"Slant6" (slant-6)
03/07/2019 at 15:00 • Filed to: None
7
21|
"Slant6" (slant-6)
03/07/2019 at 15:00 • Filed to: None | 7
| 21 |
Recently purchased a 2012 TDI Sportwagen. It was great, except for the stereo . It was overall just underwhelming, and Bluetooth only played on the right channel, through all speakers. Despite having a warranty the dealer refused to do anything about this, saying it was supposed to sound that way. I might have fought them harder on that, but even if it was fixed it still would be an outdated system. Not worth my time. The stereo was really the only part of the car I didn’t like. In comes the RCD330, an OEM head unit sold in Chinese Volkswagens capable of running Android Auto and Apple Car Play.
The new head unit, blending in beautifully
Apparently the Chinese market has some cars that still use the MK6 style interior, which warrants them producing this new radio for the older interior. From what I can find on the Chinese Volkswagen website the last gen Tiguan is sold there, and the Lavida which is a last gen Passat? Anyway, it turns out that these head units are being produced and are readily available. For $200 I couldn’t resist, especially considering high end head units that run Android auto can cost up to twice as much. And the fact that it blends in with the interior is a huge advantage . I hate how flashy aftermarket head units are, why do they all need RGB lighting?
The old head unit for reference
Install was as simple as removing the trim and taking out 4 T20 screws. It was plug-n-play. This unit doesn’t have satellite radio though, so that antenna didn’t have a plug, not a problem for me though, I don’t want satellite radio, I have android auto, which works beautifully with Spotify. Since it’s an OEM unit my steering wheel controls work too, I can use the old voice control button to toggle the Google assistant. Additionally everything sounds much better. It might be in my head but I feel like everything is much clearer. It’s definitely playing in stereo now.
The way I look at it I paid $200 to make my car essentially a new one. Granted new cars also can have other features, but really infotainment is really what dates cars these days. I’m comfortable and all my needs are met.
TorqueToYield
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 15:03 |
|
That’s awesome. Any issues with displaying E nglish instead of Chinese?
|
Slant6
> TorqueToYield
03/07/2019 at 15:07 |
|
Nope, I was able to select English as the language on set up and haven’t seen a Chinese character since. I think enough people use English worldwide that it’s built into a lot of these kinda systems.
CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> TorqueToYield
03/07/2019 at 15:07 |
|
Given it's app driven, the app would dictate the language not the head unit. Maybe I'm wrong, but that'd be my guess.
|
Slant6
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/07/2019 at 15:08 |
|
For anroid auto yes, but when not in “App” mode the radio and media inputs, as well as settings are all in English .
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 15:45 |
|
That’s amazing. I see some of these VWs for sale that look awfully tempting, especially TDIs with the extended dieselgate warranty...but I usually end up wishing for a 16(?)+ model so I can have AA/CP. This is definitely a very good piece of news in considering an older car as a no compromises option again.
Is there a specific OEM stereo this works as a replacement for, or would you say it would work on any Golf from that generation?
|
Slant6
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
03/07/2019 at 15:56 |
|
From what I understand they should work in anything from 2009-2016, G olf family and Jetta. Of course if it’s the base non screen radio it won’t have steering wheel controls, but should still work.
The 2015 TDIs are on the mk7 platform, and is the newest TDI you can get, probably worth springing for, but my 2012 feels perfectly modern still. Still looks contemporary and build quality is really solid on the wagons.
BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 16:04 |
|
Does it have integration for a backup camera?
The Funk of Forty Thousand Years
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 16:17 |
|
BTW the VW Lavida is a homegrown model that sits between the P olo and Jetta . They sell a ton of them there for cheap .
|
Slant6
> BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
03/07/2019 at 16:17 |
|
Yes! Although it needs an adapter which is available online. I don't have a camera installed so I just get a black screen when I go in reverse, but I'm thinking of adding one since it's compatible.
|
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 16:26 |
|
How long have you had the car? Assuming you looked in to the dieselgate warranty stuff in buying the car - any resources you found helpful figuring all that out would be very much appreciated. Sounds like there are 2 steps to the fix and the warranty resets after step 2? At this point have all cars basically had both fixes, or is #2 still TBD? Couldn’t really decipher that out from my cursory browsing in to the topic.
