I,m putting this here because I,ve trawled the ICE section and haven,t found any useful information (in relation to my specific issue). Mods if its out of place sorry please remove it.

Hello folks.

I now have about 1000 miles on my 2005 octavia mkii 1.9tdi elegance and i feel I have mastered most of the bits and bobs that come with it. I haven't used the cruise control though.

The Stream radio is so boring, its doin me head in. I have read quite a bit about replacing it. the cost of a bolero or columbus system is prohibitive and I would find it hard to justify the cost when the stream works fine. Second hand units are fairly rare in Ireland and it seems too risky buying a second hand unit from another country. I have a nokia ck-7n bluetooth kit which works seamlessly with my iphone and the stream,although it takes calls only, nothing else. Adequate enough for my needs, no frills etc.

Also replacing the canbus gateway and k wire issues seems a bit over the top for a 7 year old car.

I do not have an MFSW.

I had thought about replacing the stream with a 1din unit, and using the space left below to install extra power points for the garmin satnav, and iphone charger, etc, to avoid having to use the built in cigar lighter socket, ( the wires hanging over the gear lever etc is a bit annoying).

From what I can gather most of the cheap 1din untis have built in basic bluetooth phone functions, which i assume will function just as the current nokia kit works (which is ok for my needs).

My main concern is the climate controls that show up on the stream, (and possibly stuff I may not have noticed).

I have no need for a dvd player or cd changer. Satnav would be a nice option, but its not a prerequisite, as i use the garmin on the rare occasions i need it. (it spends the vast majority its time in the boot). I would like to fit a rear view camera though, I don't have parking sensors fitted and don't really like or want them. A seven inch screen would be primarily for aesthetic purposes only, except for the rear view camera.

What problems would i face if I try to replace the stream with a non standard radio / dvd media player?

Something like this would suit me ideally, but would I have problems installing it.

http://carstereos4u.co.uk/car-dvd-navigation-systems/gps-sat-nav-screens/Double%20Din%20Car%20DVD%20player%20Radio%20CD%20GPS%20Bluetooth%20Stereo

A taxi driver here in the Borders bought this unit and fitted it to his 08 Passat, strait plug and play, everything works even the reversing camera

Thanks for the reply Skippy. All I want to know is how to avoid the canbus gateway issues. I can,t afford to have this car off the road, (been out of work 8 weeks as it is), and don,t want to blow the canbus gateway cos of a radio, that does not really need replacing. I,m trying to find a good skoda independent mechanic, not having much luck with that either though. There are millions of words written about it here and on other websites and forums, but its all written in jargon and is as clear as mud to me. I can understand enough to know that I do not want to experience it.

Anyway thanks again for the reply.