Toyota Camry ACV50 Sony XAV-AX1000 installed

 

A friend of ours stopped by to get his Toyota Camry ACV50 factory head unit replaced along with adding an additional front parking camera. His stereo of choice was the Sony XAV-AX1000 which features Apple CarPlay. Because this Camry is mostly driven by his wife, he felt that this Sony would fulfil his wife’s needs in terms of music, navigation and also hands-free usablity. On top of that, he wanted to avoid any units with complicated user interfaces and long boot times. Since his wife uses the iPhone exclusively, Apple CarPlay was crucial for this particular user.

 

He also already had a parking assist system in the form of a rear camera and a rear view mirror with built-in monitor. With the new Sony, we will be removing the the rear view monitor. On top of that, we will be transplanting the rear camera to the front and will put in a brand new camera to the rear. Reason being that he wanted a rear camera that was more solid and didn’t need adjusting in the event the carwash or someone else accidentally touched it.

 

Removal of the factory stereo

 

As usual the first step would be removal of the factory stereo.

 

Some of the adapters needed for this install

 

Some of the items needed for this install such as the dash kit, harness adapter, antenna adaper and side spacers. For a list of items used in this install, kindly scroll to the bottom of the page.

 

Replashing the Dash Kit

 

Once we have the stereo out, then we get to separating the stereo from the climate control unit.

 

A look at the rear connection inputs of the factory stereo

 

Rear view of the Toyota Camry ACV50 factory stereo head unit.

 

Front view of the original factory stereo

 

Here is the front view of the factory stereo head unit.

 

Fitiing the new Sony XAV-AX1000 in

 

Attaching the Sony XAV-AX1000 to the Toyota Camry Dash kit. In most cases, the factory brackets are reused for the install.

 

Running some of the wires throughout the car

 

When working on parking cameras, we will usually need to route wires from the stereo to the front and rear of the car.

 

Getting to the rear parking camera

 

Time to remove the rear camera.

 

Transplant this camera to the front

 

This camera from his previous system will be removed and installed as the front camera instead.

 

Harness wired up and ready

 

Harnesses are wired up and ready to be connected to the new Sony head unit.

 

Still working on the removal of this cam

 

Facing some trouble removing the camera. We eventually managed after some creative thinking.

 

Transplanted the rear cam to the front

 

The rear camera successfully installed to the front of the car, just below the number plates.

 

Placing the 2 way camera controller under the dash

 

Next up, getting the 2 Way Camera Controller Interface box wired up. You can see it in the above image, at the bottom left with those colorful wires coming out of it.

 

New cam for the rear.

 

The new rear camera installed. This camera requires that we drill into the panel. The benefit of this camera is that it is not movable, and overall looks sleeker.

 

All these need to be tucked and tied in place

 

These camera wires will eventually need to be tucked and tied away neatly.

 

Harness all ready

 

Another look at the harness.

 

Rear Camera view

 

Once we got everything plugged in, we started with testing the cameras. Thankfully it all went well. Image quality was also really good.

 

Sony XAV-AX1000 Home UI

 

This shot really shows the beauty of the Sony XAV-AX1000. What do you think of the Sony?

 

Sony XAV-AX1000 Bluetooth Connection Screen

 

Next up is testing out the Bluetooth connectivity. Music streaming and hands-free calls worked very well.

 

Sony XAV-AX1000 FM Tuner screen

 

The Sony FM tuner interface. Clean and simple.

 

Another shot of the camera view in broad daylight outdoor

 

Another test of the rear camera view outdoors in daylight.

 

Sony XAV-AX1000 APple CarPlay home screen

 

Apple CarPlay also worked well on this unit.

 

Waze and Potify Icon in Apple CarPlay

 

Access your favorite apps via CarPlay.

 

Below is a video if you are interested to catch a glimpse of some of the work involved.

 

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Products used in this install:
Head Unit – https://www.fasmoto.com/sony-xav-ax1000
Dash Kit – https://www.fasmoto.com/audio-video/audio-video-installation/installation-dash-kit/dash-kit-toyota/toyota-camry-12-14-dash-kit-wisdom-holy
Stereo Harness Adapter – https://www.fasmoto.com/audio-video/audio-video-installation/harness-adapter/harness-adapter-toyota/toyota-87-16-car-stereo-wiring-harness-adapter-female
Steering Control harness adapter – https://www.fasmoto.com/ste-003-steering-wheel-control-oe-adapter-for-toyota-28-pin-f-to-20-pin-m
Antenna adapter – https://www.fasmoto.com/toyota-car-stereo-antenna-adapter-male
2 Way Camera Interface – https://www.fasmoto.com/Redbat-2-channel-parking-camera-switcher-control-box-interface
Rear Camera – https://www.fasmoto.com/1661-hd-parking-camera
RCA Video Signal Extension Cable – https://www.fasmoto.com/camera-video-input-single-channel-rca-cable-male-to-male-6m