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Aftermarket stereo/nav unit?

48K views 28 replies 15 participants last post by  dfarries 
#1 ·
Hello Bimmerfest,

Thanks for continuing to help me through my bittersweet journey with my 2004 X5 4.4. Love the car, hate the maintenance bills.

Recently my stereo shorted out. Nav unit still works perfectly. My trusty independent shop referred me to a place that roughly quoted me $1000-$2000 to fix the OEM unit. Said it could be something simple maybe only a few hundred, but that's unlikely. Plus, they'd charge me $200 just to figure out what the problem is.

Does anyone have any luck with an aftermarket nav/stereo unit that will work for the car? I haven't interest in replacing everything etc. I found this unit on a few website:

http://www.autocarplaza.com/bmw-m5-1995-2003-2din-7-car-dvd-bt-tv-fm-ipod-rds-gps-can-bus-423.html

Has anyone used one of these? The foreign, somewhat dubious website and no name of a manufacturer concerns me. The audio shop I was referred to said an aftermarket unit made for the car doesn't exist. Any advice?

Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
Hi,

I just fitted one similar to the image what u got. I drive 2004 X5 E53 3.0i. I had to do a good amount of modification after I removed the OEM unit and the MID. But It work fine and looks grt.

let me know if you are still looking for some info let me know and I can help you.

Thanks
 
#4 ·
I bought a system off ebay for AUS $550. My main issue was the depth of the item. Due to that I had to cut the bracket inside the dash to upto 10mm. The bracket on my X5 is an integrated part which also holds the front a/c duct. So my only option was to modify just the area where the system sits. I have attached 2 pics just to give u an idea. It took me about 8hrs to finish the work by myself.

Let me know if you need further info, if you go ahead with it..

Cheers
 

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#10 ·
I think I saw one earlier today that required little or no modification. If I can find it again I'll let you know. I want to say it was non-DSP out of the box but they included instructions (which most don't) on how to modify the wiring for DAP models.


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#14 ·
Nice. That looks really interesting. Mimi Entertainment finally responded but, didn't say if their unit supports DSP. Hualingan looks like it may be the best option right now unless Dynavin now makes units with DSP support.

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#20 ·
Yep, Dynavin.

Its been okay for me for the time I've had it.

I don't even use the android side anymore because you have to keep downloading and updating all the apps you had about every other day. It may be a power issue, I did the install myself so I can't be angry. Otherwise the unit itself is okay. Bluetooth streaming if fine, phone quality is meh, I don't even use the navigation, but when I did it was a bit choppy, so I downloaded the Navfree USA app and that was perfect, but again you download it today, restart the car day after tomorrow and the app is gone.

The bad part about that is not only would I have to download the app again, I then had to download individual states I frequent NC, TN, MD and VA which takes minutes and data depending on if you get caught away from home or not.

I haven't been on the site in a while, but I do know that it DEFINITELY IS NOT worth the price I paid.
 
#21 ·
Yeah. I'm not to keen on the android version. I really don't know which road to take with this one. Hualingan or Dynavin or whomever else. I just want the thing to be plug and play with DSP support. LOL. Apparently that is to much to ask. Those DSP adapters look promising though. :)
 
#22 ·
Sorry to re-awaken this. I've been doing quite the bit of research. It seems like there are a few options for us guys and our X5's when it comes to car audio. Those with DSP / Factory Nav, we now have headunits offered by Hualingan and MimiEntertainment that will support our Harmon Kardon Amps and Nav but, i'm sure you already are aware of this. As far as retaining OBC functionality, there isn't an option as yet. From what I understand, you will retain MPG and Range functions though, unless you relocate the MID. The other option I have seen is some people rip out everything in the car, the DSP amp, MID, Radio, etc. I don't like this idea but, to each his own. Something else I have been looking in to is I have read that you can spice into the high level inputs on the DSP amp from the head unit and the system will operate, you would also connect the headunits remote wire to the DSP amps. I am still looking in to this. I think this is what a DSP adapter accomplishes. Any feedback on this?
 
#23 · (Edited)
Hey there, I've been struggling with the eonon unit I got it in place and powering up but no sound. My factory set up is business cd radio with obc and dsp, no navy. I tried splicing in the factory radio in the rear per suggestions on another thread but the factory radio will not turn on, guessing I have one or more splices wrong. Any thoughts?
 
#26 · (Edited)
Skptc, don't know if you've ever gotten an answer to your inquiry. I just stumbled upon the eonon. Apparently, the unit doesn't support Bimmers with DSP. Kind of pissed me off when I found out. Just took a look at the Dynavin site though and they have a unit the works with DSP (FINALLY!!!!!!!).

Check it out: (For the E53 which is my ride of course but, looks like the newer models support DSP).

N6 - E53

Model Number:N6-E53

BMW series 7" Touch Screen LCD Multimedia Navigation System
 
#29 ·
Hi, Kaytie. Here's a suggestion for your GPS. I would access the nav unit (my 2006 X5 e53 OEM unit is located behind the left rear access panel) Remove unit and unplug the 2 wire harnesses and GPS antenna wire at the rear of the unit. IN my case, I got a disc reading error. After determining that replacing my nav unit at a Cartoys store was not an option (they said they only had dash kits for the radio only E53s and not for ones like my with OEM navi, I found a great place (www.bimmeronly.com) where I sent them my nav unit and $299 later they quickly returned (about 1 week turnaround) the unit to me including what appears to be the DVD drive unit they must have replaced and after reinstalling, my nav now works perfectly in my 9 year old X5.

Another point- if you have a bluetooth phone in your car that has stopped operating, you may be able to reactivate it by unplugging it (similar to resetting the navi described above) and after a minute or 2, reinstalling the plug. However, to access this unit on my x5, You first must remove a plastic part located in the left corner of the spare tire well directly in front of the access panel. it is held in place by three 10mm nuts. Once removed, you can access the bluetooth unit by removing 2 plastic 10mm nuts and carefully pulling out the unit. I did this and after several years of non operation, it is now functioning. Hope this helps.
 
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