has uConnect, GM has MyLink/Intellilink, and not a single aftermarket company has anything (except Pioneer USED to have it on a few navigation models and Parrot had it but didn't advertise it).
 
#48
I'm more interested in the radio harness than the tweeter plug, although both would be nice.

Also - I think this could end up being VERY lucrative for him. Metra only makes a rear view camera interface for a couple of GM models and RVC is going to be required on all USA cars within the next two years or so ...
 
#49
I'm more interested in the radio harness than the tweeter plug, although both would be nice.

Also - I think this could end up being VERY lucrative for him. Metra only makes a rear view camera interface for a couple of GM models and RVC is going to be required on all USA cars within the next two years or so ...
They said he's on vacation until 8/7 but and they'll be releasing the kits around that time. I love the kit I love having my camera working with my Pioneer and having my steering wheel controls working again minus the Bluetooth microphone. I have pictures of my setup on my profile.
 
#50
Looking forward to the info.

The Steering wheel controls you can retain with a Metra adapter, but it is really nice to be able to keep the camera without having to swap it for a Chinese aftermarket one or cut/splice the factory wiring.
 
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