I’m aware that there are a couple of other old threads on the topic including various details within Have you upgraded the infotainment system? (ND)
but wanted to share my experience separately. As background, I’ve made a number of simple mods to my 5 including Roadie’s reversing camera kit, but I don’t consider myself anything other than an enthusiastic tinkerer!
Once I discovered that the hardware parts needed for this mod were a couple of cables and upgraded USB/aux hub, I baulked at handing over £350-400 for installation to Mazda for the privilege😯
Hence my DIY approach. Further research(Mazda3 forum I think) identified a reputable eBay source for the Official Mazda parts: mazdapartsmedcenter on eBay US$148.13
I know that AliExpress can be cheaper - you makes ya choice…
With postage and all relevant import taxes paid, and adjusting for the currency exchange rate on the day of purchase, my Credit Card shows an outlay of £152.84.
The items were well packaged and sent using FedEx; easy to track to my door👍
While waiting for it to arrive, I queued up the various YouTube clips, forum threads, and tech sheets that would serve as reference for the install. I also upgraded the Firmware from 70.00.100 to 70.00.367A.
I won’t go into step by step detail here, but the whole process took me a couple of hours including tea breaks😉 If any of you have Q’s, then feel to fire away or PM me.
These photos give an indication of the vandalism level required and are not for the faint-of-heart😆
Note that they don’t show the Display removed which is achieved by extracting the 10mm bolt seen below it, and then easing the whole unit forward.
Once all the new components were installed, I tested for integrity before reassembling all the trim(last photo)
I think the level of trim removal and time taken explains why (at main dealer hourly rates) why the bill would have been near the quote. Hopefully it all works and there are no rattles!
Good article - thanks for sharing. Having read this and all the other posts I’m seriously considering CarPlay (though it’s a pity is can’t be wireless) and a reversing camera installed at the same time, to avoid the stress of the tear-down more than once.
Two queries:
There’s the genuine UK Mazda kit (UK part number: C830-V6-60Z For the USB Data Cable set and UK part number: TK78-66-9U0C for the New AUX Module Unit), and there is the ‘Suitable for Mazda’ one on Aliexpress, Amazon etc. It sounds like you installed the latter. I want to do a pukka job but don’t want to waste money unnecessarily. Is the view that the ‘knock off’ one really is equivalent to, or identical to, or indeed is, the genuine article?
CarPlay specific … I have an enormous Apple Music library. With MZN Connect I can play wirelessly but there is no search option. So I mostly listen to albums starting with ‘A’. Is there a search option with CP?
I believe there is a wireless dongle available for when plug in CarPlay is fitted.
I can access all the usual features of AM/Deezer/Spotify when using CarPlay, plus the quality is better than going through Bluetooth.
It would definitely be more convenient to do both those mods at the same time, fewer opportunities to break trim retainers!
Regarding your queries, although the kit was purchased via eBay it was from an American Mazda Dealer. The parts are Mazda’s upgrade pack as you would get from a UK dealer with the only difference being that the part numbers for the 2 USB cables match a US installation guide not one for UK (RHD vs LHD?!?) - but they’re just bloomin’ USB cables, the whole idea of the USB format is commonality🤓
As for the search facility within “Music”, I can’t say. Due to the rain this weekend, as soon as I had put everything back together the car returned shivering to the garage. that I can explore all the settings/options this weekend:crossed_fingers:
Anything else, please just holla
Thanks - I’ve looked on the US eBay site and then photo does indeed show the genuine article. It is confirmed in the online instructions on HiDrive that:
"The MUST have ALL NEW ‘‘AUX Hub Module’’ TK78-66-9U0C is the exact same Mazda Part and Part N
ALL Mazda’s, repeat ALL Mazda’s with MZD/Mazda Connect Worldwide wanting to Convert to CP/AA.
NOTE: There are 3 Different MUST have Part Numbers for the ALL NEW ‘‘USB Cable Set’’. We have Confirmed that it does not
matter ‘which’ Part Numbered USB CABLE SET you use as essentially there is no difference as ANY 1 of the 3 CABLE SETS WILL INSTALL AND WORK PERFECTLY.
So it seems clear that as long as one has the genuine Hub (TK78-66-9U0C) then ‘non-European’ USB cable will work fine.
The instructions say that the connectors are different colours between the US and EU versions, but no other differences. As you say, how could there be?
