Pioneer AVH-P4400BH installed in 2012 WRX

[slowhat]

Ladies and gents***8230;.installing a Pioneer AVH P4400-BH in a 2012 WRX, and retaining use of the factory steering wheel controls. (if you guys see anything that needs to be added here, please PM me and I will do so)

Here's what you need.
1 Pioneer AVH P4400-BH (or similar H/U from the AVH series)
1 20 pin forward harness like the one found here. http://ae64.com/20-pinfwdharness.htm The harness on the link contains 3 wires not typically found in the harness supplied from many retailers like Crutchfield. You can either purchase from SVXdc, which I recommend because hi knowledge and customer service is second to none, or you can add the wires your self.
1 Axxess ASWC It can't hurt to update the firmware before install. SVXdc can sell you one that is up to date at the time of sale. I lucked out and bought mine from Amazon and it was updated already to the latest and greatest firmware.
1 Dash kit. On my install I used the one supplied for "free" from Crutchfield. It's Scosche part # SU2027B
1 parking brake bypass. These can be had for well under $10 bucks on ebay, or built yourself. This will allow full operation of, not only Bluetooth calling, but also, allow video to be played while the vehicle is in motion. While I don't think it's a good idea to watch video while driving, it is nice to have total control over Bluetooth calling while on the move. I don't think it's any worse than navigating through thousands of songs on an ipod while driving.

WIRING: First things first. Get everything wired. Wiring a car stereo is not brain surgery. Take your time, make good connections and take advantage of information like the stuff posted over at http://ae64.com/Subaru-20-pin-harness-install.htm I was going to write a step by step on wiring the harnesses together, but it's pointless when it can't really be stated any better that SVXdc did on his site. Also on his site, specifically here http://ae64.com/aswc-install.htm , he lays out instructions for wiring in the ASWC. Please note that the colors in the instructions, variation "B" for the 2012 wrx, are specific to his harness and could vary if you build your own.
If you're wiring in a bypass, you will need to connect this also. Mine has a green wire that goes to the light green Parking Brake signal wire on the Pioneer harness, a red accessory power wire, black ground, and blue remote wire that connects to the "remote" signal wire on the Pio harness.

DASH KIT: Putting a dash kit on a H/U is very simple, but there is an important bit to note if you are using the Scosche kit (part# SU2027B). There is a piece that frames the face of the H/U and 2 pieces that screw into the side of the H/U to hold it in place. The 2 side pieces hold to the front frame by 2 sort of tongue and groove slots on either side. Once this is assembled and slid over the front of the H/U, you need to screw it in to the chassis of the H/U. When doing so be sure to only partially tighten the screws on both sides. Once you have all of the screws installed, position the front face of the H/U within the frame so that there is a small gap on the top of the H/U and not the bottom. Now, finish tightening the screws. The gap in the front is not large enough to cause an aesthetic issue, but it is imperative for the 4400 to be able to open, close, and tilt properly. If you have a 3400, or another model that does not have a moving face there should be no worries regarding the gap I spoke of above.

DISMANTLING THE DASH: Ok, so now that you have a big nasty pile of wires, it's time to rip apart your dash. It's easy. I've seen instructions that show a guy taking off a whole lot of trim from the passenger side vent near the door all the way in to the H/U. This is unnecessary. Start at the bottom right corner of the light gray trim that surrounds the stock head unit, and if need be, using a panel removal tool or a wide flat tool (something that won't scratch everything up!!) gently, but forcefully pry it up. A clip should pop out, then work your way up and around the trim and remove the whole thing. You can also do it without any tools as demonstrated by me below.

YouTube (Short URL)

YouTube (Short URL)

Now, with that set aside, there are 4 screws, marked by red arrows in the photo below (the photo was taken well after the install was complete, but the screw positions do not change with a factory or aftermarket H/U). Remove them, and be careful not to drop those suckers down in the opening. Now you have plenty of room to work. If you want even more room, unscrew the 2 screws, marked by yellow arrows, that hold in the last piece of HVAC ducting and that will pull right out. There is a plastic protrusion, circled in yellow, that helps line up the duct when reinstalling. (side note--I found removing the ducting helpful when I wanted to reprogram my ASWC. I was able to leave my H/U installed and still have good visibility of the red LED on the ASWC module.) Now, pull the factory H/U out and unplug the many wires from the rear of it. Booyah! The hard part is over.


