The 1st comprehensive 2008 impreza dash & radio removal guide

[wkderf]

just a heads up. at this very moment my friends & I are working on installing a few goodies into our friends brand new 2008 WRX wagon. after a solid hour of sheer frustration, we are over the hedge in figuring out how to remove the dash & radio to install aftermarket equipment. we are taking pictures & making notes as we go. We will post up pics, wire color codes, and tips when we finish the install this evening.

just a quick note though - the GE chassis is NOT as easy to work on interior wise as the chassis before it.


Fred



Edit: the work is finished but we realized we didnt take pictures of a few key things so we are getting them now & will have all the info up soon. but for now - here are the wire codes for the radio harness.

Radio 12V: blue/red

Ground: black/blue

Accessory: yellow/red

Illumination: purple

Power antenna turn on: yellow/black

LF + / - white/black - blue/orange

RF + / - green - brown/yellow

LR + / - red/black - white/red

RR + / - red/white - gray/green

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[bigdsti]

teh subscriborZ.

I'll be doing this next month in an 08 STi so any pics, tips, and tricks you guys have will be very helpful!

I'll be installing a single DIN head unit and a pocket right above it, and later this year replacing the pocket with a single DIN 42 Draft Designs triple gauge pod above the head unit for a nice "factory" look. I'll probably have to custom fit the gaige pod, but that won't be too difficult.

[Mooneyes13]

IN for this info

[terwilliger]

OK, the wire guide looks good to go, I'm assuming you are not using a specific built wiring harness adapter. What about a bracket for fitting it in the dash? are you using last years version? the factory radio (I have a base model) looks wider than a din size. I made a profile just to pay attention to this post, so thanks for the help!
~Ben

[bigdsti]

bump. pics yet?

[Aaron'z 2.5RS]

PICS?????????????????? or fail

[wkderf]

ist thing to to is remove the side panel to access the corner of the dash trim:


once that is removed, you can grab the edge of the dash trim piece:


from here, you can pull on the edge of the trim piece & air vent & the clips will start to pop off:


here is where is gets tricky: the way the trim piece clips in, you have to pull very carefully to get it off the car. i found pulling up then down got the upper & lower clips off. this was one of the toughest parts.


in this pic, you can see the slots that the tabs from the trim piece fits into:


what sucks is that the bezel that surrounds the radio can be removed without getting this mazzive trim piece off, but the clips are soooo tight, and there is no place to get a grip on the bexel piece to remove it by itself.

[wkderf]

a few close ups of the clips that hold the dash pieces in:







now that the bezel & trim are out - we can easily remove the radio:


a shot of the back of the OEM radio for reference:


the radio removed:


a total side note: the blue mood light that lights up the pocket in the dash:

[wkderf]

the little condom acts to diffuse the light & make it more even:




A defi control unit just happens to fit perfectly in this lower portion of the dash. subaru is gettin better!


and for those curious about the A pillar airbag, the bag itself is only on the very top portion. see below:

[wkderf]

the lower dash, similar to other model years, comes off with a few clips:


the gauge surround also pops off with a little tugging force:



The dash is like LEGOs, everything has an order to it, so the best thing to do is to start with the side & lower dash panels, & work your way from there.

[iridebmx]

Great pics, thanks. The fact that the Defi fits is a "shocker"

[SVXdc]

Here are a few closer pics of the non-Navi 2008 factory radio (courtesy of Gary, who bought one on eBay).

It's made by Clarion. Model number (on front) is CZ641U6. Model number on the label is PF-2950A-A. Part number 86201FG640.

(click on these thumbnails to see full-sized images)

Front:

.

Rear:

.

Label on top:

.

Close-up of new-style 20-pin power/speaker connector:

.

The connector has two rows of 9 smaller pins, plus two larger pins on the far left and right sides.

It's physically the same as the one on the 2007 Nisson Maxima and Versa, although the pin assignments may be different. [UPDATED:] Most of the pin assignments are the same. I already know that Metra's aftermarket harnesses for the Nissan (into car: 70-7552, and into radio or reverse: 71-7552) do not include wires for ground or illumination.

As wkderf wrote in post #1, the Subaru car's harness has 13 wires populated — 4 speakers, ground, +12V battery (constant), +12V accessory (switched), antenna remote control, and illumination.

UPDATED: According to Subaru's wiring diagram, the car's harness has two pins for illumination and dimmer, just like on the 14-pin harness in older/other years/models. The new harness also has the two wires for "satellite switches" (remote control buttons on the steering wheel), and adds two wires for CAN bus. 18 wires total.

UPDATED: I've posted the complete pin-out here. More information is in my "Stock HU Info" thread here.

[bwanaaa]

i assume the same harness plugs into the oem nav/radio. Is there a gray wire than needs to be grounded so the nav will be operable while the vehicle is in motion.?

[bobaru]

Actually, the navigation unit uses the older style audio/power connector for the sound/power but adds a connector that gets more info from the car, including, yes, the emergency/parking brake grounding signal. I have done a write-up on my experience defeating the while moving DVD / Navigation lock-out and you can find it here:
http://www.webjogger.com/WRX/2008WRX/08wrxnav.htm

So the nav uses this connector for sound:
http://www.geocities.com/svxdc/WRX-pinout.htm

And the one pictured below for other vehicle info.

