Radio Cassette Swap

May 17, 2008

is it possible to just fit a regular cd/mp player into the gap that will be left by removal of the old unit?

how easy/hard is it to do

cheers

May 17, 2008

It should be. An M plate is very unlikely to have a special fit head unit.

More likely it'll be a standard size called DIN (probably) or Double DIN. If it's DIN then that's pretty much the standard size for head units. If it's Double DIN then a standard head unit + a blanking plate or anything else DIN sized (cup holder, gauges, etc) will fill the hole.

The leads are almost certainly not the same as those on a standard modern head unit but that's easily resolved with a converter lead from Autoleads. You can buy these on-line or at any accessory shop such as Halfords. They may not have the one you need in stock but they can usually get hold of the right one within a few days and cost is typically about £15.

Occasionally there are some extra complications - there are different leads for the MR2 according to the type of audio system it has for example. Not sure whether the same applies to the RAV so check. And again with the MR2 a new unit can interfere with the active amps on some cars. I don't know whether there might be this type of problem on your car, but probably not.

The existing unit will probably very well bolted in and so a lot of dismantling of the dash is often required to get them out. Then you usually bolt a cage that comes with the new head unit into the gap and the head unit will then slide into the cage.

Tricky bit is making sure you choose a head unit that won't look too out of place in your car.

May 17, 2008

cheers

i suppose no one on here has done this with the same year as mine?

it looks like a single din but may be a bit smaller

May 18, 2008

I would have thought with all the RAV owners there'd be someone who had done that to one that's the same version as yours.

I've done it on an MR2 and a Corolla of that year and also a slightly older Celica and in each case the job was almost identical. I'd be surprised if the RAV was much different in that respect, and also surprised if it wasn't a DIN size unit. Do you have any measurements or pictures, or the model number of the exisitng unit.

Is there a similar size component just below the head unit - perhaps that sticks out a couple of cm? There often is on Toyotas of that era, and if so it's just a blanking plate.

BTW - you'll find that places like Halfords will fit new head units for not much money, so if you're not keen on tackling the job yourself it shouldn't cost a fortune to get it done. With some head units free fitting is not uncommon (though of course in that case it's built into the price of the head unit).

If you also want a hands free kit consider the features of one of the units that has a built in phone. Or else to save much money and hassle just use a cassette adapter in the existing cassette slot - the sound quality is way better than most FM transmitters and cost is about £5.