Cost of stereo installation these days

[mooncancook]

New car electronics can be a pain in the ass for sure. In my link above, you can see the HVAC controls integrated with headunit, it draws it's power from the headunit lol. It really hampers aftermarket companies like Sosche etc from making DIN kits. When I figured out how to separate the Tribeca's HVAC from the headunit, there wasn't any info about it since no one even attempted it in the aftermarket. No one even bothered to try. The OP's forester is different though and orders of magnitude easier.

If the HVAC is integrated into the head unit, you might look into iDatalink Maestro RR and check if it supports your vehicle. The head unit I bought supports it but I don't need it since the Forester's is not that integrated yet. I do agree that the new cars can be PITA. For my 04 STi though I will probably go DIY if I'm to change the head unit since it's standard double din and there's no steering wheel control.

 

[thesmokingman]

If the HVAC is integrated into the head unit, you might look into iDatalink Maestro RR and check if it supports your vehicle. The head unit I bought supports it but I don't need it since the Forester's is not that integrated yet. I do agree that the new cars can be PITA. For my 04 STi though I will probably go DIY if I'm to change the head unit since it's standard double din and there's no steering wheel control.

The HVAC is linked but as I wrote in the post you quoted, I figured out how to separate it.

http://imgur.com/a/nNGMG

 

[Midwayman]

If you use www.Crutchfield.com they will send you the adapter harness free along with instructions. No research required

Kinda sorta. I referenced them for adapters, but if you're going from a navi unit to another navi unit they only had maybe 20% of the required connectors. I had to find most of them on digikey/mouser.

Crutchfield is okay for basic installs but if you want full integration you're going to have to do some legwork. Metra doesn't carry most of what I needed anyways (Thats mostly what crutchfield stocks, but index per car and stereo.)

 

[mooncancook]

I finally had it installed. With parts for steering wheel adapter and harness and labor it costed me about $300. Wish I have the skills and tools to DIY, it's kind of like plumbing works, I can probably do it myself but may end up with a leak somewhere.

Anyway now I got Android Auto working, and I'm going to get a Miracast adapter to connect to the HDMI port. Here's a couple pic of the finished product. 2nd pic shows the flush mount by drilling a hole.

 

[tracerbullet]

Looks like $300 well spent. Nice to have it working, looking good and just move on.

Congrats!

 

[thesmokingman]

Yar, i concur. It looks good.