Will the 2018 Head Unit fit on the 2015-2017?

34434 Views 30 Replies 23 Participants Last post by Galip Catak, Sep 10, 2021

johnnychan

Discussion Starter · Aug 7, 2017

I am just wonder if anyone has tried it. I would love to have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on my 2016 Outback. I wonder if the wiring will be any different between the 2016 and the 2018 Head Unit. I knew I could look for an Aftermarket Unit, but it would be great if I could keep the STARLINK and keep the current sub-woofer.

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1 - 20 of 31 Posts

niktoneskazhet

· #2 · Aug 8, 2017

I have 2016, called corporate and then installed aftermarket head unit

lashlee

· #3 · Aug 13, 2017

It may or may not work. I know if the 4th gen of OB, there was a wiring change in '12. The '10 and '11 used one style, '12, '13 and '14 were different. Also make sure that you get an equivalent radio that matches your trim since it may not be the same.

johnnychan

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 14, 2017

niktoneskazhet said:
I have 2016, called corporate and then installed aftermarket head unit

Well, I don't want to lose Starlink and the Subwoofer. My car have the HK system.

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krazyderek

· #5 · Aug 16, 2017

i'm curious about the same thing as i might want apple carplay at some point in the future, and i don't really want to dive into the aftermarket for car stereos

huntson

· #6 · Dec 19, 2017

Has anyone given this a try or at least some more thought. I'd love to do this.

ser_mir

· #7 · Jul 14, 2018

Does anybody still interested for this upgrade? I have both HUs now and want to replace old with new. I have 2016 Premium Outback with Fujitsu Ten 86271AL69A (Navi, no Harman amp) Head unit, and new 2018 Harman 86471AL66A (Navi, Harman amp) Head unit. Both units have the same connectors, but 2018 doesnt start "out of the box" after the connection. Looks wiring is not the same. I paid for service manuals to get them both for 2016 and 2018 head units, I have all wiring scheme, but I havent enough skills to do this swap. If smb may help me with installation and configuration, I promise to provide detailed report for all community.

Btw, I have another amp installed in my car, so I bought harman version of new HU to get line outs instead of amp outs.

BaLs

· #8 · Jul 15, 2018

ser_mir said:
Does anybody still interested for this upgrade? I have both HUs now and want to replace old with new. I have 2016 Premium Outback with Fujitsu Ten 86271AL69A (Navi, no Harman amp) Head unit, and new 2018 Harman 86471AL66A (Navi, Harman amp) Head unit. Both units have the same connectors, but 2018 doesnt start "out of the box" after the connection. Looks wiring is not the same. I paid for service manuals to get them both for 2016 and 2018 head units, I have all wiring scheme, but I havent enough skills to do this swap. If smb may help me with installation and configuration, I promise to provide detailed report for all community.

Btw, I have another amp installed in my car, so I bought harman version of new HU to get line outs instead of amp outs.

Does it fit? Do you have pictures to share?

3.6r Limited

· #9 · Jul 15, 2018

From my understanding to get it fit in the 2015’s you’ll also need the A/C controls. As Subaru changed the size, so there will be figment issues without it. On top of that Harmon units are not compatible with non Harmon units. They use different wiring and amp units.

borat

· #10 · Aug 2, 2018

ser_mir said:
Does anybody still interested for this upgrade? I have both HUs now and want to replace old with new. I have 2016 Premium Outback with Fujitsu Ten 86271AL69A (Navi, no Harman amp) Head unit, and new 2018 Harman 86471AL66A (Navi, Harman amp) Head unit. Both units have the same connectors, but 2018 doesnt start "out of the box" after the connection. Looks wiring is not the same. I paid for service manuals to get them both for 2016 and 2018 head units, I have all wiring scheme, but I havent enough skills to do this swap. If smb may help me with installation and configuration, I promise to provide detailed report for all community.

Btw, I have another amp installed in my car, so I bought harman version of new HU to get line outs instead of amp outs.