Also, here is a pic of the Navigation connector:

[inquestec2002]

is there a harness or way to hook up an 2005 oem radio to the new wrx??

[littlewhitewagon]

^^ Use the old subaru reverse harness and new subaru adapter harness... but the width of the radio is different.

[inquestec2002]

where,are,these,harness??something,i,have,to,order ??

[gen_pete]

thanks for the pics, glad to see someone did this before I tore into my dash

[scro]

Originally Posted by SVXdc

[UPDATED:] Most of the pin assignments are the same. I already know that Metra's aftermarket harnesses for the Nissan (into car: 70-7552, and into radio or reverse: 71-7552) do not include wires for ground or illumination.

As wkderf wrote in post #1, the Subaru car's harness has 13 wires populated - 4 speakers, ground, +12V battery (constant), +12V accessory (switched), antenna remote control, and illumination.

[UPDATED:] According to Subaru's wiring diagram, the car's harness has two pins for illumination and dimmer, just like on the 14-pin harness in older/other years/models. The new harness also has the two wires for "satellite switches" (remote control buttons on the steering wheel), and adds two wires for CAN bus.

Great info!
Which pin did you use for illumination? A1 or A2? Thanks

EDIT: No worries, I just used A1 and it works.

[falconeight]

Quick Question, If I would want to add a OEM nav to a STI that came with the stock OEM stereo is it a plug and play or are the connections missing.

[xthompsx]

Just wanted to share some info on installing a Pioneer AVIC-F900BT GPS/DVD in my 2008 Impreza WRX (non-nav). It took a fair amount of searching for these detail so I hope it save some trouble for others:


Connections:

Antenna - just plug in the factory plug into the back of the deck, no adaptor needed.

Subaru 20 pin connector pin out:

_____2___3___4___5___6___7___8___9___10
1_______________________________________20
_____11__12__13__14__15__16__17__18__19


1 = GRND

2 = violet (+12 with lights on)
3 = Black/White (Dimmer)
4 = yellow/red (+12 accessory)
5 = Brown (steering wheel controls)
6 = red/black (speaker LR)
7 = white/red (speaker LR)
8 = white/black (speaker LF)
9 = blue/orange (speaker LF)
10 = yellow/black (power antenna)

11 = green/red (????)
12 = pink (????)
13 = none
14 = yellow (steering wheel controls)
15 = red/white (speaker RR)
16 = gray/green (speaker RR)
17 = green (speaker RF)
18 = brown/yellow (speaker RF)
19 = none

20 = +12 constant (i.e battery)

Pioneer Color Code

white = LF Speaker +
white/black = LF Speaker -
green = LR Speaker +
green/black = LR Speaker -
gray = RF Speaker +
gray/black = RF Speaker -
violet = RR Speaker +
violet/black = RR Speaker -

black = GRND
yellow = +12 const (battery)
red = +12 accessory on
orange/white = +12 with lights on
light green = parking brake (to GRND if you wish to defeat restriction on watching video while in motion).
pink = speed signal input (I didn't connect this and everything seems fine)
violet/white = reverse gear signal (I didn't use this one - as I don't drive backward and try to use the gps at the same time).

yellow/black (upper row left on the second harness - the one with all the RCA plugs) = Audio Mute (if you move the pin in this connector to the empty space on the lower row 4th space from left and then ground this wire (and the light green parking break wire) you will have the ability to use all functions while in motion. Of course none of you would do this in an Impreza but you could.

Steering Wheel Controls:
Use a PESWIPS Interface (got mine at Fry's)
www.peripheralelectronics.com
Follow the Nissan 2008 Pathfinder Instructions

Connect:
Black to GRND
Red to +12 accessory
White to pin 14 yellow on subaru radio harness
then ground pin 5 brown on the subaru harness
You don't use any of the other wires.

Connect output of PESWIPS to the jack on the back of the deck.
Program the buttons as per the instructions.

Hope this helps someone.

[Go Loud]

I am getting an 09 WRX with the standard 4 speaker stereo.
Can anybody tell me if the vehicle is pre-wired for all of the 10 speaker locations even though only 4 speakers are utilized in the base system.

It would save me a lot of work running wires if this is the case.

[Magic Marker]

Originally Posted by falconeight

Quick Question, If I would want to add a OEM nav to a STI that came with the stock OEM stereo is it a plug and play or are the connections missing.

I'd love to know that answer.

[Impreza_R34]

I too would love to know that answer. I'm thinking about having it put in anyway. But If this works I can save a hell a lot of money.

[Courteau]

Originally Posted by Go Loud

I am getting an 09 WRX with the standard 4 speaker stereo.
Can anybody tell me if the vehicle is pre-wired for all of the 10 speaker locations even though only 4 speakers are utilized in the base system.

It would save me a lot of work running wires if this is the case.

there isnt really 10 speaker...

there is 4 speaker, one in each doors, and 6 tweeters:
two next to the pillars and one with each of the 4 speakers, fitted with a bracket in the middle.. looks like a coaxial speakers...
so saying it got 10 speakers is pretty much BS