iPhone/iPod in Mark V Golf GTi

What would you do?

  • iPhone interface on the CD changer connection

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Better/later VW OEM unit

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Aftermarket unit

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .

AMc

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I'm picking up a 2008 Golf GTi with (what looks like) the RCD300 double din head unit and a Parrot bluetooth unit possibly a CK3100.

I've replaced the head units in my old Merc and the factory fit units in 2 Mini Cooper S. Looking on YouTube it seems easy to get at the head unit.

I want to be able to play music, use Google maps for navigation and charge an iPhone4S.
I'm happy to have the phone in a mount on or near the dash and use that for map display.
I may sometimes want to use an iPod Classic too so can't just stream over bluetooth.

I'm toying with changing the head unit for another VW OEM. If I do that I'll probably investigate DAB but I'm a bit puzzled about what I'd need to do about the aerial.
I've also read comments about battery drain and CAMBUS issues but this means little to me, from what I've seen a '58 plate GTi should be OK but I can't find a definitive way to check.

I'm also thinking of swapping in a 3rd party double DIN with a fascia adapter but they seem to come with a ton of features I don't want to pay for, eps. navigation. The cheaper units look - well, cheap! :) I don't need a CD player, let alone a multichanger.

Option #1 Fit an iPhone interface that pretends to be a CD changer. Any recommendations or ones to avoid?

Option #2 Fit a better/later VW OEM unit that supports the iPhone - seems expensive but keeps things "factory" on the interior.

Option #3 Fit a double din aftermarket unit. Perhaps even taking out the Parrot and getting integrated Bluetooth Any recommendations?

Budget is not high - if I go with a full replacement I wouldn't want to go over £200 - I'm quite happy to use a 2nd hand head unit if it is in good nick.

Any thoughts appreciated! :)
 
Got the car - which is brilliant :) - but the stereo isn't :(.
I can confirm it is the RCD300 and there is a Parrot CK3100. The RCD300 sounds OK but it doesn't like my CDRs so I'm stuck on CD only, been using an FM transmitter and its as annoying as I remember.

The Parrot mic has been installed by the rear view mirror so I'd quite like to keep that but I'm happy to ditch the little display unit part so I guess an aftermarket unit or an OEM which can use the mic would be good.
 
Won a Connect2 iPod interface for £15.49+£3 P&P - quite a saving on the £39.95 it is new. Hopefully it will turn up and be the right thing as the guy selling it got the wrong one for his Audi :)
Also bought some trim removal tools to try not to mess up the interior fitting it.
Still trying to work out a good position to mount the phone/iPod.

I was considering paying the arm+leg for the Brodit proclip (£16 inc. P+P) as it seems to be properly designed for a holeless attachment to the dash but then I discovered the model specific phone holders (another £25) aren't adjustable or simply swapable so I can't choose to use my iPod classic or iPhone depending on the journey.
Might still buy the clip part and simply screw an ebay special adjustable clip to the back plate.
 
Updating and continuing to talk to myself :)

The Connects2 CTAVGIPOD009.2 arrived OK and I'd just spent a couple of hours fitting it.
Followed the many YouTube videos on dismantling the Golf Mark V dash.
Only managed to get stumped once when I'd missed removing a couple of torx.
Managed to skin my thumb removing one of the clips on the rear of the stereo so I had an enforced break while I stopped bleeding :D
Struggled to find a trim gap big enough to feed out the iPod/iPhone cable so I ran it down behind the heater controls and under the tray in front of the gear lever. I cut a small slot in the edge of the tray to route the cable into the cabin.

One great big gotcha - when testing the interface nothing at all happens. It turns out that unless you ground the loose black wire from the Connects2 loom connection then the RCD300 completely ignores the connection to the changer input. Gave me a moment of pause when I thought I had the car in bits and the interface wasn't working.
I considered hacking around the loom connection blocks but in the end I stripped back some bare wire, loosened a torx on the back of the RCD300 and fastened it there. Not the most elegant solution but with the Parrot bluetooth box etc. in the mix I didn't want to mess with any existing connections.
Putting it all back together was pretty simple.

I now have charging and control of my 80GB iPod - track forwards back etc. My iPhone4S is a bit more tricky it seemed to work at first with charging and control but then the control stopped. I've had similar issues with the iPhone on my previous Alpine headunits so I'm not overly concerned. As the iPhone screen remains active I can simply pick music on there. I may end up going 3rd party at some point for better intergration.

Had a bit of trouble working out what to do with the phone mounting. For now I have a suction mount disc stuck to the bottom of the tray in front of the gear lever. That has a cheapish universal mount sucked onto it. One problem is this is only able to work landscape so I may have to look at other mounting options and move to a mount up near the head unit.
 

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