2006 Access Cab Stereo, Speakers, Backup Cam, Info

Finished doing a major overhaul to my trucks speaker and stereo system. Wanted to post some info I had a hard time finding or didn't know until after I started working on the project.

For reference I have a 2006 AC with the front door tweeters and woofers and the CD and tape player Toyota radio. My goal was to replace all of the factory speakers, add a backup camera, and Apple CarPlay without installing a new amp and having to do custom wiring from it (in hindsight might not have been that much more difficult). I purchased everything from Crutchfield as their technical and customer support is the best I have ever dealt with, and because they include install gear when you purchase through them.

So, for the receiver I chose the Sony XAV-AX1000 because it has a backup camera input, supports CarPlay, has a physical volume knob, and is powerful enough to power aftermarket speakers without an amp. Plus, it has pre-out channels for the front and rear speakers and a sub if I ever do want to add an amp and sub.



To replace the front door speakers I chose the JBL 601CF Component System since they had good reviews and the included tweeters would fit under the factory grill.

To replace the rear door speakers I chose the JBL 621F 2-way speakers.


For the backup cam, I chose the Boyo VTL17LTJ because it had decent reviews, was fairly cheap, included a license plate mount, and included LED lights that I figured would help it see better at night.


The stuff below Crutchfield will send to you automatically if you purchase speakers and a receiver from them.

Included Install Gear (from Crutchfield):

• Metra 70-8121 Amp Bypass Harness

• $17 Metra 72-8104 Speaker Wire Adapters for Select Toyota Vehicles - 4 Total Adapters
  Metra 72-8104 Speaker Wiring Harnesses (x2)

• Metra 95-8202 Dash Kit

• Metra HWP-0001
• Metra ISOPK Screw Pack

These last two items were included but I found to be useless for any of this, not sure why either were included or what you would really use them for. I think the screw pack is for the Sony as they always use special threads on their screws and holes and were included to fasten the factory radio brackets to the dash kit they included but as I'll talk about later, I had to modify the dash kit to get it to work.

Necessary but not included install items:

• Additional speaker wire for wiring component speakers to crossover

I used some leftover speaker wire from my home theater setup.

• Some type of fastener to secure new tweeters to factory brackets

I used some velcro alfa-lok strips as they have a large operating temp range and were relatively cheap.

• Some electrical tape
• Car speaker spade connectors (idk what the official name of these are, but it's what the Metra speaker harnesses use at the ends)

Optional items I used to make myself happy:

• Zip ties
• Posi-tap connectors

• 1/2" Wire loom split tubing (for running the backup cam wires)

• Black Silicone RTV Sealant

Install:
When I first started looking into replacing my radio and factory speakers Crutchfield said the access cabs with the door tweeters have a factory amplifier under the radio in the dash. However, this is only the case for I believe the 2000-2004 models. 2005-2006 AC's relocated the amp to the storage compartment under the rear passenger seat. Some of you probably know that but I didn't until I took my dash apart and couldn't find the amp anywhere. Crutchfield's install guide was never updated or modified to include this, probably because few people have this set up but nevertheless that's where it is. This also answered the question of why the amp bypass harness was so damn long, it has to run from the factory amp location to the dash!

I removed the factory amp entirely and just ran the bypass harness from the passenger's seat compartment through the compartment with the jack and hand tools. Then, I removed the weatherstripping on the driver's side so I could run the harness under the carpet to the dash. I also wrapped most of the harness with electrical tape to make myself feel better. Then, all I had to do was wire the 2 included bypass harnesses to the harness and connector included with the Sony. I used crimp connectors but it probably would've been easier to use those twist-on style caps instead. Pretty straightforward and probably the easiest part of the whole install.

I didn't want to have to deal with mounting the backup camera on or in the tailgate handle so I chose one with a license plate bracket. I think mounting it on the tailgate handle would give you a better view but this way was easier and not permanent. I ran the cable through the spare tire lowering hole thing making sure to keep the cable to the side. I ran the cable over the frame into the driver's side tail light. I removed the tail light and fed the cable from the camera through the hole the light cables run through.

I tapped into the reverse light positive and negative wires using the Posi-Taps. My camera included a green LED light trigger wire which I tapped into the positive reverse light wire with the red power wire from the camera cables. One of the guys I talked to at Crutchfield said not to tap into the ground wire of the reverse light because it might cause signal issues with the camera but I haven't noticed anything. I ran all of the wires for the reverse cam through the 1/2" wire loom tubing under the truck to hopefully prevent any wiring issues.

I basically just followed the frame of the truck that the existing harness ran along until it reached the rubber grommet under the driver's seat.