WIRE ROUTING: Plug in your 20 pin harness, that has been connected to the ASWC, bypass and H/U harness, to the car's harness. Figure out where you want to route your ipod cables, and bluetooth mic. I had originally intended to put my ipod in the center console, but as you will notice once you have the factory H/U removed, there is a very easy way to route the cable into the glove box without having to drill or worry about the open/close of the door being compromised. If you're mounting the mic on top of the steering column, its wire can be routed easily towards the steering column and up behind it without interference with the tilt/telescopic wheel function through an opening under the dash beside/behind the H/U. With the stock H/U removed, the path is easily seen. You might find it helpful to "stick" the wire to the plastic bits behind the steering wheel to eliminate any slack. I lucked out and had some cable clips left over from the CD-BTB200 bluetooth adapter that I had installed in a previous car.

INSTALLATION: Once your wires are routed and tucked where you want them, plug in the Pioneer harness and everything that needs to be plugged in (Bluetooth mic, USB cable, aux video cable, RCAs for amp, etc.) to the Pio H/U. Slide the H/U into place and replace the 4 screws to secure it (and the HVAC duct/screws if you removed them). Mount your bluetooth mic. This is a good time to program your ASWC to get on and off hook buttons to work before you button everything back up. Test it out and make sure everything works correctly. Replace the dash trim. Enjoy!

YouTube (Short URL)

YouTube (Short URL)

here's a photo of RockyMtnGT's set up. he's using the CDM/JDM dash surround with no open/close issues with the 4400:

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[blessthekellen]

from what I've played around with they are a pretty good deck as per usual from Pioneer.
The built in bluetooth is terrific in the full 7" screen compared to the 5.8" with the 3300BT last year. The add on module always sucked, never transferred phone-book, and a few other things.

The ONLY thing I don't enjoy about the 4400 is the actual interface looks very pixelated. Other than that, I think you'll enjoy it!

[Ying]

Subscribed for further details. I'm still waiting for my local car audio place to receive the new Pioneer inventory but it looks like the 4400BH is what I'm getting. They seem to prefer the PAC steering wheel control stuff over the Axxess though so I'm not sure if I should be worried about that or not. They'll be doing the install because I'm completely electrically incompetent. As long a I get the steering wheel controls working I'm happy. Will I need the 20 pin harness from SVXdc that I've read a little about?

[badz]

subscribed. Will write back after work!

[WRXinpa]

Super helpful! I'm planning on installing the same HU in the next couple months. Please update with the harness you choose and how the Axxess works out.


BTW...might want to check out the bands Defeater and Touche Amore...technically hardcore bands but you might like it

[slowhat]

ha! thanks for the music recommendation.....I like hardcore, but I'm a little old/ old school....Bane, Slapshot, Madball, H2O, Agnostic Front, SOIA, CIV. But I'm open to anything.

I'm about to order a harness from SVXdc once he returns my email I will post the specs so you can get the same one, if need be.

And I will post regarding the Axxess as well.

cheers!

[WRXinpa]

Bane was the first hardcore show I went to when I was 15! Check out Touche Amore for sure.

[badz]

Lookin good! Just a few quesitons:

- Did you use a kit to hide any spaces on the sides? Or did you grab one of those smaller stereo panels?

- Did you have to undo the entire dash starting from the passenger side as described in this post here in order to install?

- What was wrong with the wiring harness from Axxess?


I know I'm asking some nitty gritty questions, but I'm just trying to build the confidence to do this myself soup to nuts, rather than waste the cash on an installer.

[infinite012]

If you have a thin and strong enough tool you won't have to remove the entire passenger side swoop. I can get radio trim out of my 2008 STI with a wide, thin, flathead screwdriver.

[addictionsoLA]

+1 on the screw driver, I wrapped mine in electrical tape just to be sure not to scratch the bezel, but if you stick it in the middle of the driver side and work it up to the corner and pop it out the rest came out pretty easy.

[badz]

Originally Posted by infinite012

If you have a thin and strong enough tool you won't have to remove the entire passenger side swoop. I can get radio trim out of my 2008 STI with a wide, thin, flathead screwdriver.

