DIY 3rd Generation Toyota Highlander Dash Speaker Replacement - Let's face it, even the "upgraded" JBL sound system in the Toyota Highlander is a disaster. In the Toyota Nation forums, many people have done a lot of things to fix the situation. One of the first things people may do is just replace the speakers in the dash. Some have used Kicker 3.5" speakers. Others have tried out several and settled on the JBL Club 3020 3.5" speaker. This DIY video done by a true car stereo installation noobie (me) shows replacing the dash speaker with the JBL Club. So, I spared no step and show each step I did as I did it (one take, no edits, other than pausing recording).

Overall, after doing the first speaker, this second speaker took a total of about 45 minutes to complete (including taking this video).

Applies to 2014 Toyota Highlander, 2015 Toyota Highlander, 2016 Toyota Highlander... Maybe more.

Overall, doing this did improve the sound quality a bit, mainly making the mid range / vocals a little less "tinny". I will likely add a powered JL audio sub / box combo to round out the sound, but will just accept that I'm not willing to pay the $3,000 to do the full sound system overhaul.

Install notes:

I chose to use crimp connectors rather than solder. I have a soldering iron, but after I was unable to save the factory connector on the first speaker and Best Buy didn't seem to have a matching connector I wasn't sure how to connect the wires without accidentally melting my dash. So i just removed the existing harness all together and went with the ugliest option of crimp on connectors. IOW, I'm a noob!