|
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 16:40 |
|
p.s. been looking at some local listings and running them through the dieselgate vin check. Looks like most of the cars in dealer lots just had their fix done and so should have 4 years/48k mile warranty from date of sale. I see 2011s with asking price under $8k, and others with similar mileage asking $10-12k. So they seem to be all over the place but I don’t really see much difference between them. Sounds like good deals to be had for sure though, along with some pretty excellent warranty coverage for a few years afterwards. So tempting…especially knowing what I now know about your little stereo upgrade too!
|
ZHP Sparky, the 5th
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 16:43 |
|
p.s. been looking at some local listings and running them through the dieselgate vin check. Looks like most of the cars in dealer lots just had their fix done and so should have 4 years/48k mile warranty from date of sale. I see 2011s with asking price under $8k, and others with similar mileage asking $10-12k. So they seem to be all over the place but I don’t really see much difference between them. Sounds like good deals to be had for sure though, along with some pretty excellent warranty coverage for a few years afterwards. So tempting…especially knowing what I now know about your little stereo upgrade too!
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 17:23 |
|
Wow that is super cheap for android auto! Especially if it is an OEM quality replacement. I had thought about doing that for my STi but all of the units I was seeing were around $400+ . The only sub $300 double dins were shitty infotainment running some sort of questionable OS. I ended up just spending $100 on a very good Alpine Single DIN. I too wanted to avoid anything flashy or stupid looking. Thankfully, the Alpine unit I got has customizable colors in order to color match the OEM lighting in the dashboard. Bluetooth, iphone wired , and usb flash drive all work flawlessly so I am happy! This is especially nice since my car is 13 years old so now it feels properly modern as well. I’ve thought about adding amps, nice speakers, and subwoofers but I am trying to avoid falling down that rabbit hole of money spending again..
But yeah going from mono to stereo like that is bound to be a tremendous improvement in sound quality! And I bet it was some shitty old BT driver the old unit was running whereas the new one is on a more modern one. Make a huge difference between BT 2.0 or 3.0 and then the newer 4.2+
404 - User No Longer Available
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 17:40 |
|
Looks like they kept this mildly infuriating feature too, lol.
Khalbali
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 18:11 |
|
Thats awesome great find!
mazda616
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 18:31 |
|
Nice! Mazda is offering an upgrade to my 2016 6’a “MazdaConnect” system that’ll allow Android Auto and Apple CarPlay but they’re charging $300 for it. Sigh.
|
mazda616
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 18:31 |
|
Nice! Mazda is offering an upgrade to my 2016 6’a “MazdaConnect” system that’ll allow Android Auto and Apple CarPlay but they’re charging $300 for it. Sigh.
|
mazda616
> Slant6
03/07/2019 at 18:32 |
|
Nice! Mazda is offering an upgrade to my 2016 6’s “MazdaConnect” system that’ll allow Android Auto and Apple CarPlay but they’re charging $300 for it. Sigh.
RacingShark
> Slant6
03/08/2019 at 09:26 |
|
I wonder if you could cut the wire that tells the head unit the car is in reverse. This should prevent it from switching to a black screen. If you get the camera, just reconnect the wire.
|
Slant6
> RacingShark
03/08/2019 at 11:31 |
|
I probably could. I think there's also a firmware update I could get for it. Although it's easy enough to get to, if I go back there I'm just as likely to install a camera.
|
Slant6
> ZHP Sparky, the 5th
03/08/2019 at 11:39 |
|
I got the car in January, so 2 months yesterday. I’ve only put about 2 000 miles on it though. Any car sold from a dealer should have the fix done. I think they order them from VW and do the fix at the dealership, makes sense compared to fixing all of them at once.
I have a 2 year unlimited mile CPO warranty that covers just about everything, and then there’s the TDI emmisions warranty which I’m still not super clear on, but should cover things for a while.
But I don’t have any complaints about the car. Mine was listed for $10,999 and I was out the door for $12,060 after dealer and plate fees in NC. I like the wagons myself, they’re based on the golf, not the Jetta and it’s a large bump in quality. My boss has a 2012 gas Jetta sedan and while they’re similar the Wagon is just that much nicer to warrant avoiding a Jetta sedan. Not to mention the wagon has the golf's independent rear suspension and front end.