Starlink should be without HK for both head unit.
I have base HU 6.2"and I will do replacement on starlink 2018. If you have pin and wiring for HU 2018, I will be grateful for your help

KingBing

· #11 · Aug 2, 2018

ser_mir said:
Does anybody still interested for this upgrade? I have both HUs now and want to replace old with new. I have 2016 Premium Outback with Fujitsu Ten 86271AL69A (Navi, no Harman amp) Head unit, and new 2018 Harman 86471AL66A (Navi, Harman amp) Head unit. Both units have the same connectors, but 2018 doesnt start "out of the box" after the connection. Looks wiring is not the same. I paid for service manuals to get them both for 2016 and 2018 head units, I have all wiring scheme, but I havent enough skills to do this swap. If smb may help me with installation and configuration, I promise to provide detailed report for all community.

Btw, I have another amp installed in my car, so I bought harman version of new HU to get line outs instead of amp outs.

Can you provide the wiring diagrams for the 2018 and 2016 stereo systems?
I'd like to try a few things.

borat

· #12 · Aug 2, 2018

johnnychan said:
Well, I don't want to lose Starlink and the Subwoofer. My car have the HK system.

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amplifier of the 2015-17 does not work on the HK 2018. These are different devices

borat

· #13 · Aug 2, 2018

KingBing said:
Can you provide the wiring diagrams for the 2018 and 2016 stereo systems?
I'd like to try a few things.

I can provide the wiring for 2016 hu. Unfortunately I have no for 2018

ser_mir

· #14 · Aug 24, 2018

I'm sorry for long answers (I have to configure notifications for new replies in this forum). Let me share my answers and some updates

1. Yes, I have full wiring diagrams both for 2016 and 2018 HUs (Harman/No-Harman). I can share it with you. Ask me by private message about it. Its a part of official Subaru service manual and its not allowed to create public link with this info. I hope you understand. I'll not provide you full service manual, but only wiring diagram (I dont want to have problems with Subaru dealer

)
2. About pictures to share. I have nothing for now, because this work is not done yet. Let me explain why (below)
3. Both Harman/No-Harman HUs (2016 and 2018) can be connected to custom amplifier, its possible to get line-outs from all types of HUs.
4. Yes, 2018 HU will not work with 2016 Harman AMP "out of the box", it has differences in control protocol. I have 3rd-party non-Harman AMP in my Outback, so I dont care about it, I need only line outs. But... Its possible to connect any HU (in theory) to Harman AMP. As example - use Google to find 3rd party "RedPower" head unit for new Outback, it comes with some adapter for Harman AMP. I didnt investigate all details.
5. Yes, 2018 HU size and design was changed, so you should buy also 2018 climate panel to fit all on 2016 Outback (I've already bought it on eBay).
6. 2018 and 2016 HUs have 99% the same wiring, so it its not a problem to connect anything using service manual.
7. 2018 Climate panel will not work on 2016 Outback "out of the box", you will see only clock after turning it on. You should also buy 2018 climate control module to connect it. Module number is 72343AL53A. I have already bought it, but its not delivered yet (I live outside US), so its the last step to finish"swap". I'll share all info with you after finishing.

Thanks for your attention,
sorry for my bad English

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3.6r Limited

· #15 · Aug 24, 2018

ser_mir said:
I'm sorry for long answers (I have to configure notifications for new replies in this forum). Let me share my answers and some updates

1. Yes, I have full wiring diagrams both for 2016 and 2018 HUs (Harman/No-Harman). I can share it with you. Ask me by private message about it. Its a part of official Subaru service manual and its not allowed to create public link with this info. I hope you understand. I'll not provide you full service manual, but only wiring diagram (I dont want to have problems with Subaru dealer )
2. About pictures to share. I have nothing for now, because this work is not done yet. Let me explain why (below)
3. Both Harman/No-Harman HUs (2016 and 2018) can be connected to custom amplifier, its possible to get line-outs from all types of HUs.
4. Yes, 2018 HU will not work with 2016 Harman AMP "out of the box", it has differences in control protocol. I have 3rd-party non-Harman AMP in my Outback, so I dont care about it, I need only line outs. But... Its possible to connect any HU (in theory) to Harman AMP. As example - use Google to find 3rd party "RedPower" head unit for new Outback, it comes with some adapter for Harman AMP. I didnt investigate all details.
5. Yes, 2018 HU size and design was changed, so you should buy also 2018 climate panel to fit all on 2016 Outback (I've already bought it on eBay).
6. 2018 and 2016 HUs have 99% the same wiring, so it its not a problem to connect anything using service manual.
7. 2018 Climate panel will not work on 2016 Outback "out of the box", you will see only clock after turning it on. You should also buy 2018 climate control module to connect it. Module number is 72343AL53A. I have already bought it, but its not delivered yet (I live outside US), so its the last step to finish"swap". I'll share all info with you after finishing.