Most ‘genuine Mazda’ parts such as this are manufactured for them in China. I would guess that the parts in this kit purchased from a Mazda dealer will be marked as ‘made in China’. I’m buying sequential indicator kits directly from a Chinese manufacturer. They are identical to the ones sold by Mazda right down to the part numbers on the circuit boards.
Here’s how I think the system works. The manufacturer in China makes the kit. They will sell you one of these kits for around £80 including delivery. They also sell them in bulk to Mazda probably for around half that price.
Once Mazda receive their bulk delivery they place a sticker on the kit and it then becomes a genuine Mazda kit. They mark up the price and send them out to the EU or US distributor. They mark up the price and send them to the dealers. They then mark up the price and sell them to the retail customer.
You are paying a lot of money to get the sticker on the box. Once you have fitted the kit what will you do with the box and the sticker? Best guess is it will go in the recycling bin.
In the end I went for the AliExpress-sourced CarPlay kit, which cost about £90 including postage from China. It arrived in 10 days and, as suggested in this thread, it is obviously the genuine (and probably only) article. I bought a reversing camera from MX5parts to install at the same time as I reverse into my narrow garage and wanted one.
I bought a kit of 11 pry tools from Halfords and these helped a lot. The YouTube videos tend to show the ‘no tools’ approach but in my view, on a previously untouched car, having the tools really can help to shift tightly-fitted parts. I found that with one of the tools I could remove the plastic studs almost instantly; otherwise it is a slow and painful business using finger-nails.
If you have plenty of time and are careful both installations are not difficult and both really transform the driving experience. I really enjoyed installing these items and felt a huge sense of achievement when they both worked.
In spite of quite a bit of tugging and prying I didn’t break anything. Obviously the various parts are designed to be removed quickly. Really I can’t see the need to shell out £350 for a dealer to install CarPlay unless you’re very short of time or, unlike me, enjoy dealing with Mazda service departments.
Whilst the centre console was out I took the opportunity to adjust the handbrake too.
Incidentally, the MX5parts reversing camera gives a super HD image on the car’s display - far sharper and clearer than that in my 2019 Mazda 6 with its factory-fitted camera.
Don’t forget that it is easy to swap between CarPlay and MZR Connect by holding down the home button for 2 seconds.
Total cost for CarPlay, Reversing Camera and Pry Tools was about 60% of the £350 Mazda charge to install just CarPlay.
Just a thought, can any of the entertainment units in the ND be swapped out for an aftermarket unit? I haven’t seen anything to suit (not really looked) or seen how and what could be fitted being as it sits on the dash rather than in.
Although the screen appears to sit on the dash it is attached to a rectangular box of tricks that slides horizontally into the dash. Whether the space is suitable to accept a DIN head unit I’m not sure.
What’s more of a problem is that the MZD unit is also used as the means to control a lot of settings on the car such as the locking system, service indicators and the like.
The days of buying a car with a rectangular plate in the dash where you could fit a radio are gone. Modern infotainment systems are heavily integrated with all the other microprocessor controlled systems in the vehicle.
Yes, the screen that you can see is just that, a screen. The unit underneath is called the CMU (Connectivity Master Unit) which is the main unit for controlling all of the other units connected to it. The tuner, sat nav, amplifier etc.
Hmm…that’s what I thought thanks for the replies.
No chance of upgrading the basic unit in the SE then, unless you buy a complete new/secondhand unit, then I suppose there are connection problems.?
What can you actually connect to the basic entertainment unit fitted in the SE models, guessing USB, Bluetooth?
It’s s pretty basic unit then, thanks for the link👍
Don’t think I could do without android auto now having got it in my NC.
Just buy an ND with at least the ability to install Android Auto to the existing head unit then me thinks.
Fair cop, BlueBird67. I was merely commenting on the amount of my own hard-earned (from a pension!) cash I had to shell out compared with a ‘proper’ Mazda garage job. As a recently-retired chap I have all the time in the world and lavished far more time on the job than any dealer could possibly afford. I had a lovely time, enjoyed the jobs and learned a great deal about my car and taking it to bits in the process, along with a little rush in confidence when I found that I had achieved two quite significant upgrades all on my own, which are used every time I take the car out. We’re all in this - MX5-owning and the MX-5 OC, that is - for enjoyment and pleasure … I was just reporting on the enjoyment and pleasure I achieved, and the costs involved. I was not trying to make a point of any kind. All good wishes anyway.
that I can explore all the settings/options this weekend:crossed_fingers: