Just Upgraded My '99 Is200 Sport Headunit :)

dabulldog · March 9, 2007

Hi folks,

Had my '99 IS200 Sport since October 2005.. then a couple of months ago the stereo finally died a death with ERR3. Took it out, checked it out, was totally gubbed. :(

I now have a Kenwood DDX6029 double-din DVD player thingy in it.. great unit for what it does, but it's a bit thin on features - get a more expensive one if you can.

The unit plays MP3 on DVD-R though, which is nice.

You will need to rewire your amplifier, or buy an adapter cable. They're going on eBay for about £60 and work a treat. Very professional looking too.

You get instructions with it to remove the connector from the stock amplifier that you need, but it's not as easy as it sounds - maybe it's just my chubby fingers. :P

All worked first time though.

Removing the stereo

---

1. You need to remove the pointless top 'coin' tray on the centre console (or the place where you put your Mcdonalds juice ;) ) .. To do this, you simply put your hands on the tray. Grip it at the front with your fingertips on the front lip of it and close your fists - i.e. pull the tray towards you. It will just click out of place if you pull it toward the interior of the car.

Some guides I read tell you to lift the felt - this is a bad idea. Nothing under it (not in my '99 anyway).

2. You need to remove the unit that has the traction control and heated seat buttons. Simply put your hand flat underneath it (palm up) and push up. Slide this toward you; to the interior of the car. It should unclip fairly easily. Once you've done this, you can unplug the 3 connectors (2x seat and 1x traction).. They're colour coded and lip keyed so you shouldn't have any problems remembering where they go.

3. You'll now see that all you have left is the stereo and climate control unit. If you look at the top of the centre console where you removed the tray, you will see two bolts.. one to each side of the gap. They connect the climate control to the metal frame. You need to undo these. Simple socket set with a 10mm socket will do the trick.

4. After removing the heated seat unit, the same two bolts lie at either side at the bottom of the centre console.. same trick as above with the 10mm socket.

5. You should be able to easily pull the climate control & stereo frame toward you. A lot of people say it's really sharp and be very careful not to scratch your interior, but I found this not to be as bad as people say. Just make sure you keep it straight and do it slowly.

6. Unplug all of the connectors from the back of the climate and the stereo itself.. there you go, you have the frame connecting the stereo and the climate control unit. If you remove the stereo from this unit, KEEP THE BOLTS - I reused these to connect the aftermarket double-din unit INTO THE SAME FRAME.

You will also need to buy a double-din fascia adapter. They sell these on various websites and eBay. They seem to all be the same one, and it's like double the price of ones for other cars (£20 for this one).

I won't sing the praises for this. They supply it with a stupid cubby hole adapter and the double din face with a big stupid plastic bar across it to make it 2x single din. You have to cut this off. Best use a stanley knife and some patience.. haha, believe it or not, it tells you to f*ing do this in the instructions.

Oh yeah, and I had to slice the bottom off of it to allow for travel as the double din screen slides.

It all sounds sh*t and a bit much work - to be honest, it is a bit rubbish based upon paying 20 quid for it, but it does look decent in the end. You don't see the cut bits, and it's a fairly swift job.

Stereo goes in with the reverse of my instructions above, and the fascia is fairly self explanatory. If you're like me, you'll be disappointed with how the fascia all works, but it's the only option and it looks decent.

My pictures are pretty rubbish, but here's the only ones I've taken so far:

I'll be attempting to fit a subwoofer and amplifier in a couple of weeks, so I guess I'll post instructions on here if I succeed. I'm not sure where I can run the power cable through, or even how to get the cables to the boot. There must be a gromet or something in the engine bay, if anyone's already done this - drop me a message, please ;)

dibsLPG · March 9, 2007

Hi folks,
Had my '99 IS200 Sport since October 2005.. then a couple of months ago the stereo finally died a death with ERR3. Took it out, checked it out, was totally gubbed. :(

I now have a Kenwood DDX6029 double-din DVD player thingy in it.. great unit for what it does, but it's a bit thin on features - get a more expensive one if you can.

The unit plays MP3 on DVD-R though, which is nice.

You will need to rewire your amplifier, or buy an adapter cable. They're going on Ebay for about £60 and work a treat. Very professional looking too.

You get instructions with it to remove the connector from the stock amplifier that you need, but it's not as easy as it sounds - maybe it's just my chubby fingers. :P

All worked first time though.

Removing the stereo

I'll be attempting to fit a subwoofer and amplifier in a couple of weeks, so I guess I'll post instructions on here if I succeed. I'm not sure where I can run the power cable through, or even how to get the cables to the boot. There must be a gromet or something in the engine bay, if anyone's already done this - drop me a message, please ;)

Great guide mate, Very usfull.. the set-up looks brill.

The gromet that you are talking about lives behind the Battery or to one side of it, You should see other wires going in to so follow them in and stick your head in the pass-footwell and hope that you can spot it (tourch helps), If not use a thin stiff wire and feed it in..

Hope it helps..

I'm about to carry out the same set-up has yours so cheers.

lee_iceman · March 9, 2007

As dibs says there is a grommet underneath the Battery. Whip it out and you can't miss it.

Monster-Mat · March 9, 2007

the Toyota double din facia allows for perfect fitment, without the need to cut bits off

Rob · March 9, 2007

Some guides I read tell you to lift the felt - this is a bad idea. Nothing under it (not in my '99 anyway).

Actually it all depends which version of dash tray you have ( there are 3 versions) because if you dont lift the felt then you wont be able to remove the dash tray because under the felt are the screws which attach the tray to the dash support structure.

but first try to pull the tray towards you you - if it doesnt move then try to lift the felt up.

looking at the pic above was it snowing in ur car ??? whats all the cr@p around the fag lighter?