cheapest / easiest way to get rear parking sensors and BT hands free?

[shiwarrior]

Hi all

 

Looks like im keeping my current car for a lot longer than I thought, it is super reliable so as im in "saving" mode im not changing it to a MK3

 

so now, what would the cheapest way of getting :

 

Parking sensors

BT hands free

 

 

I even looked at changing car to another one with the above (with climate control as i have it) and seems to be either really expensive or there none or little around

 

 

[Deano12]

I'd look for an aftermarket android head unit for the car. Most now days have both bluetooth and the ability to have parking sensors attached (and reverse camera/dab/dtv). Only downside would be you'd need to get it all fitted. 

Cost all in including fitting I'd say be about £500 For a decent set up. 

[shiwarrior]

Thanks Deano

[FatHead1979]

55 minutes ago, shiwarrior said:

Hi all

Looks like im keeping my current car for a lot longer than I thought, it is super reliable so as im in "saving" mode im not changing it to a MK3

so now, what would the cheapest way of getting :

Parking sensors

BT hands free

I even looked at changing car to another one with the above (with climate control as i have it) and seems to be either really expensive or there none or little around

Last year I upgraded mine to something like this Xtrons PB78FSFIP without any major problems.  It's nice and quick, looks more factory fit than the standard double din "Halfords specials" and the functionality can be added to via addtional USB module i.e. I also went for the DAB+ module as well as the external mic which isn't USB.

Xtrons offer various options for a reversing camera but don't (as far as I'm aware) offer any parking sensor solutions.  Personally I'd rather just have a reversing camera and not have to start drilling holes in my rear bumber but each to their own.  Another advantage of the vehicle specfic units is they come with the approriate wiring loom AND canbus adapter box so once everything is connected up you should have working steering wheels controls without to much faffing about.

I've attached a pic of mine to illustrate what it looks like when installed.

[shiwarrior]

Thanks

those are the Android units from China ?

 

My friends other half has one in her Focus and is quite happy with it (not sure in make though) a few little problems but nothing major

 

Have you got the reversing camera on yours ?

 

Does any companies offer a fitting service ?

 

[FatHead1979]

1 hour ago, shiwarrior said:

Thanks

those are the Android units from China ?

My friends other half has one in her Focus and is quite happy with it (not sure in make though) a few little problems but nothing major

Have you got the reversing camera on yours ?

Does any companies offer a fitting service ?

Yes, like most head units they're manufactured in China.  Companies like Xtrons don't actually manufacture the units, they just rebadge them and provide warranty support etc.

No camera on mine but it's just a standard RCA connector on the rear of the unit so any camera with this connection type should work fine.

Most of the larger companies that specialise in fitting car stereos only offer units from the "big" names such as Pioneer, Sony etc.  I suspect it's in part because a Pioneer unit that offers the same functionality will likely be more than double the price, especially if a reversing camera is also required.

I found this company with a quick google search, I'm sure there are others about.  To be honest fitting really isn't difficult, there are a number of videos on youtube in addition to the installation instructions that come with the unit.  If you were to try it yourself and got stuck, there are plenty of us on here that should be able to help. 

[shiwarrior]

Cheers

 

I found a video that shows u an eronon system installation (not with camera or any extras though) , seems straight forward but not sure on the rear camera wiring it through..

 

no idea what system to get (if this is the cheapest route?) id get an Android unit probably with version 8 and get a camera that just changed the number plate light one

 

[FatHead1979]

8 minutes ago, shiwarrior said:

Cheers

I found a video that shows u an eronon system installation (not with camera or any extras though) , seems straight forward but not sure on the rear camera wiring it through..

no idea what system to get (if this is the cheapest route?) id get an Android unit probably with version 8 and get a camera that just changed the number plate light one

 

I was also going to get the reverse camera because my Focus is a saloon and it can be tricky to judge where the back of the car ends but It's probably getting traded in once the wife's car is paid off so I thought I'd save a few quid and a lot of faffing about routing the RCA cable through the car interior.

[shiwarrior]

found this on the bay, would this go straight in ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-S-Max-Android-Head-Unit/153345419039?hash=item23b419671f:g:OaEAAOSw2zRcQz6r

 

although hes asking too much when a new one is that price with a warranty ?

[FatHead1979]

26 minutes ago, shiwarrior said:

found this on the bay, would this go straight in ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-S-Max-Android-Head-Unit/153345419039?hash=item23b419671f:g:OaEAAOSw2zRcQz6r

although hes asking too much when a new one is that price with a warranty ?