I used a razor blade to cut a small hole just big enough to feed the yellow RCA camera cable through. I then met the amp bypass harness wiring from there and ran it up to the dash through the carpet. I sealed the hole I made with the silicone RTV sealant. I also used some to seal the wire loom opening where the cable from the camera went through the spare tire hole in the bed.

For the included microphone from the Sony, I removed the A-pillar trim panel and met the camera and bypass wires under the dash.

Now, this was the part of the install I was least prepared for: the front door speakers. The guy at Crutchfield told me everything I bought would be plug and play with the included wiring harnesses and the factory wiring. This was only sort of true. Since I went with a component system up front to replace the factory tweeters and woofers, I had to run the new JBL speakers through the included crossover otherwise the tweeters will likely get blown out as soon as they see a low frequency signal. It was my understanding that I would just be able to use the included Metra speaker harnesses to plug into the factory connectors from the door to the new speakers but this is not the case because of the crossover. This probably isn't a surprise to many of you but I have never done an install with separate woofers and tweeters and didn't realize the factory wiring and speakers probably didn't do any sort of filtering of the sound to either speaker. When you remove the front door trim panels you'll see that the factory woofers and tweeters and both powered from the same wiring just spliced together. Thus, you have to use a crossover if you want to install a component system. Really not bad once I understood what needed to be done, but the inclusion of the Metra harnesses confused me into thinking I could use them for the front doors. Not sure if this is common but JBL does NOT include those nice female spade speaker connectors with their speakers. I cut the white factory connector part off 2 of the Metra harnesses to use the red spade connectors for both the front door woofers. The tweeters I just tightly wrapped the speaker wire through the holes in the connectors and covered in electrical tape. The 2 other Metra speaker harnesses I saved for the rear doors, as those were actually plug-and-play.

I simply cut the wires connected to the factory woofers and removed them from the factory housings. I drilled a small hole in each of the black woofer housings to run the new speaker cable through to the crossovers. I found that the JBL woofers do not quite match up with the existing 4 screw holes in the black housings, however I made it work with a combination of the screws JBL gives you and the factory ones. The factory tweeters were easy to remove and I reused the factory brackets so I wouldn't have to make my own for the new JBLs. The factory bracket screws into the back of the factory tweeter but I used the velcro alfa-lok to secure the new tweeter to the bracket. It feels like a bit of a tight fit but everything went back together nicely. I ran speaker cable from the new tweeter to the crossover, which I also mounted with the velcro, near the woofer. I made sure not to run the wire near any pinch points or door clips. I sketched up a bit of a wiring diagram in order to wire the inputs of the crossovers correctly. The drivers door speaker cables are green and blue with gray and meet a connector mounted on the door that runs pink and purple wire into the door. I traced the connection the to factory speakers to determine which wires were positive vs. negative. I ended up removing both of the factory wiring connectors that connected to the stock speakers to avoid confusion and such. I used Posi-taps to tap into the wires in the door.

The rear door speakers were by far the easiest to install. I simply removed the screws holding the old speakers to the housing and cut the wires connecting them. The Metra harnesses were helpful here as all I needed to do was connect the red ends to the new speakers and plug the connector into the factory one.

The last annoying thing I discovered during all of this was the Metra dash kit doesn't really work with the factory brackets. The factory radio brackets use 4 screws per side to hold the factory radio in, the Sony is only single-din tall behind the screen and thus only needs two screws per side to mount to the factory brackets. You do need the factory radio brackets to install a new receiver. The Metra dash kit is just a cosmetic piece to eliminate the gaps between the Sony and the dash. I cut mine after the first hole as this hole lines up with one of the unused holes remaining on the factory brackets. The rest of the plastic interferes with the factory brackets. I tried putting the Metra piece behind the factory brackets directly onto the side of the Sony but then the screws aren't long enough to go through both the factory brackets and the Metra kit. Sony uses some weird threading for their screws so no hardware store will have a longer screw you can use instead. Better to just modify the kit like I did. Then it was just a matter of putting all the trim pieces back on and it was all finished. Took me longer than it should have but I kept finding new issues.

I really enjoy the new setup and think it sounds pretty great, definitely night and day better than the factory setup. Also really nice to have a backup cam and Apple CarPlay now.

 

Nice write up. Thank you.

 

It's good that you used crimped connectors and not twist on. The twist are meant for solid core home wiring and can vibrate loose in a vehicle.

 

Looks good OP. I can't wait until aftermarket manufacturers move to OLED screens though.

 

Excellent write up and good work!

 

Thank you for the write up. I ended up with a Kenwood DMX4707S head unit and I just ordered the same speakers from Crutchfield. I have been going back and forth on putting an 8" sub in my underwear storage compartment. I'm curious if you feel like that would be an necessary upgrade after listening to these in your truck.

