Photo: reddit user chippinganimal
Bringing Apple CarPlay to older car models is technically possible with the right hardware, but as many of you discovered the hard way, buying aftermarket media units most often involves spending several hundreds of dollars.
While you could do the whole thing a lot cheaper using nothing more than a Raspberry Pi, Ford Focus owners ready to spend more can always turn to the Sony XAV-AX8000 for nearly the best experience they could ask for.
A redditor did just this and installed the Sony media unit on a 2013 Ford Focus SE, replacing the 4-inch screen that was connected to the Ford Sync system.
You can see the result in the photo here, and according to his post, everything is running smoothly. The installation isn’t a pain in the neck either, and you should be able to do it on your own.
“The removal process for the Sync radio with the 4 inch screen was super easy and only 3 pieces: the plastic trim with the buttons, the double din sized box with the processor and other hardware, and the little screen itself,” the redditor called chippinganimal says.
“Only thing I'd say was custom was splicing the power, ground and speaker wires from the radio harness to the vehicle harness, and for this radio it was 99% color for color, except for the Amplified antenna power lead. It's easy but time consuming, you just strip all the wires back about a centimeter or half inch and either twist them together and tighten a small orange or blue wirenut on, or solder them.”
Now, here comes the bad news. The whole aftermarket upgrade costs $935 with taxes and shipping, as the kit includes the stereo, the dash kit, the Euro antenna adapter, and the Maestro RR steering wheel control module.
Sony is currently selling the XAV-AX8000 media receiver for $549.99 on its official website if you want to get it right now. Of course, it supports both Android Auto and CarPlay and supports touch input, so you don’t necessarily have to buy the steering wheel module.
A redditor did just this and installed the Sony media unit on a 2013 Ford Focus SE, replacing the 4-inch screen that was connected to the Ford Sync system.
You can see the result in the photo here, and according to his post, everything is running smoothly. The installation isn’t a pain in the neck either, and you should be able to do it on your own.
“The removal process for the Sync radio with the 4 inch screen was super easy and only 3 pieces: the plastic trim with the buttons, the double din sized box with the processor and other hardware, and the little screen itself,” the redditor called chippinganimal says.
“Only thing I'd say was custom was splicing the power, ground and speaker wires from the radio harness to the vehicle harness, and for this radio it was 99% color for color, except for the Amplified antenna power lead. It's easy but time consuming, you just strip all the wires back about a centimeter or half inch and either twist them together and tighten a small orange or blue wirenut on, or solder them.”
Now, here comes the bad news. The whole aftermarket upgrade costs $935 with taxes and shipping, as the kit includes the stereo, the dash kit, the Euro antenna adapter, and the Maestro RR steering wheel control module.
Sony is currently selling the XAV-AX8000 media receiver for $549.99 on its official website if you want to get it right now. Of course, it supports both Android Auto and CarPlay and supports touch input, so you don’t necessarily have to buy the steering wheel module.
Google News