That looks like the same model as mine i.e. Xtrons PB78FSFP and yes it just fits straight in, I'm not sure where you can get one of those models brand new for much less than £300, if you can I'd say you've found a massive bargain.

 

If you've seen any "new" Xtrons units for less than £180 brand new they'll either be the units that run on Windows CE instead of Android or the lower spec units than run on really old versions of Android i.e. v5.1.1 or v6.0.  The Windows CE units will still get the job done but you can kiss goodbye to installing your favourite Android apps or anything resembling a modern app for that matter.  The Android v5.1.1 or v6.0 units have much less capable hardware than the Android 8.0 unit i.e. less onboard storage, less memory (often only 1GB) and a much weaker CPU.

 

I did initially buy one of their Android v6.0 units but because it only had 1GB of RAM it struggled to run Google Maps and Mediamonkey (music player) at the same time (it kept having to close one of the apps because it kept running out of memory, seeing as 1GB of RAM is equivalent to an 8 year old Samsung Galaxy I really shouldn't have been surprised) so it went back and I paid the extra for the unit that I really wanted.

 

The hardware specs are the main thing to consider, Android really doesn't get on too well with less than 2GB of RAM/memory as a bare minimum, with 4GB allowing smooth multitasking/switch between apps etc.

[shiwarrior]

Thanks mate

 

found this one , cheapest 4GB one

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-DIN-7-Android-8-0-8-Core-Car-Sat-Nav-GPS-DVD-Ford-Focus-Mondeo-S-Max-Galaxy/263549005285?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

 

[FatHead1979]

17 minutes ago, shiwarrior said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-DIN-7-Android-8-0-8-Core-Car-Sat-Nav-GPS-DVD-Ford-Focus-Mondeo-S-Max-Galaxy/263549005285?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

What i dont understand it, do i need 4Gb RAM ? or will 2Gb be fine etc ? 

1Gb RAM ones are really cheap also Androild 7 etc ?

1GB ones are really cheap because they're really , as I found out for myself, you can't expect a unit with specs from a 8+ year old Android phone to be able to cope with modern apps (and it won't!).

I've just had a quick look on eBay and the seller I used (and was able to return items to for a refund without any problems) has got my unit as "new" for £229.99 here.

The cheapest 2GB Android unit I could find (only a quick search) was here for £199.99.  Although it's also got an 8 core CPU, it's a much weaker type, only had 2GB of RAM and has half the onboard storage i.e. 16GB compared to 32GB.  It has 2 microSD card slots (both units have 2 slots) so storage can easily be expanded but a lot of Android apps can't be installed to a SD card and have to be installed on the actual head unit's storage, so it won't give you a huge amount of space if you want to install a decent number of apps.  If you're only going to install Google Maps and your personal choice of music player then you don't need to worry about running out of storage space for apps.

If the higher spec unit was still £300+ I'd say go for the £199.99 one but with the higher spec unit being available for £229.99 you get a massive boost in hardware spec by paying the extra 30 quid.

[shiwarrior]

Thanks Damian

 

so far then, at the moment

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XTRONS-ANDROID-8-0-CAR-CD-DVD-PLAYER-GPS-STEREO-FORD-FOCUS-MONDEO-S-MAX-GALAXY/192482026713?hash=item2cd0d2a4d9:g:aVEAAOSwNaRaqO9f&utm_source=FordOwnersClub&utm_medium=ForumLinks&utm_campaign=referrals

 

seems to be the best route

coupled with :

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Rear-View-Camera-CCD-For-Ford-Focus-Mondeo-MK4-BA7-Fiesta-Kuga-S-Max-Everest/143130176347?epid=17012428166&hash=item2153392b5b:g:LlEAAOSwJzpcgLEm

 

thoughts?

[FatHead1979]

33 minutes ago, shiwarrior said:

Thanks Damian

 

so far then, at the moment

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XTRONS-ANDROID-8-0-CAR-CD-DVD-PLAYER-GPS-STEREO-FORD-FOCUS-MONDEO-S-MAX-GALAXY/192482026713?hash=item2cd0d2a4d9:g:aVEAAOSwNaRaqO9f&utm_source=FordOwnersClub&utm_medium=ForumLinks&utm_campaign=referrals

 

seems to be the best route

coupled with :

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Rear-View-Camera-CCD-For-Ford-Focus-Mondeo-MK4-BA7-Fiesta-Kuga-S-Max-Everest/143130176347?epid=17012428166&hash=item2153392b5b:g:LlEAAOSwJzpcgLEm

 

thoughts?

