Kenwood DMX1057XR

Hi all,
I finished installing the DMX1057XR in my ‘18 Tacoma today. All in all, it was a fairly simple install. The toughest part is routing the mic, dash cam and OBDII cables under the dash and up to the radio. I only had one hiccup: I couldn’t get my backup camera to show up. But it was my error - I forgot to make one of the connections on the backup camera harness from iDatalink. Fixed that and all was good. The image from that camera is so much better than it was on the stock screen.

I also installed a Kenwood DRV-520 dash cam. Nice camera! Three wires for that have to be spliced in to the radio harness, and one pin connector goes into the back of the receiver. A yellow RCA jack plugs into the yellow dash cam connector on the receiver, and that’s it.

The head unit is really nice. I installed it in the retracted (out of the box) position and raised the screen up one setting. It’s really easy to connect, but I did have to fit the receiver a few times to get it flush with the dash kit. The Metra kit I was planning to use did not fit at all, so I used the American International kit Crutchfield included in the installation package I purchased. As Dean from 5 Star pointed out in his recent video, the radios are angled a bit on the Tacoma, so I needed to shim the right side of the dash kit with washers to get it flush. Two on top, three on the bottom.

I installed the mic in the factory location but I don’t think I’ll keep it there. My daughter said I sounded muffled. That may be because I put foam on the sides of the opening. I’ll try it without the foam, and if that doesn’t help, I may just mount it on a corner lip of the overhead console.

I’ve attached some photos (wireless CarPlay is soooo nice!). I’ll also post pics of the mic setup I came up with along with some other installation notes.

The only advice I’d offer anyone considering doing this is to watch some videos and to pay very close attention to the instructions and wiring guide you get from iDatalink after you flash the Maestro (which you can now do on your phone or tablet).
Mike

 

Mic installation (includes pics of the factory mic)....

I used painters tape to make a template of the mic opening, marked the center point. Removed it, applied to a piece of plastic. Drilled a hole, Cut out the shape, pointed the mic straight down, and fastened the plastic “cover” in place with electrical tape. I left the factory mic taped to the underside of the console.

 

I got tired of waiting for this to be back in stock, so got the non-Exelon version. It finally just dawned on me that all the sound tweaking wouldn't make a huge difference to me. I got mine through Online Car Stereo. At the time they were running a 10% off sale. A little trick is to add it to your cart, fill out all your information and then leave. OCS will eventually send you an email offering 12% off. So that helped.

I shopped around and found some better pricing on all the installation crap needed. I purchased the Metra dash kit and was able to make it work. All it took was a little tweaking. I figured out where the side brackets would attach to the radio and did that. Then I screwed the front portion to the brackets while they were attached to the radio. Good to go.

I don't why Crutchfield doesn't suggest it, but iDatalink does make adapters for the GPS and satellite radio antennas already on the truck. I see some people figure that out and stuff. Perfect.

Enfig makes an OEM style replacement microphone for the Bluetooth. It plugs into the head unit and snaps into the stock location. I didn't get one, so I don't have any feedback on it. I had another version made by them that I used. I purchased it prior to them producing a Tacoma-specific version.

My OEM USB plug is long gone, but I had replaced it with a 3D printed Keystone plug that fits into the OEM switch spots. And I also got one for the HDMI input. At one point I had purchased one off Amazon that replaced the 12v plug. It had HDMI and USB. Options. Options.

I wanted to double-check with those that installed this: There is only one plug used on the OBD plug, correct? One plug into the Maestro harness? And I'm assuming there was enough wire length on this to make it to the headunit?

 

Here’s a photo of the wiring guide. The OBD harness plugs directly into the truck’s OBD pin connector under the dash. There are also two small 2-pin connectors (one white, one black) that connect into the iDatalink T-harness.

Damn, I wish I knew about the Enfig mic beforehand. I knew they made em for VWs.

