Andrizzle
Dedicated LVC Member
Mainly posting this thread for those who search in the future with questions regarding replacing the factory nav radio setup, as times progresses, more and more people will want to update their setups.
Anyways the install was a little more involved than I had originally planned.
Okay this will probably be long-winded and confusing, but once you dive into this project it will all start to make sense.
First off, the reasons it is complicated:
No actual harness is made for the stock connector that carries the audio and amp signals. There is however the standard harness that connects to the C290D does work in this application (kind of).
I bypassed the stock amps and used the HU for the doors, and already have an aftermarket for subwoofer, so your amp bypass may be a little different. What you could do, is splice the speaker leads going into the amp in the back into a pair of RCA cables and then run the cables up to the headunit and utilize both of the AVIC's front and rear speaker RCA outputs.
-This photo is the actual connector (on the left) that is the one that you will be hacking into. This is all of the audio wires and amp turn on wires that go to the rear amplifiers.
-This is a photo of mine after cutting all of the audio signal wires and splicing them into the AVIC's provided harness. Note: the colors do not match, nor the pin locations match the C290D setup. You have to look up each wire as you solder them to make sure you get them all right, I did them one @ a time cutting them out of the C2253D harness so I would not get any mixed up.
This is the end result after the C2253D is done:
-The only wires utilized from the C290D are the constant power, switched power, ground, dimmer (though use the ash tray if you want the controllable dim), & steering wheel controls.
One thing to be aware of is, if using the SWC adapter, you must ground (pin19) and attach the white wire on the adapter to the brown wire coming out of the harness (pin18). However, the aftermarket harness does not come with a pin 19 lead, so you must go behind the OEM connector and cut it to get access to it, remember this is the wire going into pin19 and you must ground it.
This is the end result after the C290D is done:
-Next up is the trunk of the vehicle behind the driver's side carpet, this is where your OEM THX door speakers amp is located. There is 3 bolts holding a bracket which is then holding the amp. Like noted above in italics, I bypassed this amp. In simple terms, you are basically taking the speaker leads leading into the amp from the HU, and attaching them to the amp's output that then runs to the door speakers. Note: This is a pretty heavy amp, don't let its size fool you!
This is a photo of were the amp was located and you can see the green connector is the other end of the C2253D which is also carrying turn on signal and power/ground leads. The speaker wires match accordingly to the input/output on both sides of the amp, so it is a simple matching game back here:
-That is pretty much it for the actual hack jobs - just take your time and it is not too difficult. I have done all the dirty work for you. One thing not pictured is the rear-signal splice which can be found in the rear view mirror, it is blue and white.
This is a photo of the screen you will have to click through if you do not do the bypass correctly. This is simply moving the mute wire that is on the AVIC's harness and moving it over one pin and then grounding this wire with the parking brake wire:
Finished:
This is a photo of the microphone used for voice commands and also telephone calls. I LOVE this feature! The mic is mounted in the center, you can see it just in front of the button for on/off rear-park assist:
This is me listening to baby got back:
Here is the rear view camera/navigation mode you can use while driving. I have noticed this can be distracting though... Haha. When you switch into reverse the camera goes full wide screen, also the rear park assist still works in conjunction with this and makes for a very secure setup:
This is the phone screen that automatically refreshes once the phone is in bluetooth range and connects as soon as I enter the LS. I use my 'Voice' button on my SWC to get to this screen and answer an incoming call. Very cool feature:
This is the contact list from my phone, I gave a hidden shout-out to a member on here if you look closely:
This is the actual rear-view camera. It is built with what appears to be extremely high quality material. I was impressed with it's finish and durable feel:
Thanks for looking guys, I was going to take photos of the cool Pandora integration that this HU has, but my phone needs to be connected when playing that, but I was using my phone to take the photos, so yea... lol
Anyways the install was a little more involved than I had originally planned.
Okay this will probably be long-winded and confusing, but once you dive into this project it will all start to make sense.
First off, the reasons it is complicated:
No actual harness is made for the stock connector that carries the audio and amp signals. There is however the standard harness that connects to the C290D does work in this application (kind of).
I bypassed the stock amps and used the HU for the doors, and already have an aftermarket for subwoofer, so your amp bypass may be a little different. What you could do, is splice the speaker leads going into the amp in the back into a pair of RCA cables and then run the cables up to the headunit and utilize both of the AVIC's front and rear speaker RCA outputs.
-This photo is the actual connector (on the left) that is the one that you will be hacking into. This is all of the audio wires and amp turn on wires that go to the rear amplifiers.
-This is a photo of mine after cutting all of the audio signal wires and splicing them into the AVIC's provided harness. Note: the colors do not match, nor the pin locations match the C290D setup. You have to look up each wire as you solder them to make sure you get them all right, I did them one @ a time cutting them out of the C2253D harness so I would not get any mixed up.
This is the end result after the C2253D is done:

-The only wires utilized from the C290D are the constant power, switched power, ground, dimmer (though use the ash tray if you want the controllable dim), & steering wheel controls.
One thing to be aware of is, if using the SWC adapter, you must ground (pin19) and attach the white wire on the adapter to the brown wire coming out of the harness (pin18). However, the aftermarket harness does not come with a pin 19 lead, so you must go behind the OEM connector and cut it to get access to it, remember this is the wire going into pin19 and you must ground it.
This is the end result after the C290D is done:

-Next up is the trunk of the vehicle behind the driver's side carpet, this is where your OEM THX door speakers amp is located. There is 3 bolts holding a bracket which is then holding the amp. Like noted above in italics, I bypassed this amp. In simple terms, you are basically taking the speaker leads leading into the amp from the HU, and attaching them to the amp's output that then runs to the door speakers. Note: This is a pretty heavy amp, don't let its size fool you!
This is a photo of were the amp was located and you can see the green connector is the other end of the C2253D which is also carrying turn on signal and power/ground leads. The speaker wires match accordingly to the input/output on both sides of the amp, so it is a simple matching game back here:

-That is pretty much it for the actual hack jobs - just take your time and it is not too difficult. I have done all the dirty work for you. One thing not pictured is the rear-signal splice which can be found in the rear view mirror, it is blue and white.
This is a photo of the screen you will have to click through if you do not do the bypass correctly. This is simply moving the mute wire that is on the AVIC's harness and moving it over one pin and then grounding this wire with the parking brake wire:

Finished:

This is a photo of the microphone used for voice commands and also telephone calls. I LOVE this feature! The mic is mounted in the center, you can see it just in front of the button for on/off rear-park assist:

This is me listening to baby got back:

Here is the rear view camera/navigation mode you can use while driving. I have noticed this can be distracting though... Haha. When you switch into reverse the camera goes full wide screen, also the rear park assist still works in conjunction with this and makes for a very secure setup:

This is the phone screen that automatically refreshes once the phone is in bluetooth range and connects as soon as I enter the LS. I use my 'Voice' button on my SWC to get to this screen and answer an incoming call. Very cool feature:

This is the contact list from my phone, I gave a hidden shout-out to a member on here if you look closely:


This is the actual rear-view camera. It is built with what appears to be extremely high quality material. I was impressed with it's finish and durable feel:

Thanks for looking guys, I was going to take photos of the cool Pandora integration that this HU has, but my phone needs to be connected when playing that, but I was using my phone to take the photos, so yea... lol