Looks good to me mate.

[shiwarrior]

i need to check my car, but i think i have two number plate lights (either side of the door handle in the middle)

so i think it would be best if I changed the door handle one ?

[shiwarrior]

Seen Lennys guide, the camera on the boot handle is much better idea than the number plate lights, as i would have to get a matching led somehow on the other side and it would be off center anyway

 

 

also with this unit :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XTRONS-ANDROID-8-0-CAR-CD-DVD-PLAYER-GPS-STEREO-FORD-FOCUS-MONDEO-S-MAX-GALAXY/192482026713?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D56112%26meid%3D9e1a7509dcf94166a8973097bea539be%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D192621035265%26itm%3D192482026713&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A1991a983-4af5-11e9-a4d3-74dbd180ca33|parentrq%3A9a7f217f1690aada6b4e6dbdfffc4e8f|iid%3A1

 

I will get TPMS for it, but do i have to get this one :

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TPMS-Tyre-Pressure-Monitoring-System-With-4-Sensors-for-XTRONS-Android-Car-Radio/192621035265?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

or would a USB one work ?

the USB ones are much much cheaper

 

Thanks again

 

[Lenny]

Reverse Sensor Guide here:

https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/30092-guide-to-fitting-rear-parking-sensors-focus-mk25/

Reverse Camera Guide here: 

https://www.fordownersclub.com/topic/65470-guide-fitting-reverse-camera-mk25-focus-2008-2011/

Personally I find the camera works best for appearance on the vehicle and ease of parking because you can see where and what the obstacle actually is.

[shiwarrior]

3 hours ago, Lenny said:

 

Personally I find the camera works best for appearance on the vehicle and ease of parking because you can see where and what the obstacle actually is.

 

That's true !

looks cleaner, besides I dont think i'll find ones that match my vision blue color and if i was to paint it myself, it would look naff...

[shiwarrior]

Im having trouble finding this unit now

 

what was the seller called Damian ?

Xtrons PB78FSFP

 

looks like Xtrons official site have no longer got this listed. Im wondering if they are updating the unit to the Android 9 ?

[FatHead1979]

1 hour ago, shiwarrior said:

Im having trouble finding this unit now

 

what was the seller called Damian ?

Xtrons PB78FSFP

 

looks like Xtrons official site have no longer got this listed. Im wondering if they are updating the unit to the Android 9 ?

It's still listed here on the Xtrons web site, Xtrons do now offer some Android 9.0 head units but as best I can see, none of the custom fit Ford units go beyond 8.1.

 

To be honest, the biggest jump in terms of performance was moving to Android 8.0, the boot times on identical hardware are significantly faster than earlier versions of Android so devices running on 8.0+ usually feel more responsive.

 

I've just checked eBay and the seller I used doesn't have any items for sale anymore which is a shame as they had decent prices and good service.  I've just checked eBay and there's a auction listing for a used one (item number 333169447310) which currently has no bidders, a starting price of £120 and a "Make an offer" option so you might well be able to save yourself a few quid (the seller has a 100% selling specific feedback rating).

 

Keep us posted mate.

[shiwarrior]

i couldnt find it, probably becuase i was looking for the silver one to match mine lol

 

the eBay one has just ended lol

 

[shiwarrior]

seems to be back on the xtrons website, assuming this is the correct one ?

 

https://xtrons.co.uk/ford-various-android-8-0-pb78fsfip-s

 

[FatHead1979]

1 hour ago, shiwarrior said:

seems to be back on the xtrons website, assuming this is the correct one ?

 

https://xtrons.co.uk/ford-various-android-8-0-pb78fsfip-s

 

It appears to be a newer version of mine but it appears to have the same hardware (newer is better right?) 

[shiwarrior]

Do you mean the android version ? I thought it was an old one (8.0 instead of 8.1)

[FatHead1979]

31 minutes ago, shiwarrior said:

Do you mean the android version ? I thought it was an old one (8.0 instead of 8.1)

Both models are Android 8 and both appear to have the same hardware specs e.g. processor, memory, storage etc but I assume they've released the newer model for a reason (however small),