Hi

This is my first post so sorry if the information can be found amongst the threads.

I have an Octavia 1.9 TDI Elegance mk2 prefl 2007 no maxidot and the Stream MP3 unit has failed . Have been looking for replacement but there is so much confusing information out there about what aftermarket units can and cant do, is it still possible to get the PDC Display and AC on another aftermarket unit or is that lost completely with other brands than Skoda ?

Also are any of the chinese units advertised on ebay any good at all ,or best avoided?

Avoid Chinese units. I upgraded from a stream to a bolero unit, fits perfectly and no facia change. If you do this you will lose PDC and Aircon display, but its not the end of the world.

Thanks for reply, will look at a bolero if that is the case with chinese units, looked at a replacement stream mp3 but thought price given for new one was high considering what it does

Have a look here - couple of Bolero's for sale which will do the job

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/165-car-parts-for-sale/

Bolero is a nice upgrade from a Stream and good price too 2nd hand.

I believe you'll lose the parking display with any unit unless you go with another Stream MP3 as the newer cars use different sensors so a Bolero won't show the parking display on a pre-FL car either. The other couple of issues fitting a Bolero is that if your CAN gateway is too old (2007 is right on the borderline) it will need replaced to avoid the battery drain issue, the revision can be identified from a VCDS scan. The backlight on newer Bolero units doesn't work automatically on pre-FL cars as they lack a light sensor, no-one has found a solution why it doesn't work on a pre-FL car although the backlight will brighten up if needed by flicking on the sidelights.

John

Thanks for that John,

Had no idea about car multimedia units before my Stream mp3 packed up,

You`d have thought that Skoda(VAG) would make their newer units to be compatible with previous versions of parking and climate sensors on the displays provided. Will miss the rear parking display , especially in our narrow driveway

I guess from VW's point of view they're not bothered about people being able to upgrade their cars and maintaining compatibility instead you're meant to buy a newer car I guess. I've spent a while researching what to upgrade my Stream MP3 to and it's a real confusing mix as there's so many variations in the cars themselves and such a mix of different options with varying advantages and disadvantages.

The lack of parking display was the main issue that put me off buying another unit but I've decided to give it a go without as quite a few people here said they didn't really miss it as they thought. I've been looking into rear view camera options as the head unit I went for has standard AV ins but there doesn't seem to be any simple options.

John

You'll still hear the bee-eep just before you hit something though. Personally, I'd be looking backwards, listening and not giving a whatsit what's on the screen.

The problem is that without the beeps you don't know which sensor is beeping though, I normally use the mirrors as I would anyway but if one of the sensors starts beeping unexpectedly then I check the display to see which sensor is beeping so I can work out what it is. It can also be an issue if one sensor is beeping wildly because there's a bush or something brushing against the side which is fine but then you don't realise there's something low in the middle that's tripping another sensor, a quick check of the display will show that though.

John

Just a very handy driver aid, as you say John i can still hear beeps and tones but you dont know which side of the car any obstacle is being detected,. Always have used mirrors of course and looking round when reversing, not that silly!

Just a bit like remote central locking you`d miss that now if you have to put a key into a door lock to open it and lock it now adays .

My first Octavia was a mark 2 Classic and had no remote central locking, thought i was back in dark ages!!!

One of my reasons to go for an Elegance model later a better spec.

By the way which unit did you choose to install to replace your Stream

My reasons for getting a new head unit were different to yours as my Stream MP3 was working fine but I wanted a decent upgrade so I'd be happy to stick with my current car and not want to buy another one. The Bolero was tempting as it's fairly cheap and it's the same shape as the Stream MP3 (the Columbus, Amundsen and most other units are a different shape so need different trim) but my car definitely needed a new CAN gateway to avoid the battery drain issue which put me off. I then looked at Columbus units as the cost wasn't that much more as I wouldn't need the CAN gateway (there's patched versions off ebay that don't have the battery drain) then on reading Nick's thread on this forum I decided on a Kenwood DNX520VBT as sound quality was apparently better and sat nav better as well. Since I didn't have Maxidot or climate control I didn't miss out on the integration features, I got mine for £540 which is quite a bit more than a Bolero.

John