W211 2009 Audio 20 replacement

[Damoe]

Hi
I have a W211, one of the very last ones, with, I think, the audio 20 stereo.
I occasionally have issues with connectivity to the microphone when using the telephone. I can turn the radio off and back on again, and that cures it. Or turning the car off and restarting also cures it. Basically a reset of the unit.
I was wondering if a new head unit would cure that, and also if that was the case, I could potentially take the opportunity to add in GPS and Bluetooth connectivity for audio streaming, while still having the steering wheel controls.

Is this a reasonably straight forward plug and play upgrade with an adaptor harness, or is there likely to be issues, as I've read that there is a fibre optic system in the car?

Cheers
D

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[M80]

Do you have the additional amp, or is your entertainments system the basic? Having the Audio 20 I would assume basic.

For years I have swapped out to Chinese Android systems. But recently I'm finding that they are less reliable than have been, although it was always a risk with Chinese kit.

They are plug and play and should arrive with the correct ISO connector.
That would give FM / AM, internal media storage, BT and wi fi (useful for tethering to your phone on the hoof via Hotspot).
Site the GPS antenna below the dash and you have GPS.
A £4 BT plug in transmitter for the OBD port provides for the Torque app monitoring
Adding dash cam and reverse cam is less easy but DIY doable.

If you decide to only go for the Octo Core, 4gig Ram units.
The internal storage of media can be up to 64 gig, but really any more than a few gig and you spend too long looking for whatever anyway. These will play media from your smart phone, and can take additional SD cards.

In my 211 my 1st unit, an 8" screen model, the screen had such poor contrast the Tom Tom app was unusable. I also discovered the amp was poor quality.

The 2nd unit was a 7" model. Better screen. The microphone internal or the external I ran to overhead wouldn't work. The reverse cam feed only gave out 5 volts, but I could have picked that up from the reverse lights anyway. But worse driving to London Saturday the unit 1st struggled to keep an FM station and crackled, and then ESP, ABS, alarms came up, no indicators, wipers wouldn't stop, then wouldn't start..... and other symptoms. Pulling a 25A fuse restored all but it happened again. Luckily I've become familiar with the dash strip down so disconnected the HU at the services. That cured all issues.

The Chinese sellers are reliable in their unreliability and will fanny you about in hope the eBay return period passes, so both units are going back for refund.
As over the years I've had success with these I aim to try another Chinese unit, 3rd time lucky and all that.
I can let you know which I settle for as and when I get there.

 

[Damoe]

Thanks for the really detailed response.
I'd forgotten that I'd need to install a GPS antenna, plus I'd looked at the double din GPS units and scared myself with the price of them. At least those from a reputable manufacturer like Pioneer or Alpine or such like.

How can I tell if I have the additional amp?

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[M80]

Type in your VIN

Mercedes VIN Decoder | Decode Your Mercedes-Benz VIN

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www.lastvin.com

Reading down the list of items it should be there, but I would expect an Audio 20 description (at 523) with no amp detailed elsewhere in the list.

I'm back to testing the 8" and after I have performed resets it looks reasonable. But that's on the bench and when reinstalled to the motor I'll see if the amp serves purpose.

8" Android 10.0 GPS Car Stereo Head Unit for Mercedes Benz CLS/E-Class W211 W219 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 8" Android 10.0 GPS Car Stereo Head Unit for Mercedes Benz CLS/E-Class W211 W219 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

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You can easily pay more and get less, as in slower processor and 2 gig of ram. When using multiple apps the extra ram makes a big difference.

When I installed and tested I found 2 speakers blown. Since buying the 211 in March I hadn't really worried about the sound and it wasn't obvious. Anyway I've fitted 4 Bose CH6CK speakers. They can use the existing plastic frames and the tweeters (with some minor adapting) go into the original tweeter frames.
Good bass, treble a bit tingy so I've to drop the trebles on the equaliser app.

 

[Damoe]

Just checked and yes, it is Audio 20 on line 523, and no sign of an amplifier on the consist.

 

[Damoe]

I was looking at this, as it would suit me probably best with the availability to access iPod, as I have an iPod touch loaded with all my music back catalogue.

Pioneer DMH-A240DAB 6.2" Mechless Double Din Touch Screen Stereo Bluetooth MP3 USB DAB Radio

6.2” Clear Resistive touchscreen CD/DVD tuner, with easy smartphone connectivity via a simple USB cable supporting Smartphone Mirroring. Bluetooth, DAB/ DAB+ Digital Radio, 13-band GEQ, advanced audio features and premium audio quality.

www.caraudiodirect.co.uk

Does anyone have any thoughts as to the compatibility of this?

There also send to be a range of adaptors available but car audio direct could probably advise best on that??

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[HankScorpio]

Not sure if it's what you're after but I e just installed an Alpine Ezi DAB in my W211. This has given me digital radio, phone and streaming through my aux port (comes with a mic). Cost me just about £60 if you include the new 12v socket I'm hiding behind the dash so it looks neat.

Does mean you have a separate controller on the dash. I was hoping to hide it away by the 12v socket on the dash but it's a bit too big. Probably could have done it if I'd have made a new bracket for it but ain't no one got time for that.

If you look at the second page of my thread in this section - 'New 211 owner with a few (turned out to a lot) questions' I've posted a photo.

 

[Damoe]

Cheers Hank - I noticed that thread already - I want to have everything incorporated in the one head unit to be honest. I had also forgotten about the cradle that I have in the centre console - reading up on that I think that the cradle is just a BT adaptor - which means if I fitted a new head unit with BT built in, that I could remove that cradle, freeing up more space and perhaps using the power supply to the cradle for USB charging - is that correct?