So if you just finished watching our 16-second long epic install journey of a Pioneer AVH-4200NEX into a 2006 Toyota 4Runner SR5 you might be thinking, there’s no way they were able to take apart the dash and wire everything up in 30 minutes. Well, you know what? We were suprised how easy it was too.
For the record we aren’t the most mechanically inclined writers, I mean we can change a flat tire and do an oil change but when it comes to electronics we’re not those guys. While we’d like to stroke our egos and think we’re some master technicians, it really is just a matter of following the directions and buying the right parts that made it this easy.
Easy as 1-2-3
Besides the head unit, all we needed to purchase was a Metra dash kit and wiring harness. That’s it. The dash kit comes with detailed instructions on how to take apart the 4Runner’s interior and the wiring harness, to put it simply, all you have to do is just match up colors and then plug in the harness. For the curious 4Runner owners out there, a lot of Toyota dash kits and wiring harnesses work across a range of models so just use the links above and you’ll get the right parts.
Of course not all cars only take 30 minutes to upgrade the stereo, if we took pictures for a step-by-step install article this would have taken us twice as long, but the availability of dash kits and wiring harnesses really does make the install process pretty easy. For those with newer cars that have steering wheel audio controls and back up cameras there are a plethora of companies that make wiring harnesses for you as well.
So the moral of the story is: It really is a lot easier than you might think to upgrade your car stereo.
