What Dab radio and sat nav for a vw t5

Hi,

I have a 2006 vw t5 and an aftermarket dab radio but it’s seem better days.

I want a double din unit with sat nav and dab+ and bluetooth. I’d like a rear view camera and dash cam that feeds into it. I’d also like to be able to cast my phone onto it but that’s not essential.

My van isn’t canbus which has limited my choices and also due to the shape and size I’ve found it hard to get radios that fit.

What are others using? Any links or suggestions appreciated. I’m not sure on budget, probably around £300 or slightly more if it had a rear camera and dash cam.

This is my unit, ignore the dust, it’s not been used much this year. Thanks

I’d highly recommend the kenwood dmx8019 with CarPlay. The screen is much more responsive than the cheaper ones and doesn’t suffer from the dreaded t5 glare so much either (not as good as the tilting screen jobs but they’re well out of budget)
Mine is later than yours so I had to pay a fortune in additional components to make it work but I guess fitting to yours should be much simpler and cheaper

Carplay ftw, it gets all its info from the phone, so never goes out of date.
I wouldn’t consider a head unit that wasn’t carplay nowadays.
I have a pioneer one, can’t remember which one it is, it was about £380 or so.

Carplay ftw, it gets all its info from the phone, so never goes out of date.

That’s a great point. Thanks

I’m a bit reluctant to spend too much on a radio as I’ve had one nicked years ago and even now, I still find little squares of glass.

Kenwood dmx7017dabs is probably the best shout for the money, I’ve got the 8 series but it’s a chunk more money for the extra features and wireless CarPlay. You won’t have the speed sensor canbus link which I think you need for wireless Apple CarPlay, (this might have been solved with an update) android wireless is fine.

Absolut5 will sell you all the kit you need to integrate it all and give you all the advice you need, give them a shout and let them talk you through the best options. Bear in mind a £300 stereo will cost you another £100 or so in adapters potentially depending what you go for, wiring loom, dab Ariel etc although you shouldn’t need a fascia adapter for your van. Add another £50 or so for a cheap RVC, Kenwood do a linked RVC and dashcam but it’s bloody expensive and I don’t really see the benefit of a linked dashcam.

Don’t forget speakers, sound deadening etc… 😉 it gets expensive but you have a t5, you know that😂

Carplay ftw, it gets all its info from the phone, so never goes out of date.

This. Until I bought my new car, I’d never tried it, despite driving literally hundreds of cars with it fitted, I just couldn’t be arsed to set it up for the short time I was driving the car. Now it’s set up in mine, I realise what an advantage it would have been. If I’m playing music on my phone, and have it selected as the source instead of the radio, as soon as I start the car it just picks up straight away. As far as satnav is concerned, there don’t appear to be too many CarPlay adapted apps around apart from Apple Maps, and TomTom, although Waze might be compatible at some time. I’ve had TomTom on my phone for some time, having used Navmii, Here and CoPilot, but my team leader when I was working for BCA kept bitching about me being late and it must be my satnav so I need to get one like his, conveniently ignoring the simple fact that we were approaching the intended destination from completely different directions on different roads! Anyway, I installed TomTom and I found I really preferred it, and with CarPlay it works really well, I can set up my route indoors, go out to the car, swipe the app along on the car screen, plug the phone into the car USB port, and lo! And indeed behold! It’s there on a nice big screen, and I can choose to have either the radio or music from the phone with voice guidance. No more fannying around with a suction screen mount, the phone just sits in a little cubby in front of the gear shift.
It’s just nice when tech works as it’s supposed to do, and I’ve had at least one real failure in car audio, an Alpine, which was just a disaster trying to get it to work with an iPod. 🤬

VW RNS315 DAB seems to be a popular choice with people I know (wanting to upgrade to that myself)

As far as satnav is concerned, there don’t appear to be too many CarPlay adapted apps around apart from Apple Maps, and TomTom, although Waze might be compatible at some time

Google maps works on CarPlay does it not? The only one you need really.

I looked at the same but couldn’t justify the cost. Ended up just getting a quadlock mount to hold the phone in a convenient place and then use google maps directly on the phone. Wireless charging adapter for the mount is handy too to avoid cable plugging-in faff.

