Folks,

 

I have a 13 plate (one of the last I think) Octavia MkII 1,6 TDI Elegance Estate. I was wondering how easy / costly it would be to replace the TouchScreen / Stereo with a Sat Nav / Bluetooth Unit and I assume a multi function steering wheel as well.

 

Can you buy these componants after market, where is the best place? Do they have to be Skoda or are there 3rd party manufacturers?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

D

You would require

 

Nav unit

 

You have 2 options the Columbus or the Amundsen

You would also require a new trim surround

 

for the MFSW

You would require the wheel (i have one in the for sale section)

Airbag loom

and new control module

Thanks for that Eddie,

 

Any idea on prices and stockests for thoses parts?

 

I know it's subjective but any idea on labour? How long should it take?

 

Thanks again,

 

D

I replaced my Bolero head unit with the Columbus myself.

 

the Columbus I think cost me £570 posted on eBay. That came with the GPS antenna you need. The new surround was about £55 because I needed the Piano Black one, the others are cheaper.

 

Putting it in was very easy, finding the correct surround to fit was more of a pain but I think enough people have done it now to make it much easier!

 

The actual changing of the head units is just a case of pulling off the existing surround, unscrewing the existing unit, connecting the new one, screwing it back in and then popping the surround on. Probably 30 minutes tops if you have done one before, maybe a bit longer if its your first as you aren't sure how far you can yank the old surround out!

 

As for the Bluetooth stuff and steering wheel I have no idea I'm afraid, my car came with those out of the factory.

 

Does you car already have Bluetooth already and you just want to control from the wheel, or not?

As above, ebay for a second hand columbus unit (mine cost 340 quid) plus 55-ish for the surround from the dealer, fitted myself in about 20 minutes. Needed someone with VCDS to tell the car that it had nav fitted for it to show on the maxidot but tbh that's not really essential.

I also retro fitted a mfsw and bluetooth. All the details are in my blog.

Bluetooth i have a "fiscon basic plus" plug and play, works just like oem, easy to fit yourself, cost 300ish IIRC however mine was transferred over from the last car. You can buy oem components yourself cheaper now from what i've read on here - search and you'll find lots of info.

MFSW; wheel was sourced from skodateile.cz for around 150 quid, plus you need a controller and loom, somewhere around another 100 quid or so depending on which one you need. Again, VCDS coding is required to enable these once they're physically installed.

HTH.

Thanks for all the info. guys.

 

The original idea was just to replace the Head Unit (Bolero) with something that would give me Bluetooth (I have a after market pioneer with Bluetooth but it's only 1u (or single Din) and wouldn't look right).

 

Then I thought, if i'm going to replace the head unit I might as well replace it with one that also does Sat Nav (Columbus & Amundsen (what's the difference?)). I thought if I stuck with the Skoda ones then things like reverse parking sensors, climate control etc etc would still work (anyone know if these features work with a non skoda aftermarket head unit?).

 

The MFSW would be nice to have (mine is a standard, no controls) but looking at £200+ just to turn the volume up and down, change track and answer/make calls  is a bit much.

 

So the Fiscon Plus sounds ideal. Does it just add bluetooth to the Bolero? Easy to fit and no VCDS recoding needed?

 

I'm not sure what Maxidot is.

 

D

Fiscon basic plus is easy to fit. Does need coding though. From my personal experience with the Fiscon I would go with the OEM module. Fiscon does not support AVRCP so you don't get the track names nor controls for A2DP streamed music on the Bolero. However you'll want a recent OEM module for this functionality too as earlier ones also dot support it. You just get the words 'Bluetooth Audio' appear on the Bolero display and maxidot which is rubbish! The Fiscon call functionality and microphone are however excellent. Given the choice I'd go for the 'K' OEM kit for sale on Car Communications website. It's £300 - the same price as the Fiscon. You'll get it cheaper via the Polish Car Systems website but not sure about after sales support there!

I don't use the fiscon for music - i have an old ipod in the glove box with mdi so the music streaming thing is not relevant to me.

David - the columbus is the "top of the range" nav system. Amundsen also a good unit though, and from what i've read on the blackline thread i think that may also support bluetooth out of the box with the addition of a factory mic.

