Hey folks. There’s always a topic going that is discussing some sort of head unit replacement/add-on/mod etc, to give better connectivity or mapping.

I’ve read up on most options and tried quite a few as well. Replacing the head unit on all but the most basic systems means losing amps, or subs, or reverse parking sensors, or needing lots of harnesses and rewiring to get things working. It becomes very expensive.

Using add on screens also seems to come with some downsides or are very costly.

I personally tried a stand-alone CarPlay/Android Auto unit and although it worked, it had terrible interference issues, was slow and the only audio input options to the head unit were aux-in or FM. Aux-in is ok but you lose steering wheel controls. There are more costly standalone units which allow Bluetooth connection to the car to route all audio there and will retain steering wheel controls. These are termed Dual Bluetooth.

So what I'm currently testing is using an Android tablet with a cheap CarLinkIt dongle I got off AliExpress for about £20 delivered. Depending on the kit you use, it could be really straight forward. A lot of people buy a cheap Amazon Kindle Fire to use. However, you have to consider the fact that something is sitting on your dash with a lithium ion battery in the (possibly) hot sun. Not safe. It's recommended to remove the battery and mod the power supply to use one from a 12v socket, so that it turns on and off with the car ignition. Ultimately you could get a cheap tablet and you wouldn't need to do any mods at all, just be wary of the battery.

I had one of my kids old Google Nexus 7 (2013 model) kicking about, which was super out of date, so rooted it, installed AOSP Extended https://xdaforums.com/t/rom-deb-flo-8-1-0-...e_vignette, which is a lightweight and therefore very fast/responsive OS and then run the software that comes with the dongle. It's brilliant. Full CarPlay/Android Auto functionality, with the ability to stream the audio from the tablet to the car head unit. I removed the battery and performed the "Nexus 7 no battery mod" and again it works perfectly.

I'd say the only issue I currently have is how best to mount it on the dash because the Nexus seems to have a filter in the screen that makes it blank in landscape mode when I have my polarised sunglasses on. Fine in portrait so I'll need to keep it in that. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎

Thought I’d update this with a video of the setup. The positioning of the tablet is rough as I’m just testing, so it’s mounted with Velcro tape just now. The only issue with this specific tablet is the screen has a built in filter which makes it unreadable with polarised sunglasses when it’s in landscape mode. I wear those a lot, so portrait it is.

You’ll see how quickly it boots for an 11 year old tablet, powers on when the car is unlocked and then how the phone connects. My iPhone wouldn’t let me record while CarPlay was playing something, so the video stops at that point.

Here’s a link to the video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dF__SROOn...p=drivesdk FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎

Looks like a viable option for many.
Do you have full functionality through the car-play, such as sat-nav etc?

To be honest I only use it for music and sat nav. Google Maps / Apple Maps / Waze all work beautifully on Car Play or Android Auto and are so much better than the integrated one. You lose the instrument cluster directions but I’ve never used them anyway.

With the tablet connecting to the head unit via Bluetooth, it also retains the steering wheel controls for skipping tracks, which is nice. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎

Alternative ?

Yup, absolutely loads of those available. I had a very poor experience with one at a similar price point which is why I decided to try the mod way and use stuff I already had.

The one I got was causing audio, GPS (on any mobile device in the vehicle) and DAB interference. Spent way too much on filters, different cables etc and finally sent it back as not fit for purpose.

There are significantly more expensive ones, but after replacing both front wheel bearings and both rear shocks I can justify that. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎

I'm following this with interest. I have had the link to this saved for a while but haven't took the plunge yet:

https://carlinklife.com/products/wireless-...8744016948

It's a lot cheaper than some other wired systems on I've seen and shouldn't be too expensive for a local Auto Electrician to install. I'd just like to know someone that has fitted it!!

That’s an interesting product. Significantly cheaper than the integrated one I initially considered. Haven’t looked at all the specs but would be interested to know if you lose any functionality by replacing the stock screen. I know some of them double up as the screen that has been replaced as well.

*edit* that product page only mentions the FL2 in the title - when it goes into the different specs it doesn’t mention our car. Not convinced this would actually fit our car sadly 😢 *

But for £20 for the dongle and an old tablet you hopefully have, it’s worth the effort to get it going to see if you’d use the functionality. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎

I believe that the Bosch Unit mentioned was the same in the Discovery 4 as it was in the Freelander and it's just a module, doesn't actually replace the stock screen. I have been in 2 minds whether to try it as well for a while!! There are similar products on sale for twice that price.

I might send them a message to check on compatibility.

Duplicate post!

Yes I think you’re right! The screen is Bosch. The site said head unit which threw me. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - tailgate paint issues, fuel gauge rewire, transfer box failure at 36k miles, clutch at 60k
Reconditioned diff at 70k ish
Sold at 84k and now on a DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