2016-2019 Tacoma Sony 8100 Installation Guide

This installation guide is intended to be used to assist you during the installation of your Sony 8100 Tacoma Plug and Play Bundle from Trail Grid Pro.

Installation Videos

Sony 8100 Install

Sony Microphone Install

Installing your bundle

1. The Body - Consists of the head unit and our custom wiring harness.

You're going to install this first.

Make all your vehicle connections as noted in the document below. We've drawn a red box around the vehicle connectors you'll be using for your installation, which are 2, 4 & 5. Vehicle connectors 1 & 3 will not be used.
All the plugs are keyed plugs, which means they only fit their match on the Toyota side. All you're doing is matching plugs - it may look like a lot of wires but it's simple.

You will be using vehicle connectors 2, 4 & 5

Next, secure the backup camera connection harness labeled CAM-TY12 (connect the female side of the CAM TY12 to the factory video harness), Sirius/XM satellite connection (if applicable), AM/FM antenna connection, Sony supplied microphone and the USB retention cable connection.
DO NOT POWER ON YOUR HEAD-UNIT BEFORE ALL CONNECTIONS ARE MADE. This will cause an error when the PAC module is trying to calibrate to your vehicle.

More Install Tips Regarding The Components Of Your Sony Bundle

Backup Camera Harness
AM/FM Antenna Adapter
USB Retention Cable
Sony Microphone
Sirius/XM Retention

To secure your backup camera connection, ensure the female side of the backup camera harness labeled CAM TY12 is plugged into the factory video connection. The connectors are keyed, so they’ll only fit their mate.

Your bundle will come equipped with a antenna adapter that will be plugged into the lower left hand corner of the rear of the chassis. Please make sure you plug in the factory antenna plug into our antenna adapter.

Our bundle maintains your factory USB location under your head unit for connection for Apple CarPlay & Android Auto. Please ensure you plug in the factory USB plug into our USB retention harness.

You will need to use the provided Sony microphone with our bundle. We have included our new microphone mount with your bundle.

You may also choose to mount the microphone without using our new mount. Watch this video: Tacoma microphone install

2016 – 2019: If you selected “Maintain Sirius/XM” at checkout, you’ll receive the STO2.

Maestro STO2: This will already be attached to your new Sirius/XM tuner. The tuner is located underneath the rear chassis of the Sony radio.

Utilize the factory satellite antenna cable that was plugged in to the back of your factory radio to plug into the provided adapter.

You will not use the antenna from the SXV300 (which is located in your parts bag) since the STO2 will maintain your factory satellite antenna.

Inside the dash you may find several square plugs of varying colors (i.e. white, gray or black).

White – Factory Navigation (No longer needed)
Gray or Black – Factory Sirius XM Antenna
- Connect your XM tuner adapter to either the gray or black plug.

2. The Dash Kit: Your new matte black Metra Tacoma dash kit.

You're going to install this second.

Tacoma Faceplate: In your kit there are two faceplates. One is already attached to your completed bundle, and the other is wrapped in a separate cover in your shipping box. We always attach the larger of the two covers with your completed bundle (as a higher percentage of Tacoma's use the larger version) but if it's not the correct size for your truck simply swap the faceplates before installation by unscrewing the 4 faceplate screws that secure it to the side brackets.

3. The Sony 8100 Screen: The Sony 8100 screen display, supporting pieces and trim.

You're going to install this last.

1. Attach the USB cable connected to the front of the body to the USB location on the rear of the Sony 8100 screen.

2. Place the wire in the provided channel on the rear of the Sony 8100 screen.

3. Attach the two rear panels to the back of the Sony 8100 screen on each side of the neck of the system. These slide into place from the top down. One has a slot that fits over the USB cable.

4. Attach/slide the Sony 8100 screen into the body.

5. After placing the Sony 8100 screen into the body, but before securing the screws in place, test all the functions of the radio before proceeding.

6. After you confirmed that the unit functions correctly, screw in the provided 4 silver screws, securing the Sony 8100 screen to the body (2 on each side of the neck of the Sony 8100). For this step, we recommend you use a magnetic tip Phillips-head screwdriver if you have it, as the two outside screws are set down farther than the other two.

7. Slide the small black cover on the neck of the Sony 8100 toward you to line up the final screw location.

8. Screw in the one black screw in the middle (in the middle of the neck of the Sony 8100).

9. You have completed installation of your new Sony Bundle! Congratulations!

Troubleshooting

Use a Factory USB Cable
Android Auto
Steering Wheel Control Reset

Using a factory phone cable when making your connection for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is a MUST. When I say factory, I mean just like the cable that originally came with your phone. It cannot be a cable that you bought from Amazon or from the grocery store – those are only charging cables in most cases, not charging and data cables. Also, remember – phone cables don’t last forever. If you ever have connectivity issues in the future – I’d try to swap your cable for a new one.

Download the Android Auto app from the GooglePlay. If you’re experiencing issues with Android Auto, here is a decent video that walks you through some troubleshooting of Android Auto. The head unit shown in this video is not a Sony, so just focus on the general troubleshooting aspects.

First, check the following: (1) Ensure the 3.5mm black plug on the back of the radio is plugged in to the blue port on the back of the radio labeled “remote” (2) Ensure the Sony system is set correctly to accept preset steering wheel controls from the PAC module by checking the following within the Sony head unit settings. Go to settings -> general -> steering wheel controls and ensure its set to “preset” If those two items above are good to go, complete the following steps in the exact order below. Try these steps while in “preset” steering wheel control: (1) Unplug the power plug from the PAC RP4.2 TY11 for at least 5 seconds. The power plug is the plug with the red, black and yellow wires (and only those color wires). (2) Turn on your vehicle and let the system power up. (3) Complete the master reset process (Restore Factory Settings) noted on page 6 of the attached document (4) When the master reset process is complete, perform a simple reset which is accomplished by just pressing and immediately releasing the “reset” button. After you’ve completed the last step, give it about 10 seconds and then test your steering wheel controls. If after these steps, steering wheel controls are still not working you can always set the steering wheel controls yourself via the Sony head unit settings. To accomplish this you’ll go to settings -> general -> steering wheel controls and set them to “custom” – at this point you’ll most likely be presented with a gear icon and once pressed you’ll be able to manually map each button on your steering wheel controls by following the prompts on your head unit.
Restoring Factory Settings

You can restore the interface to factory default settings by pressing and holding the programming button on the side of the module until the status LED starts blinking red. Once the LED starts blinking red, release the button. You must release the button while the LED is blinking red in order to perform the reset. Please note, the LED will go through two stages before it starts blinking red. First it will blink green, then amber, then red.

This reset will restore the following settings to their factory defaults:

SWC Mapping
Parking Brake Output Settings
Factory Amplifier Settings
Real Fade will be reset to on

Dip Switch Settings

If after completing these steps you’re not able to function all your steering wheel controls (answer on specifically), on the PAC module change the dip switches on the side of the module to 1, 2 & 3 as “on” and 4 as “off”. Currently, they are set to the exact opposite of that with 4 as “on” and 1, 2 & 3 as “off” – so you’ll just be reversing them.