Maxidot is the large computer display between your rev counter and speedo, normally an option on a vrs - you can use this for displaying information (mfd, phone, music info) and changing vehicle settings.

I believe the Blacklines came with an Amundsen+ (or RNS315+ in VW speak) which has the BT module in the head unit. For some reason, Skoda chose not to enable the BT, but as Rob says, many of the guys on here bought a mic loom and coded it in using VCDS. The 'standard' Amundsen (RNS315) came with the SE Plus Octy and didn't have BT.

 

There's a columbus vs amundsen thread somewhere, comparing the differences. Can't find it at the moment.

 

A third option is the OEM-like unit that Kenwood make, it has Sat Nav and BT. There's one in the for sale section at the moment and a bargain at £450. Incidentally, I bought my Columbus from the same guy earlier in the year when he sold his vRS.

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/280931-kenwood-dnx520vbt-thinking-of-selling-if-anyone-interested/

Amundsen Plus is a very good unit, if you get the right part number you'll have DAB and Bluetooth straight out of the box too as there is a version with both built in (as in my Blackline).

The Bluetooth functionality is very much the same as a GSM2 module, with full functionality from touchscreen and maxidot/multi function wheel where fitted. Only thing it fant do is voice control but no real loss.....it does also do full a2dp bluetooth streaming with full track/skip control and artist information. Put plainly its excellent and saves a fair bit of mucking about installing a separate OEM BT module.

By the time you have bought a Columbus, Bluetooth modules etc, I would be looking at a Kenwood DNX521DAB. You would get DAB, nav and Bluetooth all in one package.

My local dealer was offering them at £899 fitted.

http://www.kenwood-electronics.co.uk/products/car/vw/DNX521DAB/details/

Well I was thinking about a BT module, the plan was to use it on the Bolero and maybe upgrade to a Columbus later. I wasn't sure which one to go for after monkeyalan's comment, oem or fiscon. If the Fiscon doesn't support AVRCP and/or Track Names/A2DP controls when it was going to be the oem.

 

Then people start chiming in with the non-skoda units (Kenwood DNX521DAB), do these support rear parking sensors, climate control etc?

 

Now a third option, the Amundsen (RNS315). I really should have thought of this as the wife got a new Yeti SE Plus on Monday and it has Sat Nav & Bluetooth (not sure about DAB). I'm assuming this will support rear parking sensors, climate control etc (with VCDS).

 

The OEM BT is going to be about £299 (car communications) or £288.45 (from poland).

 

The Non Skoda £450. There is a possibility of selling my Bolero for £250 - 300. There is also this non Skoda RNS 510 'style' http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RNS510-Style-Nav-for-VW-Golf-Passat-Eos-UK-Sat-Nav-iPod-Bluetooth-USB-DVD-GPS-/281082603443?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_GPSSystems_GPSSystems&hash=item4171d427b3 for £300.

 

The RNS 315+ with the Bluetooth is about £350 - £450. Again here is a possibility of selling my Bolero for £250 - 300.

 

Can you guys hit me with some pros and cons for all three options and which option you would go with and why?

 

The MFSW can wait (unless someone is selling one in the North East).

 

I'm not sure I have Maxidot, between the Rev and Speedo is just a display that tells me MPG, mileage, avg. mph etc I can scroll through them with an up & down button on the right stork.

If you have a picture of a car with the specific door open shown on it when your car door is open then you have maxi dot. Sounds like you do if you can scroll through stuff using the wiper stalk.

The Kenwood is prone to faults. Far too much included in that one unit for it to be wholly reliable in my opinion. If you are more concerned about having bluetooth streaming with track info and prev/next operation on Bolero and maxi dot than having a sat nav and/or DAB then I would go for the OEM BT module for the Bolero. The most recent kit on Car Communications or Car Systems is what you need. The K version I think. Old the Polish site, Car Systems it's actually about £170 for the full retrofit kit. Search this forum for plenty of discussions about options.

If you are keen on integrated sat nav and / or DAB as well as BT streaming then an Amunsden+ is a decent option.

