(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best car audio & video input adapters

Honestly if all you want is an aux or bluetooth input you can get a box that connects to the back of your current head unit and adds an Aux input. You then select this input using the CD button because the Camry's headunit supports a CD changer that's accessed by hitting the cd button twice (first to select CD then the second press selects the CD changer). The box basically mimics a CD changer but sends whatever you put in through the Aux.
You can then very cheaply buy a bluetooth adapter online for bluetooth-aux and many of them come with good microphones.

That's what I did myself because I like that it's much more stealth than a new headunit so you're not worrying about people trying to steal your headunit or having to deal with removable faceplates or whatever.

You just need a plastic panel prying kit that you can buy online to help take your dash apart, but it's pretty easy and can be done in maybe 20 minutes. I did end up needing to get a ground loop isolator to cut out engine noise since the Camry was never really designed to have an aux input.

I would take a look at the back of the head unit first actually, because I'm almost sure the 2002 Camry head unit actually uses the same connector as the later models like this and apparently they have very cheap connector units now like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Moonet-Auxillary-Integration-Highlander-Landcruiser/dp/B00ITHJ5BQ They have ones listed for the 2002 but I'm almost sure that's for the older headunit model but you should look at the back of the headunit to make sure this will fit. I bought a pricier one but this was years ago, they still have more expensive kits out there too.

Then you just need a female to female 3.5mm adapter and one of these
https://www.amazon.com/Kinivo-BTC450-Bluetooth-Hands-Free-Input/dp/B009NLTW60/ (I own this one and it's great, but I got it on sale for cheaper than the current price)
https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Bluetooth-Hands-Free-BlackBerry-Smartphones/dp/B004EHZUYG (this one also has a good mic as well but don't bend the wires too much, I had the wired version and my wiring went bad.

/u/VeryCleverMoose okay, so this is the aux/30-pin cord that I bought and this is the adapter you need to go with it. There are dozens of things on amazon that are virtually the same, you just have to look through the reviews and questions and usually people say what it fits. Also, you will need a set of radio removal keys, I paid a few extra for ones that don't bend so easily here.
Tutorial:

• 1. Put a nice and thick towel over your center console. Sit in the passenger seat.
     
• 2. Insert a removal key into each slot with the angled part facing outwards until they click. Don't push until you bottom out. This isn't Brazzers.
     
• 3. With all 4 keys in, use a friend's help or use your thumb and pinky to grab a top and bottom key with each hand so the force is spread evenly between all four keys. Once the radio is loose, pull it out a bit and then - I needed a small flatblade screwdriver to help - depress the catch on the back of the radio to free each key.
     
• 4. Gently pull the radio completely forward and let it rest on the towel.
     
• 5. See the big 20 or whatever pin plug on the bottom right of the back of the radio (if you are looking directly at the back of the radio)? Unplug it, and plug it into the orange adapter.
     
• 6. Get a small zip tie and jumble up the 30-pin cord on the aux jack dongle. You don't want to nicely coil it however as this can create radio noise.
     
• 7. Unscrew a suitable screw on any clean metal on the back of the radio- may want to use a magnetic tipped screwdriver so you don't drop it. Put the grounding wire over the hole and screw the screw back in - make sure it's tight as you want a good connection.
     
• 8. Take the weird plug from the 30-pin/aux dongle (which is in our case blue) and slide it onto the adapter plug (green in this case)
     
• 9. Plug that assembled connector into the spot where you originally removed the 20-pin plug, it should click IIRC.
     
• 10. Put the 30-pin/aux dongle in the back of the radio cavity, and feed the aux jack right across the center of the opening. Open your little tray/drawer. There should be a slot that goes into it, and you can slip the aux jack through. Feed what you can through the opening, don't worry about coiling it into the drawer yet.
      
• 11. While keeping the aux cord taught and flat in the opening, slide the radio back into the hole. The aux cord should be down in the recessed channel in the center and the radio should slide right in over top of it.
      
• 12. You're done. Just be careful coiling up the cord so you don't jam the drawer up, and you will have to slam it a little bit so that it stays shut. Press the CD button when you want to use the aux jack as the input. It works perfectly, and only a tiny bit of static/noise from the engine when using the aux jack, and only if you're playing something dead quiet.
      

If you want to keep your factory radio, this will be your best option. It's a full integration unit to give you aux and apple device connections. If you have a lightning device, you'll need to get a 30-pin to lightning adapter. They work well, though.

Best part? Basically plug n play.

Here's the home site.

I'm really only looking for the Bluetooth/AUX connections. Will this work for that? Or is there a better solution?

A wiring harnesss like this? I didn't realize you had to wire each connection up to an after market stereo. Meh, shouldn't be that bad.

Am I better off just getting something like this?

That unit will probably work. I say probably because that listing doesn't list the RAV4 specifically, but a similar unit does. Hopefully you have better luck with such a product than I did.