 

I've gone back and fourth over adding a sub. At first I thought it was something I might like to add, but after using the system for over a month I don't think it's necessary. I don't even have the extra bass filter button pressed on the crossovers. The Sony also has "extra bass" modes you can select which I've experimented with (levels 0, +1, and +2). I like it most at +1. I kinda want to try out the bass filter button on the crossovers but I'm too lazy to remove the door panels again to do it. I think there's plenty of bass now with the full speaker replacement. If you're a HUGE bass head then you'd probably enjoy adding a separate sub but I'm satisfied with it. I listen to all kinds of music so I like to have a pretty balanced or neutral setup, but I definitely wouldn't say my system is lacking on the low-end.

 

Thank you! I'm not a bass head by any stretch. My last truck was a GMC with the upgraded Bose system so I'm a little spoiled. I really want good sound quality. The stock speakers have zero bass. I guess I will wait and see how these sound before I order anything else (not an easy thing to do).

I appreciate the response. I'm excited to get these installed.

 

Of course, good luck with the install! Curious what you think of the speakers as well.

 

I'm a week into the new speakers. I also got a little creative to make them work. I think I have the passenger side crossover set to +2 instead of 0. When I listen to something loud or lower quality downloaded music I hear some mild distortion. I will likely need to pull the panel off and push the button on the crossover. Outside of that the speakers sound very nice. I did end up adding a Kicker Hideaway sub under the driver's seat. The JBL speakers did have much better bass than the factory speakers but I found a good deal so I ran with it and I'm not disappointed.

 

@ZAR very nice write up...I’m on the fence about doing a new head unit and speakers myself or taking it in...seems like I have very little extra time these days. Anyway off subject what kind of seat covers are you rocking?

 

Looks like a pretty cool sound system. I’m interested in getting the XAV-AX1000 for my truck and am wondering what you think of it. Also did you need the metra dash kit or did it fit perfectly in the old stereo spot?

 

Yes, I'm thinking of the XAV-AX1000 too. I would love to see what you needed to do to modify the brackets for it to work, and any surrounding plastic trim.

 

So you have the +2 button pressed on the crossovers and hear distortion with it? If so, that's good to know, I won't bother trying to remove my panels again to try that.

 

Yeah the process took me longer than it should have but I know I would've been quoted a ridiculous figure for a professional install. The seat covers I have came with the truck when I bought it, they're one of the covercraft Carhartt ones. The previous owner must've bought the double cab rear set though cause only the seat parts fit and I couldn't find a way to get the backs on since the access cab seats are bolted in. I do like them though, nice material and easy to clean up too. From the little research I've done, it seems like they're pretty expensive so not sure if they're worth the $400 I've seen them listed for online.

 

I did on one but not the other. The distortion was very minimal but it was there. When I changed it back to 0 the distortion went away. Unfortunately, I loosened something in the process so now I replaced distortion with a rattle I need to track down.

 

So far I really like the XAV-AX1000. Really quick and responsive, Bluetooth connects quickly, touchscreen is quick and responsive, CarPlay works great, and it's able to drive the JBL speakers easily. The Metra din dash kit is NOT needed to get the Sony to fit in the factory brackets and original radio location, but if you don't use it there will be about a 1/2" gap on either side of the Sony where you can see behind the dash. You DO need your factory radio brackets that hold the Toyota radio in place in order to install any aftermarket head-unit so be sure you keep those or pick up a spare set if you don't have them. I simply cut the dash kit right after the first hole as at least for my factory radio brackets, the last 2 holes don't sit right with the brackets and the Sony. You'll see what I mean if you end up getting the same stuff, the factory brackets, Metra kit, and Sony don't fit together perfectly as is. Another thing I'll chalk up to the weird differences the 05-06 ACs seem to have. I should've taken a few pictures before putting it in the dash but I was in a rush to get it all finished before I ran out of days off. The Metra kit is solely for looks to close up the gaps that would otherwise be there. Would be better to 3D print your own brackets or something like that but since I got them for free from Crutchfield I didn't mind chopping them up. I did not have to do any modifications to the factory brackets or original trim pieces around the radio, just the Metra kit. All very easy stuff and not a big deal at all, just wasn't prepared for it so had to figure it out first.

 

Good to know, thanks for the update. Loose door trim clip? Each time I took off the door panels a couple always seemed to pop loose.

 

This is exactly what I needed. Thanks!

 

thank you so much for this info! i’m was about to replace my speakers with an infinity component system based on information provided to me on crutchfield which said it would basically be plug and play. i’m a little wary of cutting into the stock harness and would prefer a plug and play option. with that in mind would i be able to order a set of 2way speakers to plug into the stock harness with the adapter in the front and ditch the cross over wiring and that headache with the tweeters? would i be drastically losing sound quality by going this route? I have an 06 access cab with the factory tweeters. i already install the sony xav1000 head unit, factory amp has already been bypassed.

