Erich6474
CarAudio.com Newbie
For my Birthday in June of 2021, I treated myself and had a slightly used touchscreen Pioneer Avh-4100nex with Apple Play installed in my 2009 Toyota Highlander Limited.
Absolutely awesome system and the Pioneer went very well with the upgraded JBL sound-system native to the Highlander Limited, giving me amazing sound along with the ability to use Apple Maps with the 7” display.
Unfortunately, after less than a week, the balance of the sound would shift if I took a hard turn, or even hit a bump or pothole—the music would stop playing out of the left speakers—sometimes returning to full stereo if I took another tight turn or hit another bump.
I took it back to the shop and they replaced some wiring harness that they said had to be reprogrammed and I happily took my car back excited for my awesome system!
Unfortunately, again in less than a week, the problem started again. I took the Highlander back and again they worked on the system and replaced another harness and proclaimed it fixed.
Of course, this happened a third time, but now the stereo would at times lose all sound altogether. However, sometimes turning the vehicle off and on again—would cause the sound to come back on—but many times it wouldn’t.
This time the shop stated that the problem was the slightly used AVH-4100NEX-and they replaced it with a brand new Pioneer DMH-1500NEX. Awesome stereo, in fact I actually like the interface much better and I felt confident because it was new.
But guess what? Less than a week and the same problem again. However, this time if the left side speakers stopped playing, and I stopped the car and threw it in park: it seemed the the motion of pushing the gear shifter into park, would “knock” the radio back into stereo. However, this method is not always 100% guaranteed to work.
This time the Car Stereo Shop tells me the problem is not their responsibility. The issue has to be with the Toyota Highlander and it’s hardware. Even though this issue never occurred before I brought my car to them. The manager of the shop insisted the culprit was my JBL Harmon Becker Amplifier-“We have worked through every possibility this is the only place left for it to be.” He went on to insist that at this point any further labor they put into fixing this-I would have to pay for.
So, I decided I could fix the problem myself, if truly the amp was the issue. I found a used JBL Harmon Becker from a 2010 Highlander, that was guaranteed to be 100% working. I removed the front seat and took off the single nut that held the amp in place. I slapped the Amplifier’s 3 connectors back in place and bolted the seat securely, crossing my fingers, that this was indeed the issue.
Unfortunately, while the sound was amazing—as soon as I turned the corner—I lost all stereo sound from the left side speakers.
So, apparently the Amplifier was not the problem.
This has been a royal pain in the ass…my stereo sound in the Highlander was excellent until ironically, I had a “nicer” head unit put in.
Honestly, I cannot understand why the audio shop is unable to isolate why this is happening, since it began when they first upgraded my deck. And I can’t help but think they should have been able to identify and address the issue, the very first time I brought the car back to them.
Is that expecting too much? Has anybody ever seen a problem like this before? When you spend that much money for an aftermarket upgrade shouldn’t the audio shop be responsible for the sound playing on all the speakers?
It upsets me greatly that the same problem has persisted so long and that the Stereo Shop appears so baffled. Logically, there does not seem like there should be too many possibilities that would cause an entire side of speakers to go in and out of service. Especially when two different stereos and amplifiers all produce the exact same problem.
Am I wrong to be angry that they are unable to figure this out? Is it unreasonable to expect them to fix it?
Absolutely awesome system and the Pioneer went very well with the upgraded JBL sound-system native to the Highlander Limited, giving me amazing sound along with the ability to use Apple Maps with the 7” display.
Unfortunately, after less than a week, the balance of the sound would shift if I took a hard turn, or even hit a bump or pothole—the music would stop playing out of the left speakers—sometimes returning to full stereo if I took another tight turn or hit another bump.
I took it back to the shop and they replaced some wiring harness that they said had to be reprogrammed and I happily took my car back excited for my awesome system!
Unfortunately, again in less than a week, the problem started again. I took the Highlander back and again they worked on the system and replaced another harness and proclaimed it fixed.
Of course, this happened a third time, but now the stereo would at times lose all sound altogether. However, sometimes turning the vehicle off and on again—would cause the sound to come back on—but many times it wouldn’t.
This time the shop stated that the problem was the slightly used AVH-4100NEX-and they replaced it with a brand new Pioneer DMH-1500NEX. Awesome stereo, in fact I actually like the interface much better and I felt confident because it was new.
But guess what? Less than a week and the same problem again. However, this time if the left side speakers stopped playing, and I stopped the car and threw it in park: it seemed the the motion of pushing the gear shifter into park, would “knock” the radio back into stereo. However, this method is not always 100% guaranteed to work.
This time the Car Stereo Shop tells me the problem is not their responsibility. The issue has to be with the Toyota Highlander and it’s hardware. Even though this issue never occurred before I brought my car to them. The manager of the shop insisted the culprit was my JBL Harmon Becker Amplifier-“We have worked through every possibility this is the only place left for it to be.” He went on to insist that at this point any further labor they put into fixing this-I would have to pay for.
So, I decided I could fix the problem myself, if truly the amp was the issue. I found a used JBL Harmon Becker from a 2010 Highlander, that was guaranteed to be 100% working. I removed the front seat and took off the single nut that held the amp in place. I slapped the Amplifier’s 3 connectors back in place and bolted the seat securely, crossing my fingers, that this was indeed the issue.
Unfortunately, while the sound was amazing—as soon as I turned the corner—I lost all stereo sound from the left side speakers.
So, apparently the Amplifier was not the problem.
This has been a royal pain in the ass…my stereo sound in the Highlander was excellent until ironically, I had a “nicer” head unit put in.
Honestly, I cannot understand why the audio shop is unable to isolate why this is happening, since it began when they first upgraded my deck. And I can’t help but think they should have been able to identify and address the issue, the very first time I brought the car back to them.
Is that expecting too much? Has anybody ever seen a problem like this before? When you spend that much money for an aftermarket upgrade shouldn’t the audio shop be responsible for the sound playing on all the speakers?
It upsets me greatly that the same problem has persisted so long and that the Stereo Shop appears so baffled. Logically, there does not seem like there should be too many possibilities that would cause an entire side of speakers to go in and out of service. Especially when two different stereos and amplifiers all produce the exact same problem.
Am I wrong to be angry that they are unable to figure this out? Is it unreasonable to expect them to fix it?