My experience with the Grom unit was less than stellar. The radio would lock up once every few months and I would have to pull the fuse to reset things. I paid a lot of money for a buggy product that I could have used to replace the entire head unit.

A few things: If the transmitter or music player is powered by the car you could have an unintentional ground loop. This can add a hum/buzz to the audio, but can be fixed with a ground loop isolator.

I've gone through many many iterations of connecting audio to my car over the years, and FM transmitters were always unreliable. If you live in a dense area it'll be hard to find a frequency that isn't occupied, and as you drive around you'll run into interference from stations that weren't there when you originally picked your frequency. I tried several commercial FM transmitters and even ordered a more powerful hobby fm transmitter, but it wasn't much better. (This was back in 2003).

I eventually found that my car (02 Civic) head unit had an input for a CD changer which you could connect to with an adapter. That gave me clean audio with no hassle. I'd look into your head unit and see what your options are. Here's the adapter I used: HON-AUX.

I know you don't want to replace your head unit either, but if time is more valuable to you than money I'd definitely look at your head unit options.

Currently I have the factory system, without Onstar. Also I was thinking of possibly adding a Type-R 10" in the future but I also wanted to ensure the sub wasn't under-powered. I was under the impression that this adapter would fit. Thank you much for all of your advice.

Ahhhh, ok, that is starting to make sense now. When trying to figure out how to get under the dash the video that kept coming up was for a guy installing a GTA car kit and when he tested it it acted like a CD changer.

What I bought was this, which I didn't realize was going to come with a 20-pin connector which was never going to work in the first place. I tried cutting the connector down to 12 pins and wiring it based on this diagram but clearly that didn't work. Otherwise the long story is that I have a Japanese Rav4 that came with a Japanese Navi unit that doesn't have updates for other languages or GPS maps outside of Japan, but the stock US Rav4 head unit fits the regular harness just fine and I just have a few extra connectors lose inside the dash.

So if all I need is a simple 3.5mm jack dangling out, what would you guess would be the right way to go? I don't need anything fancy, just something that works.

Edit: would something like this be the bare minimum of what I need? I'm guessing yes.

I'm pretty sure those RCA jacks in the back are outputs, not inputs... The overview of that model lists 3 RCA preouts; front, rear, and sub and no input without either the CD-RB10 or CD-RB20 adapters. For a 3.5mm input you'll want the CD-RB20 and probably a 3.5mm feed through panel mount jack if you want a nice clean installation.

I use an aux audio input adapter on my '04 WJ Limited to get the audio over the vehicle speakers. It uses the CD changer input on the back of the radio head. You lose the CD changer if you have one, but as I haven't owned or listened to a CD in over a decade, I couldn't care less about that. Plus, you get a spiffy new audio input to stream music from your phone anyway without having to worry about fussy FM transmitters or cassette adapters, so it's a win. The CD changer was an option in the Laredo, but the head should still have the connector on the back regardless.

Thankfully, I don't have to deal with this problem on my newer vehicles, I just use a bluetooth transmitter for them, and it's awesome.

it's not related to aux in from the looks of it...

PAC makes a piece that is (somewhat...) plug and play, called the AAI GM12 linked here.

It should work for your dad's vehicle provided he has either a CD changer or XM (which is what I think that cable is for) that it can replace.

Otherwise I recommend the Audiovox FM100A which is an FM modulator that plugs directly in to the antenna input and bypasses outside FM signals when on. Had one a few lifetimes ago in my Acura CL and it worked wonderfully.

Honestly this is the product I would use. It's available for $40.

Requirements:
>Radio must have an "AUX" button to be compatible
Not compatible with navigation radios
Not compatible with Rear Seat Entertainment
Not compatible with Satellite Radio

Description
>The AAI-FD4 converts the Rear Seat Entertainment port of specified OEM Ford / Lincoln / Mercury “CAN-BUS” radios to RCA level audio input. The AAI-FD4 features built-in audio adjustment circuitry with a 0 to +20 dB input sensitivity range of 0.475 to 4.75 volts (peak to peak) allowing the installer to match the audio level of the AUX device to the audio level of the AM, FM, or CD modes of the factory radio.

Instructions

Focus disassembly instructions page 6

You should be able to add an AUX cord pretty easily; something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Yomikoo-Interface-Connector-2003-2011-2006-2010/dp/B01EUZ948Y/ref=sr_1_1/130-4631677-6513602?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1536936751&sr=1-1&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin%3A3822502011

I didn't look very hard at this so you may be able to find cheaper options but you need an adaptor like this.

They tend to be much cheaper for Japanese vehicles but one can easily speculate on why that is.

You have an unused port on the back of your radio. Take this adaptor, plug it in the back. It outputs to RCA cables which adapts to an aux cord.. this is the cleanest option and likely results in the best sound quality. Don't waste your time with cassette adaptors or fm transmitters unless you're a masochist.

