Okay i finally worked up the nerve to install my pioneer avic-d3. i have never installed a car stereo, let alone a nav unit and i was nervous but it worked out okay.

i took a few pictures along the way so check it out.

Step one- Take off the dash. I had the stock radio so i had to get the other bezel so you will see the switch later. There are 16 bolts to remove so have fun!
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e106/emfomas/DSCF2601.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e106/emfomas/DSCF2602.jpg

Step two- Remove stock stereo by removing four bolts and then the two clips and antanea cable.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e106/emfomas/DSCF2603.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e106/emfomas/DSCF2605.jpg

Step 3- Connect your wiring harness to the stock harness and the back of the new unit. Also you need to hook up your antanae adapter. It get a little crowded in there so watch out! Also, i hooked up my ipod wire and routed it to the glovebox.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e106/emfomas/DSCF2606.jpg

Step 4- Test to see of the thing will work and lookie what happend!
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e106/emfomas/DSCF2608.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e106/emfomas/DSCF2610.jpg

Step 5- Button everything up and enjoy your new navigation!
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e106/emfomas/DSCF2611.jpg


Let me know if anybody has any questions. I have gotten everything to work so far including i-pod audio and video, divx movies off a cd-r, navigation, etc.

I do have one question, where should i mount my sirius module and antanea? i am going to install that later but i could find a good place. any ideas on where the stock stuff was mounted?

I hope this helps somebody out there!!

Nice article and job on the install. What a messy harness though... is that what came supplied with the unit? That's just ridiculous that they didn't bundle it all together.

How did you power up the unit? I was about to buy a head unit like this from Crutchfield but it gave me warning that I had to power up the new unit separately. I forgot how they word it. Basically I had to run the power to a power source such as cigarette lighter, etc. Yours installation seems like "plug-and-play".

Thanks for the support! that harness is a mess but i may have showed my inexperience with it. Its my first time and i dont think i managed that the best way possible. What you are seeing is the pioneer harness connected to the aftermarket harness and then to the commander harness. I have the boston setup so i need something to help keep that up and that is where that harness came into play. It also kept the "everything stays on until you open the door" feature so that was pretty exciting!

for me it was pretty plug and play. I have the boston system so i did a lot of research and i decided i needed the chto-01 harness, some people will tell you differently but it worked for me. all you do is hook up the two sides of the harness to the commander harness and the pioneer harness. then you need to crimp the yellow wire (constant power) from the aftermarket harness to the yellow wire on the pioneer. and do the same with the red wires (12v Acc) and the blue with white stripes(amp turn on). there are a few more than need crimping but its pretty self explanatory.

Also, you will need to do a bypass to get to be able to use the navigation in motion. if you dont you will have to stop and put up the parking brake to make a route change or anything like that. its not hard at all but its something you have to do. it also allows you to watch video while in motion but its not something i suggest.

Were you able to retain the steering wheel controls or did you lose those??

i did lose them but you can get an add on that gets them back. i havent decided if its for me but we will see. i can find that part number if you need it.

I'm new to the forum. Great pics. I just ordered the avic-d3 with all the necessary hardware, sirius satellite, back up camera from Crutchfield. I was curious where you accessed the speed sensor wire, reverse light wire, and parking brake wire from? I have a 2007 Jeep Commander.

Nice install! To answer your Satalite antenia question, The factory mount is in the roof rack area near the back center of the XK. If you have the rack or ever intend to use the rack, don't mount yours there or you will lose signal. I would put in in the forward passenger corner where the new video receiver is on the 08 model.

I see you made the mistake I did of removing every single freaking bolt. They all look functional but really only like 6 of them screw into something, jeep just put them there for show. I wish I would have remembered which ones have an actual purpose for holding in the dash

thanks for the comments guys. I think my sirius module is dead so i need to see about getting another one. I did remove all the bolts, which ones actually do anything? i can tell when im working on them but i never know untill i start and i would love to know.

what kit did you use?? when i go on crutchfields web they say it does not fit.

Here is the bolt pattern I discovered when I removed my dash:

There are 16 bolts in the dash, you only need to remove the ones marked as an X

OX XO OX XO
XO XX XX OX

You will see how the four sections of bolts are when you look at the dash.

you need to first buy the navigation dash, that is the reason crutchfield says it doesnt fit. try saying you have the factory navigation at cf. it will say it will fit then. if you need more info let me know.

did you get the dash from the dealer?? how much??

I ordered mine from www.justforjeeps.com $92. You can also try Ebay and your Chrysler dealer.

i got mine from ebay, user airparkcjd. he was great and i couldnt be happier.

i got mine from ebay, user airparkcjd. he was great and i couldnt be happier.

Thats the dealership I bought my Commander from (Airpark Chrysler Jeep in Scottsdale, AZ).

Great job. Looks excellent.

Hey Johny. I'll be getting the CHTO-01 today from Circuit City. Originally I received the wrong XSVI-6504 wiring harness. That one weighs about 10 lbs, and has wire long enough to run to the back of the vehicle.

