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 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

This client is very particular about his installations. He came to North Carolina from California (the land of car audio) so his expectations were high. In his eyes, Radio-Active was the obvious shop for the job when he was doing his research.

We ended up doing 3 projects total:
Project #1: CarPlay receiver integration and backup camera
Project #2: LIDAR laser speed detection
Project #3: Custom RADAR detector mounting (not shown)

Ready to start your own project?

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755

This customer came to us with a totally dead factory navigation system. We explored various replacement options and he decided that an aftermarket navigation unit would provide all the necessary features his factory unit had.

The customer had an appointment with the dealership the following day but once we showed him our pricing for the factory part, our aftermarket solution (installed) was 50-70% less expensive than the dealership AND had a longer warranty!

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755

This is not your average Corvette. The folks at RPM Motorsports have tinkered with the engine bay and the owner brought it to us to update the vehicle information and entertainment system.

The obvious choice to make sure this Corvette’s driver can execute a fast getaway with all that extra turbocharged horsepower, was to make sure that he had an accurate navigator at all times – hence selecting a touchscreen GPS receiver to replace the factory radio.

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755

A long-time customer came back to us to have their sound system removed in preparation for trading the car in for a newer one. We were able to utilize their amplifiers and initially were going to keep the subwoofer and enclosures but they decided on new subwoofers, a ported enclosure and grills to protect the drivers.

A new GPS receiver was also added to integrate with their smartphone and to ensure they have navigation at all times. Steering wheel control integration and a replacement factory panel were also included in their installation along with some vibration dampening material in the doors.

Schedule a Consultation: 919-779-8755