Anyone fitted Carplay to an R172 SLK?

Anyone fitted Carplay to an R172 SLK?

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Discussion

darthdicky

Original Poster:

121 posts

250 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
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Seems to be some options available with the NTG 4.5/4.7 nav/radio. Has anyone tried one? Is it any good? Any drawbacks or things to be aware of?

eg. https://www.autoretrofits.co.uk/mercedes-benz/merc...

AlBondigaz

188 posts

74 months

Tuesday 29th November 2022
quotequote all
Not on R172 SLK but to a 2012, A207 E500 Cabrio with a NTG 4.5 head unit.

I bought a used adaptor off Ebay for about £120 which looks similar to the unit you have linked to. Mine isn't the wireless version though.

To use - plug phone in to cable and the head-unit switches automatically to Carplay.

The only real drawback is that I have to select AUX on my head-unit before I plug the phone in. It is possible to switch between CarPlay and the Radio / CD once the phone is plugged in but going back to CarPlay afterward means selecting AUX first. Also the steering wheel controls for the headunit don't fully work for track selection etc though the volume control is fine.

Other than that it's massive upgrade to an older car. Maps, Google Maps and Waze are way better that the Mercedes Sat Nav. BBC Sounds and Spotify handle the tunes and Telephone and Text are voice controlled by Siri.

I have the Harman Kardon audio upgrade and the output of the CarPlay unit through the NTG4.5 is perhaps not quite as good a CD though the system but it's certainly good enough.

I fitted mine myself during lockdown in 2020. Just followed loads of Youtube videos on how to pull the dashboard apart ...








darthdicky

Original Poster:

121 posts

250 months

Wednesday 7th December 2022
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Thanks for the comprehensive reply - I've just ordered one and some trim removal tools so I'll have a go at fitting it at the weekend

darthdicky

Original Poster:

121 posts

250 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2023
quotequote all
Just to round this one off, I fitted it fine and it works really well. Really makes it feel much more modern.

The one I got was from https://integratedautomotive.co.uk/ and the kit and instructions were spot on. Fitting wasn't difficult but took some time to get the cables lined up where I wanted them behind the head unit.