01 s60 plug and play navigation question

Zorak412 · Post by **Zorak412** » 26 Dec 2017, 20:12

I hate the stock radio in my s60 and I was looking at the plug and play navigation units on eBay. Has anyone used them and are they really just as simple as just plugging them in and bam they work? I’m skeptical about it but from pictures they look like they fit in there nice and stock like. I hate the look of aftermarket radios in these cars and the double din radios and adapters look terrible. I know eBay sucks and it is probably a waste of money. But I’m curious about them.

Zorak412 · Post by **Zorak412** » 08 Jan 2018, 22:06

No one? I might just buy it in a few weeks just to see.

Post by **oragex** » 09 Jan 2018, 09:35

You will have a permanent SRS message on the cluster and a yellow light along. Plus how good the gps will be on those units? Your Android/iIphone/Windows phone in a holder has about the best GPS system out there. On windows phones it doesn't even require data plan or a sim cart and it's excellent

Post by **matthew1** » 09 Jan 2018, 09:44

The Volvo nav on my 2004 V70 R was awful. Here's another thread on it: viewtopic.php?p=389600#p389600

Post by **mrbrian200** » 09 Jan 2018, 12:56

OE infotainment systems consistently lag 10-15 years behind features/functionality available in the aftermarket. Volvo is no exception.
Sometime around 1997 I put an Aiwa radio in the Cadillac that played Mp3s on a data CD. Yet the HU-650 from 2006 doesn't do that.
Previous couple cars I had Blaupunkts (the good ones before R.Bosch GMBH sold the brand to a Chinese company). The last one manufactured around 2008 had the absolutely wonderfully clean sounding Codem-D tuner (technology wise, it's light years ahead of typical PLL analog decoding tuners that persist elsewhere to this day) + 5 band user adjustable DSP parametric EQ, plus all kinds of user configurable options (choosing between adjacent channel selectivity vs tuner sensitivity..being able to turn off the annoying high frequency cut behavior on marginal FM signals etc.. I doubt even the brand new Volvos with the $5000 B&W add-on employ this level of features/technology.

A GPS system from 2001 would be comparable to an aftermarket GPS from about 1988. Such things didn't exist in 1988 so it's probably to be considered marginally more useful than, and you'll likely be about as happy with, what we would have actually used in 1988: A printed map and looking up how to get somewhere before you get in the car.
Or use a smart phone/current model stick-on GPS unit.

I've thought about picking a sun visor out of salvage and customizing/placing a Garmin type device in place of the vanity mirror I never look at. The +12V power supplied to the vanity mirror lights (and garage door opener) is tied to the main relay. Device would power/wake when I unlock/open a door and cut a couple minutes after the car is shut off. Perfect so long as it doesn't pull more current than that circuit is designed to supply...specifically I would need to be concerned about how much current it pulls when charging its internal battery.

Zorak412 · Post by **Zorak412** » 14 Jan 2018, 13:24

I’m not much worried about the gps it’s expected to be garbage but I can’t stand the stock radio and I hate using aftermarket stereos in nice cars since they don’t work with the factory amps and the speakers always sound terrible when the amp isn’t used. The radio in these are like a 1988 radio anyways. I can’t control the bass level and the treble level separate and it always has too much bass and sounds bad and using any type of cassette adapter for my phone doesn’t work nor does the transmitter. Everything I read about this eBay radio it’s all plug and play and mounts perfectly in there but I’m definitely skeptical.

Post by **Rattnalle** » 14 Jan 2018, 13:54

You won't get an SRS-message. That's from the AC-console, not the stereo head unit. Tip: Don't disconnect the AC-console with the battery connected while changing the radio. You will however get a permanent AUM-error since the audio module in question isn't there anymore. Can't been seen unless you hook the car up to VIDA or similar though.

As for those android powered units that are on eBay I've heard very few reviews. The plug-and-play part seems to not alwyas work, that is the steering wheel buttons won't work. Sound quality seems a bit so-so as well.

I've fitted a standard single DIN Alpine head unit in my car. The stock HU-603 together with the door speakers were broken. No steering wheel buttons but otherwise it works fine. The bluetooth handsfree microphone isn't top of the line but it works. You can see some of it in the picture below. I run two amps beneath the floor in the boot from it. A 4-channel for the doros and one that feeds a stock subwoofer. Tried feeding the stock amp under the seat at first but that didn't sound too well.

When I need navigation I clip my phone onto one of the vents just above.

Post by **vtl** » 14 Jan 2018, 16:16

Everything works (steering wheel controls, dimmer, backup camera, few dozens of engine/transmission/AWD/etc sensors. I may upgrade the stereo to another one, with navigation.