 

I was curious, so I called Enfig and talked to "Christian". He said the mic they sell is not a power mic and it's not amplified. What he did say is that their microphones are designed to fit in the factory mic location and have less feedback than aftermarket mics. He wouldn't go so far as to say they equal a factory mic. I'll have to think about whether this would be $30 well spent. Christian did say that they've never gotten any complaints about their mics. Hmmm.... Anyone else on the forum actually have one of these mics installed? If so, what do you think of it?

 

Hmmm. I'll have to look for the other plug for the OBD in the Maestro harness. I saw one, but not a second one. And I don't think I taped over it! I hope.

The Enfig mic is fairly new and they started making it at the urging of a few forum members here. I have the VW one. I wish I could comment on the sound quality, but I'm fairly certain my phone has a problem with Bluetooth that's never been corrected with updates. At the very least it's done the same thing through multiple head units. Callers never comment that I'm not loud enough, or on the sound quality. Only that they can hear themselves. And even if I didn't have this problem, probably not a good idea for me to review sound quality for anything considering I'm partially deaf in one ear!

 

The instructions tell you to unplug the black connector on the harness and plug it into another black connector (the wire colors are the same). Then you make a white plug to white plug connection.

That's the problem I had with the mic I installed today - my daughter said she could hear herself in addition to me sounding a bit muffled. Not a volume problem, though. Too bad, because otherwise this Kenwood installation is pretty sweet, and I'm sure the 1037s is just as fine! I'll keep playing around with the mic before I buy another one. Thanks!

 

This is what I settled on for the mic placement. Along with some speech quality settings I tweaked on the head unit, this is what seems to sound best on the receiving end of calls.

silly question.....does anyone with this head unit know how to actually turn the HD radio off? There’s no on/off setting or button that I can find. Thanks!

 

I don't know how to turn the HD Radio off. However, if I recall, I think there is way to set it up in such a way that HD Radio is skipped when you cycle through modes with your mode button.

 

Got to installing today. Couple of questions:

1. The unit is not switching over to the reverse camera when placed in reverse
2. Steering wheel controls aren't working

There's some other issues, but I think I know what's going on with those.

To fix those two issues above, I have a feeling I know what the problem is. On the back of the headunit there's two plugs for the Maestro. A multi-pinned plug and a 3.5 headphone jack. I only plugged in the multi-pin and now wonder if I should have used the other one as well. I'm guessing so. There is a blue-ended plug in the Maestro box that I believe is the right one. Am I right? And if so, what does the loose wire get connected to?

Thanks guys. I wish iDatalink was a little more specific in their instructions.

 

Thanks! I did notice that if I scroll through modes using the steering wheel button, it will shut it off when I land on a different one. Interestingly, I called Kenwood and the answer they gave me made absolutely no sense. They told me to set the HD reception option to analog. Didn't do a thing!

Anyway, so far so good with the install. I did as good a job as I could taping up harnesses, but I still had to push a bit on the unit to get it in there. Quite a mess of wires behind the radio. I took it for a ride yesterday to check on GPS, etc. Both Waze and Google Maps worked fine, although it did take quite some time for Waze to "grab" an accurate signal. I drove about three miles before it actually caught up with where I was. After that it seemed to be fine. I'll take it for another spin today or tomorrow to see if the same thing happens. I'm hoping I can just continue to use the factory GPS antenna and iDatalink adapter cable. I don't want to have to use the aftermarket GPS antenna. FM reception is great (the blue wire did need to be connected!) and overall the audio quality is noticeably better than the stock unit, and that's without having yet touched any of the audio settings on the Kenwood.

The only issue remaining is that when I first drove it yesterday, a message came on that my vehicle speed sense wire was not connected. This wasn't the "CarPlay-needs-the VSS-wire-connected-to-operate correctly" message that I've seen occur with older head units. It was just a simple 'not connected' message. The VSS wires (pink) are connected, so I'm hoping this was just a one-time message for whatever reason and that it won't pop up again.

