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The new to us 2001 WJ Grand Cherokee that we bought last month didn't have a functioning radio in it. Since this Jeep will likely be our daily driver for a while, I opted to install a Kenwood DMX-7706S with Apple CarPlay and the Android variant as well. This unit does not have a CD or DVD player, so it is only a few inches deep, however, it is not a direct bolt-in no matter what the folks at Best Buy may try to tell you. The Metra fascia kit will only get you so far.
Unfortunately, I didn't do a full detailed install with pictures. Looking back, I wish I had, but it is what it is. The cavity opening for the radio needs to be enlarged and a Dremmel with a cutting wheel was great for this. The under dash area is plastic which made for easy cutting.
I also had to cut the plastic welds that held the air vents into the factory Jeep fascia to reuse them with the Metra kit. To ensure my vents remained attached to the Metra fascia, I epoxied the vent assembly to the inside of the Metra fascia. The Metra wire harness kit was also used to connect the unit to the Jeep's wire harness.
The unit itself is a touch-screen and utilizes the navigation app on my phone, which is handy when my wife has an appointment someplace we aren't familiar with. It can either run through Bluetooth or through a USB cable that is attached to the back of the unit. I ran the cord down behind the dash and under the center console. I have a flush mount USB port on the way which I'm going to mount in the console, for a clean look. It just hasn't arrived yet.
There is also a microphone to use the phone in hands-free mode or to utilize functions like Siri or talk-to-text. I mounted this on my steering column, near the gauge cluster.
I did record some mid-install video that I'll get up on YouTube once I get it put together.
This is the end result, minus the flush mount USB port.
-Joe
Unfortunately, I didn't do a full detailed install with pictures. Looking back, I wish I had, but it is what it is. The cavity opening for the radio needs to be enlarged and a Dremmel with a cutting wheel was great for this. The under dash area is plastic which made for easy cutting.
I also had to cut the plastic welds that held the air vents into the factory Jeep fascia to reuse them with the Metra kit. To ensure my vents remained attached to the Metra fascia, I epoxied the vent assembly to the inside of the Metra fascia. The Metra wire harness kit was also used to connect the unit to the Jeep's wire harness.
The unit itself is a touch-screen and utilizes the navigation app on my phone, which is handy when my wife has an appointment someplace we aren't familiar with. It can either run through Bluetooth or through a USB cable that is attached to the back of the unit. I ran the cord down behind the dash and under the center console. I have a flush mount USB port on the way which I'm going to mount in the console, for a clean look. It just hasn't arrived yet.
There is also a microphone to use the phone in hands-free mode or to utilize functions like Siri or talk-to-text. I mounted this on my steering column, near the gauge cluster.
I did record some mid-install video that I'll get up on YouTube once I get it put together.
This is the end result, minus the flush mount USB port.
-Joe