Thanks for your attention,
sorry for my bad English

Your English is fine and you post is great!
Could you please answer these if you know:
1. Do you think, from what you see, that a 2015-2016 WITH HK will work directly with a 2018 WITH HK?
2. Can you provide the climate control assembly part number? As well as the 2018 HU part number? I cannot find it.
And holy cow, the 72343AL53A costs more than $250 here! Is that the same for you?

ser_mir

· #16 · Aug 24, 2018

3.6r Limited said:
1. Do you think, from what you see, that a 2015-2016 WITH HK will work directly with a 2018 WITH HK?

Im 99% sure that it will NOT work, looks Harman AMP is controlled using some digital protocol (CAN-BUS ?) and part numbers are different for 2016 and 2018. I havent Harman AMP, so I can't say. But its not a problem to install 3rd party AMP both for Harman/non-Harman HU.

3.6r Limited said:
2. Can you provide the climate control assembly part number? As well as the 2018 HU part number? I cannot find it.
And holy cow, the 72343AL53A costs more than $250 here! Is that the same for you?

Climate control assembly part number is 72311AL32A (2018) and 72311AL11A (2016). I bought 2018 version on eBay together with 72343AL53A module, both used (from some damaged Outback).
----

I also want to share some extra info based on my investigation of HUs. If you want to buy new one, its usable to detect HU type based on model number.

See.

HU number usually has format 86XX1XXXXX (lets recognize 86271AL66A as example):

86 - same for all, some internal name conventions in Subaru

2 - its "2" for 2016-2017 and "4" for 2018
7 - its "7" if HU has Navigation (both 2016 and 2018), and "0" for no-nav on 2016 and "3" on no-nav 2018
1 - same for all, some internal name conventions in Subaru
AL - car model. "AL" = Legacy and Outback, "FJ" = Impreza, "VA" = WRX, "SG" = Forester etc..
6 - Major revision (as I see from 4 to 8), hardware/firmware updates
6 - Minor revision (as I see from 4 to 9), BUT! odd means NO-Harman, even means Harman
A - Region. "A" for US, "0" for Europe, "B" for Canada (as I know)

So if you see that smb sells HU 86271AL450, it means 2016 version HU, with Navigation, for Outback, 4th revision, non-Harman, for Europe (it has more interface languages and EU radio frequency steps)
86431SG65A - 2018 HU, without Navigation, for Forester, 6th revision, Harman, for US

My own example:
I bought US Outback and moved it to Europe, it came with HU 86271AL69A - 2016,Navigation, non-Harman,US
I replaced it with HU 86271AL450 - 2016, Navigation, non-Harman, Europe.

And now, I have HU 86471AL66A (and plan to install it) - 2018, Navigation, Harman,US

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drummerboybac

· #17 · Sep 13, 2018

That's fantastic detail provided, thanks for that. Did you have any luck with the swap?

wolfish

· #18 · Oct 9, 2018

without Harman amp you can't control the volume

beaglescout

· #19 · Oct 10, 2018

I'm curious to know if you had any luck with this swap as well, I've considered doing this myself.

dbowles

· #20 · Oct 11, 2018

Interested in progress of '16 OB HU Swap for '18 HU

Hello All,

I found this thread tonight and working to do the same. I just received the 72311AL32A Heater/AC Control Panel today, hooked it up, and got the same result - only the time displayed. Thank you for the helpful information that the control module is also needed to make it work.

Before I invest any further, I really would like to see if someone is successful in swapping a 2018 Outback HU in a 2016 Outback (or 2017). I have a 2016 Outback with the Starlink w/o NAV or HK radio. I would love to be able to have Apple CarPlay, but you lose too much stock functionality such as Starlink, backup camera, and stock USB ports with aftermarket radios.

I'll continue to follow this thread and see what others discover.

Thanks,

David

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