PacCoastFwy923

Look, Deer Killer covered this in his original post. He wrote: 12++ 56++ : 1, 2, 5 & 6 are for the AUX in. ++34 ++7+ : 3, 4 & 7 are for steering wheel controls ++++ +++8 : 8 is untouched. It's probably the Subaru MOJO connection. If you can scare up four extra pins, you can have AUX + steering wheel controls. If you have to scavenge the pins from 3, 4 and 7 for use with AUX, you lose steering wheel controls. That should be perfectly clear. No mystery to solve.

My impression is that the 8-pin connector which connects the steering wheel controls (I don't have them) also connects the AUX in. So using Deer Killer's instructions, when the connector is re-arranged to work with AUX-in, the steering wheel controls are being disconnected. If you can find some extra connectors to pop in, or can work out a different way to make the AUX-in connection, I see no reason why the steering wheel controls can't still work. The functionality isn't removed, it's just disconnected.

rlax31, Underseat subwoofer will plug directly in to the 07 head unit, if my '05 Legacy Wagon installation is typical. Sounds like the trunk-mounted subs were using the problematic connector. My impression from Deer Killer's posts is that the steering wheel controls will no longer work if you swap around the connectors for the AUX-in port, so you'll need to find another way to connect those extra wires. Ian, speedub.nate, '05 Legacy Wagon, '07 RIP9

You bet, Ian. Haven't seen you on "empty beer" for a while, but see you're still riding. Going to use you new MP3 capabilities for post-ride stretches? - Nate

Now for the bad (and this may have been posted in the '06 head unit thread, I haven't read though it). On the 2007 headunit: No ID3 tags on MP3 CDs. Track Title - Artist - Album data is whatever you named the mp3 file. Looks like something around 30 characters of info displayed, but it doesn't scroll, so you have to hold down the TEXT button to flip manually. With the right MP3 software (I use Musicmatch), it's pretty easy to convert track names to whatever you want, in this case just the song name. Holding down the TEXT button will switch from the default display (Line 1: Folder # Track #; Line 2: File Name ~10-12 characters) to a full display of just the File Name (across both lines of text). However, as soon as the song finishes and the next one plays, the display defaults back to showing Folder # Track #. Random Mode: You can play tracks in order, or shuffle a folder, or shuffle the entire disc. Great! But as soon as you hit the RANDOM button, you'll be taken away from the track currently playing. (Boo... that's what the "Next Track" button is for!) Also, when you turn off the car and then get back in, the RANDOM mode resets (defaults of OFF), so you've got to go through that silliness every time. (Don't know if it 'sticks' when you switch to radio and then back, or if you turn the radio off for a moment while driving.) Oh, and somebody had asked in a previous post if the display shows text broadcast from radio stations. Nope, it does not. The read time on a data CD is a few seconds longer than a normal audio CD, but it's not too gawd-awful. And once it gets playing, the track to track time is pretty quick. The prospect of having 6 MP3 CD loaded with 200+ songs apiece is apealing for longer road trips, and the AUX-in jack has been great for playing music and podcasts off my Treo. The hit list of negatives is pretty minor to this otherwise nice upgrade. Cheers!

Actually not hard as hell. Just a little patience and the right tool. In this case, I use a scribe, which you can get for $5 at any hardware store. Deer Killer compared it to picking a lock. In this case it is a lock with one pin. Run the point of the scribe along the interior channel, find the "bump", lift it and tug on the wire. Cut the wires (you suggest 2 inches; you've actually got about 4" to play with). Strip and solder them up to your new audio cable. Radio Shack has some shielded audio cable that fits the bill. I ran the cable along the harness that carries power to the arm rest 12v socket and seat warmer controls. You're forced to rearrange them because they need to connect to the head unit in that order. Three of the four slots NEED to be rearranged because they're currently empty -- no connectors, no nothing to connect to the head unit. The forth wire can stay put, but it's colored white, which is traditionally used for the right audio channel, so I removed and relocated that one, as well. Positioning the Aux-in port next to the 12v arm rest socket is a tight fit (I've got two blank holes to prove it), so I ran it to the bit of empty plastic next to the cup holder, just behind the e-brake. All-in-all it's a straight forward mod with a few hours of work if you're doing all the proper soldering and heat-shrinking along the way. Drove around with it for the first time today and it's good. The sound is just a little muted, but not bad. The Aux volume control is separate from the radio and CD, to account for varying input levels. Well worth the effort, if you ask me. Edit: Three hiccups in my installation. (1) Location of the aux-in plug: Really, the area near the 12v socket was crowded. Plan carefully if you intend to use this. Look at it from both sides before drilling, and make sure the body of the 1/8" socket clears the body & retaining ring of the 12v socket. Make sure your audio plug won't interfere with any 12v adapters you use in this location. (2) 1/8" mini-plug mounting hole diameter: The Radio Shack model I used requires a .234" hole, which corresponds to an 'A' sized drill bit, or a 15/64" bit. Neither is a common size in most tool boxes. 7/32" didn't cut it, and 1/4" would have been way too large for a tidy fit. Also worth noting that the plastic Subaru uses in the center console assembly is thick enough that there isn't much audio jack thread sticking through to screw the retaining ring on. So I countersunk the underside of my armrest using a 5/16" bit. This provided clearance for a small plastic riser at the base of the audio jack, and allowed the jack to extend through enough to grab it and secure it with the provided hardware. (3) I needed an antenna adapter, because my head unit came from a salvage with a clipped antenna lead. Luckily, Best Buy stocks the Metra adapters for 2005+ Subarus, and I was easily able to splice this on to the antenna lead.

I can confirm that the 2007 head unit plugs directly in to the existing 2005 wagon wiring harnesses without modification, and the under-the-seat subwoofer DOES continue to work as it should. The only wiring modification necessary is to get the aux-in working. I haven't completed this step yet, but will attempt it in the coming days using Deer Hunter's instructions.