Learn me aftermarket radios

Its been around 15 years since I've installed an aftermarket radio.  The last one I did was in a car that had no bluetooth, backup camera, steering wheel controls, speed senstive volume, etc.

Now I have a car that I want to put an aftermarket radio in, and it has all those things.  What I want is:  Wireless Carplay, a Volume knob, and for all of the above to keep working.

What do I need to know?

Are the low end brands worth checking out?  Dual, Boss, Jensen, etc.

Do any work with factory buttons (not on the wheel)?  I really enjoy that the current solution has a pause button, which my 2013 Kia and my 2019 Hyundai did not have.

This is what I see when I pick a cheap one off Crutchfield, and it looks like all the physical buttons are gone?

What is the car?

I just did this with the E39 and the CLK350.

In both cases I was able to find a reasonably priced drop in that looks completely OEM, has real knobs and buttons in addition to the touchscreen and plugs into the factory wiring harness while keeping the steering wheel controls, GPS antenna, factory amplifier, subwoofer and camera.

I used an Eonon in the BMW and a CarNaviPlayer in the Mercedes. 

Both look (in my opinion) so much nicer than a blanking plate and a generic screen

I think I kind of prefer the Eonon in my car, but that might just be familiarity. It was cheaper than the carnaviplayer

2019 Transit Connect

Wow, I really like the look of those!  Neither are available for my car :(

The cheap brands like Boss,Pyramid, Jensen, and Pyle should be avoided.

Clarion always had good CD S/N ratios and Pioneer always had fantastic FM sensitivity, but for the most part, no one listens to FM or CDs much anymore.

Alpine is the go-to for user-friendly and super clean audio, but good luck finding one with a knob.  They at least have capacitance screens which allow dragging like an ipad instead of inductance which is just single touch.  That means they have programmed gestures (much like an ipad) for certain things.  Two fingers on the screen swiping up or down is volume.  I think three fingers changes the source, and a pinch answers the phone (not sure of those... it's been a while since I shopped)

Kenwood, Pioneer, and Sony are pretty fair middle-of-the-road units.  Clarion and Alpine are a notch up.

Lets say I back off on the knob request.  What about a pause button.  I'm pretty sour after almost 5 years of car ownership without one, and its pretty berkeleying critical.  I'm honestly blown away more radios don't have one.

Or is there a way to confirm that the steering wheel mute will function as pause before I actually purchase the head unit?

One word:  Crutchfield.

Their reps know more about the entire lineup than ten of us put together.  They don't get commission, they know their stuff, and they'll tell you exactly what parts to get to make it all work.  There are usually conversion harnesses that will let you plug your factory steering wheel buttons into the stereo and it's a seamless thing.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

One word:  Crutchfield.

Their reps know more about the entire lineup than ten of us put together.  They don't get commission, they know their stuff, and they'll tell you exactly what parts to get to make it all work.  There are usually conversion harnesses that will let you plug your factory steering wheel buttons into the stereo and it's a seamless thing.

yeah I've been meaning to call them instead of just scouring their site, but havent had time this week.  Interestingly, I did just come across this, which might be exactly what I need:

https://www.crutchfield.com/learn/steering-wheel-control-adapters.html

(you can reprogram what the buttons on the wheel do, which is basically my dream)

In reply to Trent :

Never knew those existed to look factory, but better! Phenomenal!

what kinda ball park do those run?

just curious , I don't have anything new enough to look that nice in the first place!

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

First stereo I put in my first car (64 Comet in 79) they all had a volume knob on one side, and the tuning knob on the other. And I had to cut out the dash panel to put it in! (Ah, the various ford radios I threw away, since they weren't even worth scrap!)

Back then, Clarion was the bottom end level! Funny! Found out they had made top end quite a few years ago (made me feel old)

03Panther said:

In reply to Trent :

Never knew those existed to look factory, but better! Phenomenal!

what kinda ball park do those run?

