2019 Head Unit Replacement DIY?

Hey ya'll! First time poster and TOTAL auto rookie here. Bought a 2019 base level Taco so I can start getting a bit more hands on with it. Long story short, I'll be loaning it to my 75 year old pops to drive through Texas with, and I need to install a CarPlay-compatible unit on it so he doesn't completely freak out. Local spots are charging minimum $600 to do it, including a cheap deck and new wiring harness (whatever that means). Is this a good price? Have you done it yourself, and can a rookie do it?? Any SPECIFIC recommendations on what units to get? Everything I'm finding is insanely pricey! Thanks!

 

crutchfield.com should become your best friend. I install aftermarket stereos on the side and it’s fairly easy if you can follow directions. The big thing is making the wiring look neat and fitting everything inside the dash.

 

Welcome to TW!

$600 just for a head unit and the installation is a total ripoff! I don't know what you mean by "cheap", but my well-equipped Pioneer touch-screen unit with CarPlay was $325. I probably have less than $700 in my entire system (head unit, speakers, amp, sub, backup camera), which my neighbor helped me install for free.

Installing a head unit in itself is quite easy. It's attaching the vehicle-specific wiring harness to the head unit wiring harness that can be a bit difficult in my opinion (My neighbor did ALL of the wiring in my truck). Once the Toyota wiring harness is attached to the head unit, installing the head unit in the vehicle is literally plug and play, simple as 1-2-3! My same neighbor did the wiring harness for my oldBoss unit that I gifted to my friend's daughter, and then I installed the Boss in her 2010 Subaru Forester in maybe ten minutes at most!

Crutchfield has great DIY instructions, but I refuse to business with Crutchfield anymore because when I bought the aforementioned $325 Pioneer head unit, it was right when the stupid E-commerce laws took affect. 13 months after I bought the Pioneer, I got charged for both 6% Pennsylvania sales tax and interest when I filed my 2018 tax returns in April 2019. I would recommend buying stuff on Amazon, because you still have to pay tax, but they actually add state-specific tax to the final sale price so you don't get blindsided later!

Good luck!

 

Go the crutchfield route and if you pay the extra $15 bucks or whatever they charge they'll pre-wire the harness. It will take you all of 15 minutes to install.

 

Agreed. For the first time novice, Crutchfield will supply all install parts with directions. They even to harness prewire, so everything is plug and play. They are not the cheapest, but they are one stop shopping with no guesswork.

Now it is just an issue of the deck you are gonna put in.....

 

I stopped doing business with Crutchfield after they reported my purchase of a $325 Pioneer HU to the Pennsylvania government, and I got charged for 6% sales tax plus interest more than a year after I bought the stereo!

Crutchfield is based in Charlottesville, Virginia and only collects state sales tax from Virginia residents. They used to not report out-of-state purchases, but the stupid new E-commerce law changed that and Crutchfield now reports all purchases to the customer's home state despite still not collecting out-of-state sales tax.

Crutchfield is still an excellent resource, but I've found that Amazon offers much better prices on audio equipment, and actually adds sales tax regardless of where you live, so you don't get dinged for it when you do your tax returns the following year like I did!

Crutchfield has phenomenal customer service, and I do agree that they are a novice's best friend, but after doing research I've realized that maybe Crutchfield doesn't have the best prices. Also, unless you live in Delaware or New Hampshire (and I believe Oregon) where they don't have sales tax, I'd recommend against buying something particularly expensive from Crutchfield.