2005 Mercedes CLK55 AMG: Navigation Radio Upgrade

This client has been working with us for many years and brought us his Mercedes that we last equipped with an iPod/Auxiliary port. The factory radio began to fail and with a new replacement radio from Mercedes approaching several thousand dollars, he wanted to explore an aftermarket option.

He initially suggested a piece he found on the Internet that was listed as compatible with his vehicle. Unfortunately, this is yet another reason why you need to rely on professionals to save you time and money instead of working with an unfamiliar brand and product of low quality. The unit he brought to us would fit physically in his Mercedes but because his vehicle has a MOST communication ring, there are very limited options for such a vehicle and what he bought online would not work.

We did a trial-fit to confirm the incompatibility, found our initial assessment was correct and did some research [...]

This Accord had a broken CD changer and the customer came to us to get some help to set the car up for the new young driver in the family as well as for their use. The factory steering wheel controls were retained and we installed a new climate control panel since this year of Accord usually requires this piece.

Our aftermarket solution to replace a malfunctioning Honda radio is typically less than the dealer and offers you features that were not available when the car was brand new.

Our customer wanted to add SiriusXM as well as enhanced smartphone connectivity to their German roadster but the dealer didn’t give them much of an option. We replaced the entire radio, added the satellite receiver and were even able to retain the OEM steering wheel controls.

This customer hails from overseas where it is illegal to even touch your phone while driving, so their main goal was to ensure that level of driving safety in their new Corolla.

Their expectation was that this sort of level of integration with the vehicle would not be possible. Much to their surprise, we showed them an Android Auto receiver and they found it to be a winning combination. We even set them up with a nice HDMI / USB port so they had easy access to the device and a nice and clean installation.

We were pleasantly surprised to see yet another five star review from them the following day and an email letting us know that everything worked as advertised once they got home.

Ready to start your project?

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755

This customer wanted to surprise his daughter by getting a Bluetooth kit installed in her Honda Accord. A new option had just come onto the market which would allow for better signal quality to the OEM radio as well as interfacing with the steering wheel/radio controls.

With the push of a button on the steering wheel (or radio), you can accept, decline or switch a call to the handset. Voice control (Google Now or Apple’s Siri) for modern smartphones is also available where you can voice dial or ask Siri questions from the factory radio. Track names and Caller ID also appear in the OEM radio display. What a great way to integrate into the existing vehicle electronics!

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755

The owner of this Accent spends a lot of time in the car and the variety of music that they listen to required some serious changes. When we first heard the car, we knew right off that new speakers were needed but the owner couldn’t believe just how bad they were. A non-mechanism Bluetooth receiver hit the spot for his listening preferences (Spotify) and is ready for the next stage of upgrades (amplifier and subwoofer).

While the install was in progress, we spent some time listening to some amplifier and subwoofer options. We found that he also had issues with sound quality because of his source device. The same music when played from one of our smart phones had better signal quality.

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755

Lexus installations can sometimes be tricky but we were prepared for this one. We were told by Lexus that there was only one radio interface that was verified to work for this project and we ordered the appropriate parts. However, when installed, the “correct” part sounded horrible and didn’t work well, so we had to come up with another solution.

We found that we were able to adapt another radio interface (that was not listed as compatible for this car by the manufacturer) and it got the factory amplifier and speakers to work correctly as well as enabling all the new features of the DVD in-dash receiver including the Bluetooth function for phone calls and streaming music.

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755

Having just bought the car earlier that day, this customer brought us his almost silent Caprice. We found most of the speakers to be dead and the radio not functioning, either. In just a few short hours, we were able to restore sound to the front stage and provide an appropriate source unit that could connect to any of his devices.

Rear speakers and a healthy dose of bass (the trunk is huge!) are soon to follow…

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755

This customer came to us for Bluetooth connectivity for his Corvette. He prefers to keep his vehicles as close to stock as possible, so we only added an inconspicuous little “green telephone button” and microphone to the cockpit of this fine sports car. Now he is able to play music from his iPhone and take phone calls as needed.

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755

This customer came to us because both the Honda dealer and a Honda specialist would not touch the aftermarket radio that was installed in this car. Additionally, the dealer charged her almost as much to replace a fuse as it would cost to have fixed the problem in the first place!

The wiring on the radio was a disaster but apparently the dealer didn’t bother to look at it to determine why the vehicle’s instrument cluster lights would not stay on.

Not only did we fix the wiring issue but we properly connected and routed the wiring for the Bluetooth microphone. We also “stealth” installed it so her daughter could drive the car and take phone calls with mom while both hands remained on the steering wheel.

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755