The Eonon for my BMW was under $300

I put a wireless CarPlay radio in my highlander recently. The best part was the availability of a radio (pioneer) and car manufacturer specific harness - for about fifteen bucks. My install took about ten minutes, including removing the whole thing a second time to plug in the USB connector that I missed. No soldering - truly plug and play. These are available for Sony and Pioneer radios - and I believe crutchfield will also make one up for ANY car. It is so much easier than it was a long time ago. 

What do you mean about a pause button? Was that on your steering wheel?

In reply to Trent :

That's  well worth it to look that good. Great decision. 

In reply to prodarwin :

Does your factory radio look like this? 

Based on a few minutes of research, I couldn't find a kit that retains the stock Ford controls but quite a few aftermarket radios have a volume knob. Here is a list at Crutchfield that have a volume knob.

We installed aftermarket radios in our two shop Transit Connects a few years ago (I think they are 2017s or 2018s).  We went through Crutchfield, which I recommend, but it wasn't smooth sailing. 

You need to replace the entire center dash section.  No small stereo surround - the whole center section gets replaced and it isn't cheap ($130).  It was decent quality, but not OEM.  You also lose the small info screen in the dash - I don't know if that is limited to certain years or trim levels, but it's gone.  The replacement console section had the vent controls reversed.  Where it is printed closed, it is actually open and vice versa.  No way to easily correct this either.  Hopefully that has been remedied by now.  https://www.crutchfield.com/S-wCBFtrDNiC9/p_120955861/Metra-95-5861-Ford-Kit-Gray.html?XVINQ=GLX&XVVer=1HLB&awcr=674434468730&awdv=c&awnw=g&awug=9008160&awkw=pla-2202203943322&awmt=&awat=pla&gad_source=1  The one you had pictured, and the one linked above, look a little different from what we got.  The radio seems to be mounted more vertical whereas ours are angled and difficult to see in the sun.  So hopefully this surround is an improved version from what we got.  The FM reception in both our vans now sucks.  Not sure why and trying different antennas didn't help.  I don't remember of the TC has a diversity antenna that gets lost with an aftermarket unit or if our receivers just suck.  I think they are Pioneers if I remember right.

In addition to the harness adapter, we needed a control module to get the steering wheels controls to work and it wasn't listed as needed with out original order.  I'm not sure if you will still need this as it seems newer radios are more easily adapted to use the SWC or at least use a common control unit.

In short, while doable, it was a much bigger PITA than a typical aftermarket radio install.  But all the drivers would agree it was worth it for the back up camera (cargo model TCs).  Ours has bluetooth, but no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.  I would absolutely want both in 2024.  Be careful when ordering as some lower model head units only have Apple Car or Android, not both.  And sometimes it isn't clear whether it has wired or wireless CarPlay.     

In reply to stanger_mussle (Supported by GRM undergarments) :

Yes, mine looks exactly like that.

 

OHSCrifle said:

What do you mean about a pause button? Was that on your steering wheel?

My 2019 Hyundai and my 2013 Kia had no pause button... period.  Listening to something and you want to pause it?  Turn it off.  In the Hyundai with the touch screen you could pause it via the touchscreen interface - which is not something I want to berkeley with while driving.  For some stuff it was smart enough to use the mute button as the pause button, but it was inconsistent.  In the Kia which only had bluetooth, I had to pause via the phone... which is even worse.

One of my fears with the Transit Connect is that the pause button is on the section that is replaced with the install kit, so the button is gone.

However, it seems that I can program one of the steering wheel controls to pause, which is exactly what I need.

ok, well I got too excited.  The kit I posted above that allows for programming of the steering wheel controls will not work with my vehicle, so I am stuck with this kit:

Crux SWRFD-60T

I spent some time on the phone with Crutchfield, and the tech basically said, you'll have the controls already on the wheel and thats it.  You wont have a pause button.  He didn't seem to know enough detail to tell me if it was possible to modify this kit, so I'm going to have a quick look and see what I can find.  Perhaps if I modify the harness and wire it differently it will work?