If anyone is planning to do this install and has watched the 5 Car Stereo videos where Dean talks about this head unit, I'd like to correct one thing he got wrong. To mount the screen permanently to the receiver, he says that if you can't insert the two screws from the underside, then just fasten all four screws on the top of the mounting plate. In fact, there are SIX mounting screws (the ones with Loctite on them), and all of them are fastened from the top, as per the instructions (see attachment). The two bottom screws he refers to are actually inserted into holes in the top mounting plate. They help to secure the bottom portion of the mounting mechanism. I found that installing all six screws makes for a rock-solid mount.

One other thing of note: When I ordered the head unit from Crutchfield, the recommended installation package included the Maestro RR2 module. I didn't realize it then, but the RR module would have been just as good. The RR2 allows you to add programmable outputs, none of which I need, and requires a Windows-based computer to install, which I don't have (I'm a Mac user). Also, when you flash the RR2 module, what you get are instructions and a wiring diagram for the RR, not the RR2. They're fine, but then you're left wondering what all the extra cables and harnesses are for in the RR2 package. You only need the data cable, the OBD cable, and one of the two backup camera harnesses (the one with the larger pin connector).

I hope that's helpful and I thank all of you who responded with helpful comments and suggestions!
Mike

 

I had the same problem with #1. Make sure you plug the yellow male RCA plug from the backup harness into the yellow RCA female plug marked Backup Camera (or RearView Camera) on the head unit. There's also a multi-pin connector on the backup harness that connects to the Maestro harness (that's the one I missed initially).

For #2, make sure you flashed the module correctly with the correct serial # and double-check all your connections. Follow Step 4 in the Maestro installation instructions VERY carefully. Lastly, reset the Maestro per the instructions on the bottom of the Troubleshooting table.

Note: You don't need to do anything with the 3.5mm headphone jack. All you need to do is plug in the pin connector to the head unit. You don't need the blue-ended plug. All you need is is the data cable (that's what gets connected to the back of the head unit).

 

I noticed that about the 5-star video as well!

Anyway, the camera is working. It's just not switching over. I'll try reflashing. Unfortunately, there was no documentation in the box for me, so the Google machine has been helping me along.

Thanks for the help!

 

When you flashed the module, it should have resulted in a set of instructions and a wiring guide (see above in post #44). The wiring guide tells you what to do, as well as which cables and harnesses in the package you need and don’t need. Let me know if you need it and I’ll upload it for you.

 

Ah. Well I'm going to reflash so I should be okay. I'll let you know if I need them.

 

Let us know how you make out....

 

FYI: There's a firmware update on Kenwood's website. It's from December. Y'all may already have it. Mine didn't.

I think the save set-up feature has disappeared? I can't remember where it was and can't find it. Maybe it's just auto-magic now.

 

So, after speaking with Christian at Enfig Car Stereo and reading the reviews for the VW version, I went ahead and ordered the mic at 10:30 this morning. $37 and change with USPS priority mail. I received a notification 5 hours later that it was mailed out! I should have it tomorrow or Thursday. I’ll get it installed as soon as possible after I receive it and let you guys know how it works out.

Although the location of the Kenwood mic (corner of the overhead console) seems to be working out as far as call quality goes - with some tweaking of the Kenwood Speech Quality settings - I just don’t like it visible and on the edge of the console. We’ll see....

 

I like everything to look OEM. That's why I've opted for things like the antenna adapters and microphone. I got a chance to test my VW Enfig version finally. My wife says it sounds great and she can't hear herself echo back. And that was without tweaking settings. I'm sure I'll get some more testing in and let folks know if anything changes.

I still haven't solved my other issues yet. I was waiting for some parts to show up so I'm not taking this thing out a billion times. It's kind of a PITA to remove.

 

Glad to hear you got good results with the mic. I’m with you on the OEM look!

It is a bit of a pain to remove. Thankfully the Tacoma bezel is easy to deal with. Let me know if I can help with your unresolved installation issues.