B7 Passat - Head Unit Upgrade

[blergen]

Hi all

I'm hoping the brains trust might be able to help with some advice. I've got a B7 Passat 130TDI Highline and the media unit has been slowly dying. The reverse camera often takes a few minutes to activate. Dealership is useless. I've got a quote for replacing the factory unit with an Alpine unit, but that comes to about $1500.

I'm hoping there's a cheaper option and I've been looking at the RCD330/360 - but I'm not sure if they will work with the rear flip camera that's in the badge. I've got no problem installing a head unit, but would prefer not to have to run new cables etc - is there an off-the-shelf solution that I can drop in that will work with the rear camera?

[Guest001]

Buy a s/h RNS510 and just replace what you have

[blergen]

Thanks Hillbilly, I will check that out. Do you know if it's a straight swap, or are there changes needed to the loom?

[Guest001]

Has your car got NAV in the headunit.
Post a pic of it so we know which one it is

[blergen]

Has your car got NAV in the headunit.
Post a pic of it so we know which one it is

Hi Hillbilly - yes, it does have NAV. I've inserted a pic of the dash below:



Thank you for your help.

[Guest001]

Volkswagen RNS510 GPS NAV Unit 1T0 035 680 P | eBay

[blergen]

Thanks Hillbilly, much appreciated

[paperplane]

I've just purchased the same car, and have replaced the stock RNS because i wanted to run an Android head unit instead. RNS and camera worked perfectly. If you want to purchase mine you're welcome to it. $400 + shipping. It'll probably take you ten minutes (if that) to replace. The Passat stereo surround pops off easily, then its 4 screws to remove.

[Guest001]

I've just purchased the same car, and have replaced the stock RNS because i wanted to run an Android head unit instead. RNS and camera worked perfectly. If you want to purchase mine you're welcome to it. $400 + shipping. It'll probably take you ten minutes (if that) to replace. The Passat stereo surround pops off easily, then its 4 screws to remove.

PM the guy as he may not read this reply

[blergen]

Quick update to the thread. I decided against the RNS510 as that's what I already had, and it was always slow and buggy. So I looked around and ended up fitting an Alpine ILX-702D unit, which has carplay/android auto, DAB etc. By adding CAM-VW-GLH and APF-X300VW I was able to keep the factory highline reverse camera (bendy lines still work), steering wheel controls, parking sensor display and climate control display.

Cost about $1500 all up, but was pretty easy to install (just needed to run a cable for the DAB windscreen antenna and alpine GPS antenna).

I bought it all from the Fitting Bay in WA who were pretty helpful.

[MickM]

Hey Blergen, I looking to do the same upgrade and trying to decide on the head unit.

Just a couple of questions on the Alpine unit you went for, does it use the factory microphone? And does it sync with the clock in the dash?

[Cplus]

Howdy,

Interested in the 2022 view on this issue. My wife’s RNS510 is experiencing startup loop of doom, suggesting hardware issue apparently.

Have been trying to convince her to get CarPlay for a while.

Is the RCD330 the go? I see these are around $500 and with some programming can be adapted to the dynaudio and high line spec camera we have.

So other than the RCD330 itself, I presume I will need some kind of adapter for the camera too - does anyone know what to look for exactly?

As as for programming, will a “Carly+“ scanner do the trick or so I need to go the more expensive VCDS cable/software route?

[MIG]

You have two options with the camera, one is to use an RGB to CVBS adaptor, for about $35 or get a new camera that has both native CVBS output and dynamic lines for about $150, but you will get a much better picture quality.

That Carly+ claims it can do coding, but it might be set to a preconfigured list, not the advanced settings VCDS can do.

[Cplus]

Ok $35 is not too bad. I saw the aerpro one for $315 and thought - well, yeah nah.

Of the more modern options - are there any that will simply fit in place of the OEM one?

So many options!!!!!

Have also been looking at non VW options - seems easy enough to fit an aftermarket unit that will interface with the dynaudio well enough these days.

[Cplus]

I’ve actually been recommended to bypass the 330 and go with composition media.

Apparently works better with dynaudio among other things.