500Partner
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- Sep 26, 2019
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Hi guys,
Looking for some help - we recently acquired a 2015 Fiat 500 Pop Star for my other half.
We settled for a lower spec head unit with the plan of upgrading it ourselves.
The car came with the very basic model head unit - MP3 CD player, there’s also no steering wheel controls.
The desired outcome is to install a new head unit (preferably a Stock Fiat 500 unit rather than a third party alternative) with the larger format screen and hopefully Sat Nav and if possible/an option DAB. Note that we have no desire to upgrade the steering wheel, so losing out on those controls is fine.
Looking online I was able to source various head units, mostly second hand (I’m aware we’d probably need to contact the dealership to get the code to get it up and running). Anyway, to cut a long story short I’ve ended up running up a list of questions prior to making a purchase, that I’m hoping you guys can help with.
1. All the head units I’ve found are mostly the same shape and size from what I can gather, regardless of the year of manufacture. Do all Fiat 500 headunits fit in any Fiat 500? Or have there been internal refreshes that make this not possible?
2. A bit of a follow up question on the above, even if they do fit, will there be any changes to connection types (cables) that may prove to be a hurdle? I’m aware that for DAB and even Bluetooth there may be additional connections and receivers/aerials I may need to install but that’s not a worry.
3. The current head unit, is only half the height of the larger screen headunits, and where the rest of these larger headunits go, there are currently some air vents for the heating/air con. (See attached photo). To install the new headunits I’m guessing I’d need to remove these vents? Do they just need capping off? Or can you buy a new dashboard facia that includes newly position vents and it’s just a case of re-routing the existing pipe work to these).
4. Just any other potential issues I should be aware of?
Cheers in advance guys, much appreciated!
Looking for some help - we recently acquired a 2015 Fiat 500 Pop Star for my other half.
We settled for a lower spec head unit with the plan of upgrading it ourselves.
The car came with the very basic model head unit - MP3 CD player, there’s also no steering wheel controls.
The desired outcome is to install a new head unit (preferably a Stock Fiat 500 unit rather than a third party alternative) with the larger format screen and hopefully Sat Nav and if possible/an option DAB. Note that we have no desire to upgrade the steering wheel, so losing out on those controls is fine.
Looking online I was able to source various head units, mostly second hand (I’m aware we’d probably need to contact the dealership to get the code to get it up and running). Anyway, to cut a long story short I’ve ended up running up a list of questions prior to making a purchase, that I’m hoping you guys can help with.
1. All the head units I’ve found are mostly the same shape and size from what I can gather, regardless of the year of manufacture. Do all Fiat 500 headunits fit in any Fiat 500? Or have there been internal refreshes that make this not possible?
2. A bit of a follow up question on the above, even if they do fit, will there be any changes to connection types (cables) that may prove to be a hurdle? I’m aware that for DAB and even Bluetooth there may be additional connections and receivers/aerials I may need to install but that’s not a worry.
3. The current head unit, is only half the height of the larger screen headunits, and where the rest of these larger headunits go, there are currently some air vents for the heating/air con. (See attached photo). To install the new headunits I’m guessing I’d need to remove these vents? Do they just need capping off? Or can you buy a new dashboard facia that includes newly position vents and it’s just a case of re-routing the existing pipe work to these).
4. Just any other potential issues I should be aware of?
Cheers in advance guys, much appreciated!