 

Yes, never cut stock harnesses. Don't be that fucking guy, everyone hates that guy. Crutchfield provides plug-and-play solutions for cirtually all of your connections. Granted, I also don't recommend using t-taps like OP did either, but what he did is better than cutting off your factory connectors. More on that towards the end of this novel.

You need to understand 2 things up front:
1) Any crossover you get with a component set is critical to the intended operation of the component speakers you're buying, and
2) every speaker has a known impedance/resistance in ohms, and when you "delete" a speaker that came from the factory, you risk unintended consequences, like changing the impedance of the circuit, causing your amp to overwork, unexpected variations in loudness between front/rear, losing ability to fade front/rear or left/right.

There is no "headache" associated with replacing the OEM tweeters, I think you're making it out to be a bigger deal than it really is. There is also no need to splice or t-tap into your harnesses to make the connections. Like ... with your Access Cab, yours should be the exact same as mine where Toyota runs two wires into the door. From there, they fork out using this exact Y-shaped connector, each end of the Y connects to a speaker, one to the tweet, one to the mid. OP showed a great color-coded pic of the wiring above, their "(Factory)" diagram

You'll pop off that Y adapter I showed in my linked picture. Then take the adapter harness Crutchfield gives you, and (instead of T-tapping the harness like OP did), plug Crutchfield's adapter it onto the stub left behind, then use that connection to feed to the supplied crossover. All that's left from that point is to run new speaker cables from the crossover to your new mid and tweeter. The crossover will be labeled which line goes to which.

You'll just need a couple feet of speaker wire, and a pack of space connectors, and a crimp tool. I'd recommend drilling a small hole in the midrange plastic baffle to route the wire in. OP picked a great place to mount his crossover, same spot I used. My only point, and maybe OP did this, but just like Toyota did at the factory in many places, I'd use some silver flashing tape and tape any loose wires down so they don't get tugged/torn, and don't rattle against a speaker cone.

As far as mounting the tweeter, I can't say what Infinity will give you, and I can't really recommend their products either (more below). But my JBL components came with three different mounting options, one of which was a center-mount cup. It was super easy to re-use the bracket from the OEM tweeter as you'll see over here in this reply. I'm not the only one that's used this exact method, rather than trying to figure it out on your own, use the path already forged.

OP basically did everything I'd do in this case, as a former installer at a shop down in Florida. My only ding using t-taps on wires. It does unnecessary and sometimes catastrophic damage to the wire casing and stranded wire inside, it opens up a world hurt once oxygen is allowed to reach the wire and corrode it. If you absolutely must choose using a t-tap style connection as a wiring method, buy a higher quality t-tap like Posi-taps. They pierce into the wire instead of mangling its casing, much less invasive.

Ps - I don't recommend Infinity products. When was the last time you saw any DJ, live band, or similar concert/venue event with Infinity speakers in their cabinets? Like, never. JBL on the other hand, is all over the place at concert venues. Their ability to provide true, accurate sound at a great pricepoint is very well-known in the industry. Nothing against Infinity personally, the product is alright, there's just better at similar price point.

I can't recommend enough to start your own thread when you get into this.

 

@shifty` thanks for the thorough reply! i am not an audio expert by any means so thank you for the help! what would be a good JBL option? i just looked on crutchfield and the club series 605CSQ and 622 look comparable to what i ordered from infinity.

 

I think the 622 would be fine for the rear doors, only because it's a single component.

I should ask: Your front doors do have tweeters in them, correct? Sorry if I missed that point.

I went with the JBL 6500C components system for my front doors here (it's discontinued now, there are other similar).
I went with the JBL 6520 6.5" 2-way speaker for my rear doors here (This is closest to the JBL 622).

I'm super happy with my setup. It's similar to what the original poster above picked up for his front and rear doors - notice he has components for the front doors, and single 2-way speaker in the rear. But maybe your system doesn't have tweeters. (I'd be shocked, honestly)

JBL product names that are multiple pieces usually end in "C", if I'm not mistaken.

 

ok great! i do have the door tweeters so i will look into these options, thanks again!

 

Great mods! What wiring harnesses did you use to connect the Sony to the truck wires? I just got mine and nothing really ads up. Might have gotten the wrong harnesses. :/ Thanks!

 

Right write up! A few years ago I did something similar, but not that extensive. I also went with a Sony double din stereo compatible with a back up camera. I went with an active 8 inch subwoofer that I had installed under the driver seat. Plenty loud for me!