I maintain my earlier point that there's no need to go down the Fiscon route when the OEM is equal or less to purchase. Like for like the Fiscon is not as good.

MFSW in the North-East: Eddie-NL would be your man. He's the man to call about MaxiDot

 

I went for VW315 (NAV/BT/DAB) as it is a quick and easy install, all the features of Columbus at a fraction of the price. £5 for the GPS unit, £40(ish) for the mic and £20 for the DAB aerial. The SD card slot soon sees off mention of Columbus having a HDD for music, not only that updating the music on the SD is far easier than on Columbus. As mentioned 315 will also BT stream and echo information onto MaxiDot, and should also echo the HVAC onto the screen (although IMHO fairly pointless as the "originals" are only inches away. It should still display the reverse sensors, plus some models will support a reverse camera too

 

Columbus with DAB and BT are rare and expensive, probably more so than the Kenwood. You'd still need the mic, gps and DAB aerial too.

 

If you're thinking of staying with a Skoda next time round, you can transfer the 315 easily too, worst thing (if you had one with it fitted) would be losing the DAB aerial. The mic and the GPS are easily removed and re-used.

 

The 315's interface is quick and easy to use as well, which helps when you're on the move.

 

 

 

Any one that you pick would need a replacement fascia too. Only Bolero and Stream were that shape.

Absolutely no chance of getting £250 for a Bolero!!

 

I picked a brand new, never been used, revision 54, 2012 model up off ebay for £160. Fella had the Kenwood unit installed by the dealer before he even collected the car from new so simply flogged the redundant Bolero.

Any one that you pick would need a replacement fascia too. Only Bolero and Stream were that shape.

And Audience cos I retro fitted my Bolero without a need to change the fascia.

I already had the fiscon (had been linked up to the bolero in the last car) so for me adding columbus was a no-brainer.

If i was doing it again i'd go OEM for the bluetooth as monkey says above plus columbus.

Given that bolero's are not worth much i've kept mine. When the car goes I'll pop it back in and sell my fiscon and columbus separately - prob get back pretty much what i paid for them.

Ok,  narrowed it down to the oem BT (monkeyalan do you have a url for the £170 one?) or the RNS 315(+?).

 

Any one find the best price for the RNS 315 with Bluetooth or is selling one? What fasica will I need? My current one came with the car (Mk2 13plate Elegance trim) and looks like graphite.

Ok,  narrowed it down to the oem BT (monkeyalan do you have a url for the £170 one?) or the RNS 315(+?).

 

Any one find the best price for the RNS 315 with Bluetooth or is selling one? What fasica will I need? My current one came with the car (Mk2 13plate Elegance trim) and looks like graphite.

 

best option for finding a trim is to post a pic of your one in here. There have been multiple variations over the years and you don;t want people looking in the wrong places for you

Sorry for the poor quality, it's gloomy up north!

Here's the most recent retrofit kit at the cheapest price: http://www.carsystems.pl/vw-bluetooth-kit-7p6035730l-retrofit-newest-version,id417.html

Note the price is in euros. It's coming from Poland. Other members of this forum have purchased from here. I haven't so can't personally vouch for them. That said, you're getting it for nearly half as much as the UK supplier. I was quoted £400 to supply and fit the previous module by car audio communications. But Eddie NL on here would supply and install it for a fraction of the cost as long as you can travel to Great Yarmouth.

I'm in Northumberland. Bit of a treck to see Eddie.

 

Still toying with the BT Unit for £170 or a RNS315 for £350 - 400, plus the facia £50?

 

Anyone in the North East get on here and has access to VCDS / Ross-Tech?

 

D

Mike Holroyd has not long moved to Whitby if that's any help. Not a bad bloke

Hmmmm, just came back from a wedding, we took the Mrs Yeti. It's the SE Plus trim and has the RNS 315 (SatNav+Bluetooth). When I connected my mobile (Sammy Galaxy S/i9000) and started streaming audio it just came up "Bluetooth Audio" no song title, artist, track number nothing. No controls on the touch screen for pause/play, back or forward, very basic. Is this all I would get with the oem BT unit as well?

The more recent modules claim to offer this functionality (AVRCP). Earlier ones don't.