In reply to prodarwin :

I just installed a new stereo in the Corvette using a Crux interface.  It did not send the reverse gear signal to the radio so I had to put in a trigger wire to the backup lights.  It also doesn't dime the display but for now I can live with that.

I used to install radios for a local stereo store when I was in high school.  Back then you could put in a radio with 4 wires... power, ground, left and right!  And sometimes without a ground wire!  And a lot of times you didn't do anything more than reach under the dash.  The Corvette was a PITA.  No switched 12 volts so I needed the Crux to get switched 12 and chimes.  Rear and front cameras, ground  and negative leads everywhere, microphone, GPS antenna, power to the radio antenna(!), external amp and 6 speakers...................

More research.  On this website: https://www.idatalinkmaestro.com/en/products/maestro-rr2 the 2019 Transit Connect as listed as supported, but only without the amplifier.  I believe mine has an amplifier (6 speakers instead of 4), although I think I would happily give that up in exchange for the button interface I prefer.

Of course when I read the manual for that product, it says 2014-2018 Transit Connect

Many of the items for this car also specify 2020+

It seems that 2019 was an oddball year. 

Seems like the only way to know for sure might be to buy both the connection kits and see which one I can make work best.  For now I'm going to make a phone mount thats better than the piece of E36 M3 I have in there now and go back to focusing on the actual camper part of the build.

Audio can be daunting now, is there a factory option that gets you closer to what you want?  
 

I added a Sony receiver with Car Play in our 2006 Rav4, and instead of a touch screen the volume controls are buttons. Not as good as a knob, but much better than a touch screen. Since the phone is plugged in 90% of the time, wired CarPlay wasn't an inconvenience for us. We also don't have any steering wheel controls, which typically require another module.

I was shopping CarPlay options for our '15 Forester, and with a similar setup as our Rav4, it was going to be about $500 from Crutchfield with all the harness adapters, steering wheel control adapters, etc. I decided to pass for the moment and revisit down the road. 

100% Crutchfield. I installed a Pioneer Carplay unit in my wife's 2015 Enclave. It had to connect with 8 speakers, steering wheel controls, backup camera, microphone, satellite antenna, rear entertainment system, etc. I had to call Crutchfield 3 times during the install but they were totally on the ball and the unit was fully operational on the first crank. The lack of physical knobs is a PITA but otherwise it was a major upgrade. 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

 

but for the most part, no one listens to FM or CDs much anymore.

I actually do, and the factory radio in my Mustang has both AM/FM, CD plus Sirius/XM and Apple Carplay.

Where can I find something like this for my 93 Jeep Cherokee without finding it in a wrecking yard and rebuilding the entire dash.

I ended up going thru Crutchfield for our old  Sorento, which is mainly used for trips, dog transport, and Home Despot runs.  The adapter boxes are a must with all the speakers and steering wheel buttons. For the actual head unit I got a Jensen CAR813, which I'm not a fan of.  It does have a physical volume knob, and I like the bigger floating screen that's easier to see.

prodarwin said:

Lets say I back off on the knob request.  What about a pause button.  I'm pretty sour after almost 5 years of car ownership without one, and its pretty berkeleying critical.  I'm honestly blown away more radios don't have one.

Or is there a way to confirm that the steering wheel mute will function as pause before I actually purchase the head unit?

Pandora on Android Auto has a screen based pause button. At least the Kenwood double din in my Hummer has one. I would assume that all of them do.

It does not have a knob for volume but the two buttons closest to you are the volume. They are easy to find and work well.

The Kenwood in my G35 was connected to all the steering wheel buttons and they worked well. It was an older unit and did not have wireless Android Auto. 

I have a cheapo atoto s8 in my corvette. TBH the android radios are 'good enough' these days. You can pay a lot more for worse hardware with a brand name on it. The real challenge is OEM integration with newer cars. There is basic steering wheel support in the generic android radios like mine, but the more functions you need to integrate, the harder it gets.