Originally Posted by addictionsoLA

+1 on the screw driver, I wrapped mine in electrical tape just to be sure not to scratch the bezel, but if you stick it in the middle of the driver side and work it up to the corner and pop it out the rest came out pretty easy.

Sounds good. Thanks! Taking the entire passenger side swoop out was getting me a little nervous so it's great news to hear that you can in fact get at the radio without all that.

[slowhat]

Originally Posted by Ying

Subscribed for further details. I'm still waiting for my local car audio place to receive the new Pioneer inventory but it looks like the 4400BH is what I'm getting. They seem to prefer the PAC steering wheel control stuff over the Axxess though so I'm not sure if I should be worried about that or not. They'll be doing the install because I'm completely electrically incompetent. As long a I get the steering wheel controls working I'm happy. Will I need the 20 pin harness from SVXdc that I've read a little about?

you only need that harness if you want to wire in a SWC module without cutting into the factory wiring.

[flawlessninja]

looks good! mine is coming in this week! can't wait to install!

[slowhat]

Originally Posted by badz

Lookin good! Just a few quesitons:

- Did you use a kit to hide any spaces on the sides? Or did you grab one of those smaller stereo panels?

- Did you have to undo the entire dash starting from the passenger side as described in this post here in order to install?

- What was wrong with the wiring harness from Axxess?


I know I'm asking some nitty gritty questions, but I'm just trying to build the confidence to do this myself soup to nuts, rather than waste the cash on an installer.

I'm using the Scosche dash kit that came with my H/U for "free" from Crutchfield. The kits you linked to are nice, but I'm fine with the Scosche. It blends well enough with the rest of the dash for my tastes. The only thing you have to be sure of with this dash kit and the 4400 is that when you attach it to the H/U chassis, you have to be sure the H/U is resting on the lower part of the opening. A gap of about 1/8" is left on the top of the dash kit opening. You can't see the gap after it's installed, but this is crucial for allowing the face to push out when tilting the view or ejecting/loading a disc. I had the h/u pushed up in the kit on my initial setup and threw a **** fit when I realized the unit wouldn't open. I made the adjustment and it's all good now.

As the other guys said, no need to remove the left part of the dash to access the trim. All of their methods will suffice to get that sucker cracked open.

As for the Axxess wiring....nothing was "wrong" with it. The only issue i ran into was whenI realized I'd have to cut into the Subaru's wiring to hook it up. I installed it without steering wheel controls, and today I ordered a new harness from SVXdc. That guy knows his stuff and answered my emails promptly. Hopefully, I'll have my harness by this weekend, and If i get the time I will pull the H/U out, wire in the new harness and have steering wheel controls.

You can do this install. This is one of the easiest cars I've dealt with. I've had a civic SI and a mazdaspeed 3, both of which required the dash to be dissected to get to the H/U.

Get your nuts out of the soup and do it. you'll be fine. there's plenty of resources here. hell, PM me and I'll scan the crutchfield master sheet and email it to you. easy step by step instructions with pics. save your money by not paying an installer.

[slowhat]

Originally Posted by flawlessninja

looks good! mine is coming in this week! can't wait to install!

post some pics in here when you get it installed, and i'll change this to the official AVH-P4400BH thread.

[badz]

Originally Posted by slowhat

I'm using the Scosche dash kit that came with my H/U for "free" from Crutchfield. The kits you linked to are nice, but I'm fine with the Scosche. It blends well enough with the rest of the dash for my tastes. The only thing you have to be sure of with this dash kit and the 4400 is that when you attach it to the H/U chassis, you have to be sure the H/U is resting on the lower part of the opening. A gap of about 1/8" is left on the top of the dash kit opening. You can't see the gap after it's installed, but this is crucial for allowing the face to push out when tilting the view or ejecting/loading a disc. I had the h/u pushed up in the kit on my initial setup and threw a **** fit when I realized the unit wouldn't open. I made the adjustment and it's all good now.

I'm having a hard time visualizing but I'm sure when I'm in the thick of it I'll know what you're talking about here. Thanks for the heads up.