Has anyone bought an Asure radio? Seems to have everything I want and comes with all the connections. Just never heard of them before. £230

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Stereo-Android-10-DVD-CarPlay-GPS-Sat-Nav-For-VW-Polo-BORA-PASSAT-B5-GOLF-4-/233784512038?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

Alternatively, this pioneer has everything I need but maybe I need some more adapters. Is it worth the extra money? £350 but not looked for the cheapest online yet.

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/android-auto/pioneer-sph-da230dab-509346.html?cm_mmc=Google-_-AICC%20-%20Car%20Audio%20-%20Product-_-Pioneer%20SPH-DA%20130%20Car%20Stereo%20with%20Apple%20CarPlay%20Exact-_-ad&source=ppc&_$ja=tsid:35582|

halifaxpete
Full Member
VW RNS315 DAB seems to be a popular choice with people I know (wanting to upgrade to that myself)

I had a 315 in my 2010 VW and couldn’t wait to get rid of it. The screen is tiny, the sound quality is pants and it has virtually no features in comparison with aftermarket.

Would probably look ok and not be as attractive the thieves, but I wouldn’t buy one.

Kenwood or Pioneer for me, with Kenwood probably pipping it.

edit – Personally I wouldn’t touch anything of Chinese origin from ebay etc. Sure they are cheap and appear to have loads of toys/features but, 90% of them sound awful out of the box and some are just plain nasty.

Spend a little more and buy a basic double din from the known brands.

If you can live without a CD player these Pioneers look good.

https://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-pioneer-sph-da250dab_p-42038.htm?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxr_2-uG07QIVl_hRCh3iMAs7EAAYASAAEgKC6fD_BwE

I’ve looked at them to replace my VW unit. I forget which model mine is but it’s stock in a T6 Highline with large screen and Apple Play. The wired Apple connection is great and I use Google Maps for navigation so can advocate to go for a double din without sat nav on this basis.

The reason I’m looking to change is an intermittent issue which disconnects the phone at random. VW couldn’t work it out during the last service so I’m on the verge of giving up. I mention this as on this basis I wouldn’t consider a VW unit as an upgrade (plus they tend to seem for a lot even secondhand).

Hi everyone, thanks for your advice. I’ve managed to pick up a pioneer DA230DAB from ebay, ex display unit £250 with 12 months seller warranty. (there’s still a few left)

I’ve already got a dab radio so I’m hoping it will fit but no doubt I’ll need to buy loads of connections.

Any ideas what I might need?

Also any recommendations for a rear camera that will fit this radio?

Thanks

Hi,

Just a bit of an update and a few questions.

Pioneer DA230DAB radio and rear view camera installed

It was all set up working fine but now the rear camera has stopped working. Not sure if a wire has come out or I’ve changed a setting.

My previous radio worked when I turned the engine off but left the key in. As soon as I removed the key it would turn off.

The pioneer only works when I turn the key and put the coils on. If I turn the engine off it turns off. Have I wired this wrong or is this the only way due to the power it needs?

Apart from that the radio is brilliant, sound is great and android auto is excellent.

Thanks

You’ve got it wired up wrong – because you’ve got a previous aftermarket stereo in there the previous owner has probably done the hard bit and got the accessory live sorted.

On the stereo side of the wiring loom there should be a red and yellow cable, they should have bullet connectors in-line, swap those over.

If that doesn’t sort it, it’s probably a bit of a previous bodge – look for cut and joined wires on the van side. 2006 you should have quad lock wiring, if it is factory fresh then you should have a permanent live on the loom, everything else is done by canbus so for an aftermarket stereo you’ve got to get an accessory live and a light live from somewhere else on the dash. ASR switch works.

Kenwood 8019 or alpine halo seem to be most popular in transporters just now

Google maps works on CarPlay does it not? The only one you need really.

No, it isn’t. Google Maps are ok, as are AppleMaps, but I didn’t find either of them satisfactory, CoPilot had better graphics and easier to see routing, and TomTom was/is the best of the lot. Trust me, I used it to drive over 100,000 miles, and it’s set up as I prefer. The satnav installed in the car does work, but it’s still not up to TomTom standards – they’ve been doing satnav longer than Google have.