There's no way I'd fit myself into the places I'd have to go in order
to remove the original radio and install a new one. I could buy a
perfectly reasonable one for about $100 but the shop told me that
installation would cost about $250. I figured that anything I've never
done before and didn't know how to do, that cost $250 worth of labor,
wasn't something I wanted to try. So I started listening to another
station.
On 3/15/2018 3:38 PM, geoff wrote:
That's what I thought, until I googled "replace toyota caldina radio',
which showed simply popping the panel off, and undoing 3 screws. Didn't
have to bend at all. At worst, apart from the radio/CD/whatever, you may
need a wiring loom adaptor harness for about $10.
After reading a couple of instructions and watching a video (for one
model year older than mine, but looks about the same), I decided that if
it was going to be done, it would be done by a professional. After all,
you wouldn't let JBI mix and master your next big hit would you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL8WFbq23H8
One thing you'll notice if you look at the video (even just long enough
to see what the dashboard looks like) is that the radio is in a 2-unit
high panel space with most of the controls in the space below the
display. All of the replacement radios that I looked at were 1-space
high with all the controls scrunched up into one space. The installation
kit includes a new panel that's blank for the lower third or so. It
looks unfinished and ugly, and the controls for the radio aren't
conducive for operation without looking at them. Sorry, but I like knobs
and big buttons.
But I suppose the next car I get will have all of its controls on a
touch screen, which I dislike greatly, with rocker switches on the
steering wheel to adjust the volume and do things I don't want to do.
Given the age, I don't worry about the resale value of the car, but I'd
rather not have a wreck while trying to change stations or adjust the
volume. "Honest, officer, I wasn't texting while I was driving, I was
just trying to get NPR on my car radio."
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