As for the Axxess wiring....nothing was "wrong" with it. The only issue i ran into was whenI realized I'd have to cut into the Subaru's wiring to hook it up. I installed it without steering wheel controls, and today I ordered a new harness from SVXdc. That guy knows his stuff and answered my emails promptly. Hopefully, I'll have my harness by this weekend, and If i get the time I will pull the H/U out, wire in the new harness and have steering wheel controls.

I was still a bit confused about this part, but as I started typing I think I figured it out. There's a wire harness in the Pioneer box, and another wire harness you get for your Subie (I think Crutchfield includes it as one of those "free" accessories") and then you gotta connect them like in this post. But I'm guessing that picture only handles the head unit itself? And there is a separate set of wires with a separate wire harness for the SWC?

You can do this install. This is one of the easiest cars I've dealt with. I've had a civic SI and a mazdaspeed 3, both of which required the dash to be dissected to get to the H/U.

Get your nuts out of the soup and do it. you'll be fine. there's plenty of resources here. hell, PM me and I'll scan the crutchfield master sheet and email it to you. easy step by step instructions with pics. save your money by not paying an installer.

Thanks for that. I pulled the trigger on a 3400bt from Crutchfield last night so if I stick with it I'll have the detailed manual from them too. Of course my old friend from high school saw my post about my purchase on FB and then tells me he could get me a way better price b/c he works at a shop . So we'll see what ends up happening in the end. If my buddy can get me a good enough price I might return the Crutchfield 3400 and get the 4400 through my buddy. If that happens I might hit you up for that master sheet.

Thanks again for your time! Definitely appreciate the effort of posting your experience and the additional votes of encouragement

[Ying]

Originally Posted by slowhat

you only need that harness if you want to wire in a SWC module without cutting into the factory wiring.

How many wires are we talking here? I might as well just get the 20 pin, but I was just curious.

[slowhat]

badz:
the kit fitment thing I discussed is far more easily understood when you have the H/U and kit in your lap ready to assemble.
Wiring for my car after I get the SVXdc harness in the mail will be as follows. The H/U has a harness, the ASWC has a harness, and then there's the 3rd harness, in my case, from SVXdc. You wire the H/U harness, and a few of the wires from the ASWC harness to the SVXdc harness. Once those are wired, you simply plug the SVXdc harness in to the car then plug what needs to plug in to the H/U and you are good.
Think of it as if the H/U and ASWC and SVXdc harness are triple teaming the car for some dirty audio sex, but the ASWC and the H/U and 3rd harness are already humping eachother while they approach the car's harness. pretty disgusting, eh? but you won't forget how it works.
DO EEEET!

Ying:
make it easy on yourself and buy the 20pin forward harness from SVXdc. It's under $20 shipped and he adds the SWC wires for you, so there's no chance of F'ing up your car's wiring by having to tap into or cut them.

here's a pic of the SVXdc harness that I ordered to replace my currently installed one. My only regret is that I didn't buy this first:

[s2ktosti]

Ah, I just used the metra harness and added the wires I needed to it. Not really all that difficult, just make a trip to radio shack. I also made my own bypass for the handbrake thing.

[slowhat]

Originally Posted by s2ktosti

Ah, I just used the metra harness and added the wires I needed to it. Not really all that difficult, just make a trip to radio shack. I also made my own bypass for the handbrake thing.

I do have a bypass wired in as well, but too lazy for the harness.

[jetspeed]

Nice! Great timing on this thread. I just received my 4400BH yesterday. Where did you mount the Bluetooth mic? Steering column, visor or somewhere else?

[slowhat]

Originally Posted by jetspeed

Nice! Great timing on this thread. I just received my 4400BH yesterday. Where did you mount the Bluetooth mic? Steering column, visor or somewhere else?

steeing column, top and kind of over the edge with the mic peeking up over

oh, and definitely get/build a bypass. not necessarily for video in motion, but bluetooth/telephone function is severely limited while driving.

[Ying]

If you get time at some point, please post pics of where the mic is. I'm trying to visualize what you're saying.

[slowhat]

Originally Posted by Ying

If you get time at some point, please post pics of where the mic is. I'm trying to visualize what you're saying.

not a great pic, but i was facing the sun.

my description of it being over the edge was inaccurate. I thought i had mounted it further back

[jetspeed]

Cool, thanks. How would one build a bypass you mentioned? Or where do I get one? (for BT)