Let me begin by saying that the last time I installed a car stereo was back in 2009. I worked at Circuit City and we carried mostly Metra products. I bought a Pioneer DVD headunit and I bought Metra harnesses at my store. In 2009, we had what we called "Smart Harnesses". They didn't require any cutting of factory wires and it didn't require any soldering, etc. If I remember correctly, you had the "smart" harness, which went from the factory plug to a "universal" plug. And then you had another harness which went from "Universal" to "Pioneer, Sony, etc." plug. I was a simple plug-n-pray. I liked this setup because when I go to sell the vehicle, it was a breeze to put the OEM stereo back in.
I want to buy my wife a new stereo (Pioneer FHX720BT). I called Metra and the guy on the phone states that those "smart" harnesses were a product they manufactured for Circuit City only, and that nowadays, you have to cut the factory wires. Is this true? Or is there another company that creates these smart harnesses? P.S., her car is a 2007 Toyota Yaris, Sedan, with standard audio system.
Thanks in advance!