Can you give a little more detail on hooking up the CHTO-01? Is it all just simple plug ins that run from stock harness to new radio harness, or are there wires running to the factory amp? If running to the amp, where is that, and how difficult?

I'm trying to decide if this is an evening project (roughly an hour), or if I need to wait for the weekend.

Any help is appreciated.

Ok, got the kit today. Much less wiring than the one for no amp. Whew, should be a very quick install.

One word for those out there though, the CHTO-01 has ONLY RCA inputs so your aftermarket head unit needs all RCA outputs, or you need more wiring to convert your new stereos speaker out to RCA. Just an FYI.

sorry i didnt respond to you sooner, did you get everything put in okay?

I got it all in. I was surprised that I actually had to turn the gain all the way up in the CHTO box, not down as I had expected. I agree with you, was a very easy install with this kit. The thing that took me the longest was routing my sub RCA cable to the back of the vehicle.

did you get the dash from the dealer?? how much??

Jparts.com has the dash for about $78

I was looking at purchasing the same unit for my 06 commander.. were you able to continue to use the factory amp and sirius antenna? Also, what is the part name or # that is need to keep the steering wheel controls?

How/where are you guys hooking up to the speed sensor, reverse, and parking brake.

By the way great install and information! Thanks for sharing.

Do you guys still like your units?

dj

How/where are you guys hooking up to the speed sensor, reverse, and parking brake.

By the way great install and information! Thanks for sharing.

Do you guys still like your units?

dj


the metra chto-01 does it all for you,,,, its all plug and play, and i did the video hack (http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4670), so i didnt hook up barke wire..

and i still love the unit..

How/where are you guys hooking up to the speed sensor, reverse, and parking brake.

By the way great install and information! Thanks for sharing.

Do you guys still like your units?

dj

Hook the parking brake up to the ground, and a switch.

the metra chto-01 does it all for you,,,, its all plug and play, and i did the , so i didnt hook up barke wire..

and i still love the unit..


My 2007 XK doesn't have the premium sound system and was told by METRA the CHTO-01 would not work in my application.

They sold me the XSVI-6502- Crutchfield also said this would do the trick but it does not have any leads/connectors for the speed sensor or reverse wires coming from the AVIC-D3 harness.

Anyone else run in to this or have the info on where to patch them in?

Johnny,

I did the same install and so far everything works good with one exception. My Ipod will play music just fine but the video will not work. What did you do differently to make the video work?
I am using the Pioneer cable for the AVIC. When I try video the Avic screen says please control from your ipod. My ipod says please connect to a video source. I have a 160GB Ipod video.

Is there something I am missing??

Any help would be appreciated...

Thanks in advance

okay the problem you are having is consistent with all ipod classic owners. The tv out has pretty much been taken away by apple so we cant do things like this. one way to go about it is like this:
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/11/18/video-ipod.html?page=1

anybody else have a solution?

okay just checked into that and the post i put up doesnt work with the new classics.

i think the best place to find info on this is at http://www.avic411.com/forum/.

if i find anything out i will post and please do the same!

you can roll back to old ipod software like on here:
http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14150

it works but its sort of annoying

Hey nice pics, looks good not as nice as mine lol just kidding i have the Kenwood DDX7700. Anyways to answer your qeustion regarding satellite, if you had sirus before the antenna is on the rear of your truck and the box for it is under your second row passenger seat. Even if you didn't have it, this is still the best place for the unit. Just lift the 2nd row all the way up and remove the cover...kind of oval shaped. There is room there for the unit, I have mine there and also have my bluetooth unit there. I am using the original antenna hooked up to the new unit with no problems. Works Great. Good Luck

2007 Jeep Commander install went pretty smooth. I was able to use the stock dash with the funky holes and just cut out the square for the Nav screen which was bigger than the stock 1.5 Din. Snapped the center piece back in and with a little hot glue. Looks factory. Still having issues with the Ipod playing video which seems to be the norm with the classic.

Only thing I purchased was the harness and a dash kit for the double din.

Pictures here. avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=97638#97638[/url]

Thanks JohnnyBighead for posting your AVIC info last August. I did the same install on my 07 Commander a couple of weeks ago- works great and looks good. I purchased the NAV bezel and painted the black adapter/trim to closely match match the Dark Khaki bezel.

My 2007 XK doesn't have the premium sound system and was told by METRA the CHTO-01 would not work in my application.

They sold me the XSVI-6502- Crutchfield also said this would do the trick but it does not have any leads/connectors for the speed sensor or reverse wires coming from the AVIC-D3 harness.

Anyone else run in to this or have the info on where to patch them in?

I have the same problem. My speed sensor is not hooked up bc of the harness they supplied. I have the parking hack but i do not have the feature where the music does not turn off till you open the door either.. Can I use that harness to get those missing features???

I had the stock non premium sound system and installed the AVIC D3. Best Buy sold me the kit for the premium sound system. I questioned why I needed the expensive kit if I didn't have an amp. It's because of the things like the dimmer and the door thing. I spent $134 for the kit and everything works great.