It looks daunting, but keep in mind unless you go to a really good stereo shop they are just as likely to mess up your car's dash as you are. If not more likely since they're in a rush. The key is a set of nylon prybars like this:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014DT5L48?psc=1

I personally would skip installing some blingy theft magnet and get a Bluetooth adapter for the original stereo.

http://www.amazon.com/GROM-Audio-Bluetooth-Adapter-Auxiliary/dp/B00GU1NYN8

If you’re just looking for an aux connection for the stock stereo, I use this and then I got one of these to add Bluetooth connectivity. Cheap, easy to install, and sounds great. There are other versions of the Grom adapter that have USB connection and built-in Bluetooth too.

No. You'll need something like this.

PAC AAI-GM12 Auxiliary Audio Input for GM 2003 by PAC http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EAWOEK/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_DaIntb003SKX7

Have installed a similar unit on a 2006 Sierra and it worked great.

Just make sure you get the one for your radio type. Some are different.

Are these adapters (GROM, Parrot) in the $150 range ? If so, that's not as bad as I was thinking....

Budget option is something like this: https://smile.amazon.com/Yomikoo-Interface-Connector-2003-2011-2006-2010/dp/B01EUZ90II/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1568856305&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin%3A3822502011&s=electronics&sa-no-redirect=1&sr=1-1&th=1

Get one of these and plug it into the USB connection: https://smile.amazon.com/Firefly-Bluetooth-Receiver-Smallest-Streaming/dp/B01HDO66NK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=tunai&qid=1568856552&s=electronics&sr=1-1

Do NOT connect the 1/8" cable to your phone though. Connect it to the Bluetooth receiver. Looks like you'll need a 1/8" female to 1/8" female "coupler" too. This seems very clutzy the more I think about it though.....

That is not correct. The Lightning connector can and does output audio and allows for simultaneous charging.

I do that every day in my car using one of these:

Griffin iTrip AUX with AutoPilot Controls and Lightning Connector for iOS Devices - Control, charge, and play through your car stereo

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NCF0LHC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_e99DybGKPPWM4

That being said, I'm all for USB type C and hope that it becomes the de facto connector for all devices including future iPhones and other Apple devices.

It should if the layout of the dash hasn't changed much. This adapter will allow you to add aux to your factory headunit though. Depending on how much you can get the 2007 radio for the adapter may save you some money.

I accomplished this via the lighter port with a cheap adapter from Amazon. So it charger and connects to Carplay.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072KGMJ5N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here is a pic. https://imgur.com/gallery/dpbXJya

Looks to be about $50 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00NCF0LHC/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Found a much cheaper option without a lightning connector (Phone connects through BT, aux from the charger to the car) here for $32 - https://www.amazon.com/Griffin-iTrip-Bluetooth-Bluetooth-Hands-Free/dp/B00NC6LYCM

Edit - At that point, you can save yourself even more (Costs $13) and just use this - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01931JAVG/

Look which one the wires in the harness you have actually match up to wires on the factory harness when you plug it in. If both spots are populated, yeah, hook em both up. It won't be a problem. That whole harness is for the factory subwoofer amp.

For Pioneer, blue/white is amp turn-on AND power(ed) antenna trigger. Blue/white on the Pioneer is the one you need.

If you have turn on/off pop, you can either buy this, or make your own voltage divider with two resistors.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Impedance_voltage_divider.svg/220px-Impedance_voltage_divider.svg.png

So, unfortunately I was a little off on the price. It was $50 shipped from amazon. My girlfriend is big on research so I would be inclined to believe this is the most cost efficient method to add a 3.5mm input to your mid 2000's corolla.

Here is the link: Toyota corolla adapter

I bought it on amazon for $27. Just checked and its $50 not sure why.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/Griffin-iTrip-AUX-AutoPilot-Controls-and-Lightning-Connector-for-iOS-Devices-/252523152366?nav=SEARCH

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NCF0LHC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OSU7xbYTR2HVK


I found this one by scosche, its $29 but I dont think it has been released yet.

http://www.scosche.com/iphone-7-car-charger

You could use this car adaptor

There is this thing


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NCF0LHC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is it!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GU1NYN8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And here are the detailed instructions.

The quality is the same as the CD player - you won't even be able to tell a difference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X14hw9SDTtk

Theres a lot of them floating around: https://www.amazon.com/BATIGE-USB3-0-Extension-Waterproof-Motorcycle/dp/B072KGMJ5N/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?keywords=usb+mount&qid=1556251280&s=gateway&sr=8-9

I got one of these.

Has all of the necessary cables, the LED isn't too bright, and the controls are kind of handy.

Yes unfortunately you need to take apart your car to access the back of the radio.

you'll need a module in order to add an aux input to the stock radio (only buy this if you have the stock radio)

http://www.amazon.com/PAC-AAI-GM12-Auxiliary-Interface-Vehicles/dp/B001EAWOEK

that should work for your vehicle...if you are having trouble taking apart your car i suggest buying nylon prying tools and looking up how to take apart your dash on youtube!